Double Bass Locking an Upright?

[srbbass]

Hi All,

I play a number of theater pits and I am often torn between leaving my upright in the pit overnight or packing it up (retrieving my case, threading the bass through the tiniest of pit doors, schlepping it to my car 1/2 mile away seemingly). So far, nothing has happened to an upright bass of mine leaving it overnight in the pit (usually in its padded bag). if I'm doubling, I always take my BG home.

I noticed that travelling companies often have cable locks for the MainStage computers and synths and it got me wondering if anybody uses some type of cable lock (e.g. bicycle lock) or other mechanism for locking an upright in such a situation? I was thinking I could run a coated bike lock cable under the tailpiece and around a piece of stage supports or something but it would make it hard to put the bag on, which I like to do in case the crew are doing stuff in the pit when I'm not there.

I am interested in your solutions and suggestions. It would seem like someone could fashion a grommet in the endpin receiver that could accept a cable lock.

Thanks in advance

 

[Bruce Calin]

In Raymond Elgar's book he mentions having the bass in the case and putting a chain and lock around the neck to prevent the cover from being taken off. Maybe the chain could then be locked to something fixed in the pit. It seems like overkill until something bad happens that it would have prevented. The only other thing I would say is that computers and electronics are a lot more portable and saleable than basses, so that is in your favor.

 

[Steven Ayres]

If it helps, in my 40 years of work on stages I never once heard of an instrument being molested in a pit in any way.

 

[james condino]

Of all the things some tweaker will steal, your upright bass is the lowest on the list right before your old Ampeg SVT cabinet.....

 

[robobass]

I've left my bass overnight at a playing venue whenever possible my whole life and never had a problem. When I lived in NYC I did have a chain and padlock in the car which I would wrap around the neck. Not for overnight of course, but for quick stops to grab a sandwich or something.

 

[turf3]

I wouldn't do it. Sure as you do that cable bit, some bozo will decide your bass needs to be moved, will pick it up without realizing it's secured, and rip the tail piece right off. Most people are so unobservant they won't even notice the loud bangs and the strings trailing along behind; then the next day you get there and nobody's seen nuthin'. Just the bass in its case, they can move with little chance of harm.

 

[Don Hergert]

The happy thing about DBs is that anyone who selects to steal one has to schlep it just the same way we do. Most thieves would want something small and easy to carry off, and then, easy to sell. That said, it could, and probably has happened sometime in the past. But then again, just like us, no thief will know in advance what the DB, with all the schlepping involved, is really worth.

All that said, if you're really compelled to lock your DB, be prepared for someone to break or in some way deface it as they try to free it from the lock.

My DB happens to have a way to lock it permanently -- it has an access panel, so I could thread a cable lock through an F-hole and out through the access panel, and lock it to something hard to move. But if someone still felt determined to steal it, I can just imagine how it would look and sound after they tried to do so.

I'd suggest if schlepping is a problem (and I'm sympathetic to that), try getting a fold-able 4-wheel wagon. It can carry your DB and stuff without you holding it up at all, and the wagon will fold away small for in your car or at your gig. Just don't forget to lock up your wagon -- I've actually had one of them stolen!

(Edit: corrected my spelling of the word "steal". DUH.)

 

[srbbass]

Pushing near 40 years myself in the pit and nothing's happened. I shouldn't mess with karma. Also need to update my photo, ha.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Why not put it in the case for protection, and then lock it?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The problem with thiefs is that they often think something big must be worth a lot of money.
My old damaged plywood bass (in its bag) was stolen which was locked in a cellar where any visitor of the larger Appartement house had access to.
More (and better) basses have been stolen in Europe, so thinking about a lock would be reasonable. At least over here.

 

[Bruce Calin]

We've all left our basses at the venue for longer-term gigs of various types and have had no problems. We've also heard or experienced horror stories of thefts from vehicles, thefts of vehicles with bass inside, fires, floods, and other disasters. I'm sure some of us have been loading in gear and returned with some piece of equipment to see some sweet, hopefully petite, young thing who thought it would be cute to sit on the bass. If this hasn't happened to you, you're lucky. If locking up the bass makes you feel better, do it, preferably in the case.

 

[damonsmith]

I use a bike lock cable in my car for long drives with the bass. Adding a layer for the thief is never a bad idea.

 

[ClusterFlux]

I play a number of theater pits and I am often torn between leaving my upright in the pit overnight or packing it up....

At the risk of asking the obvious... Is this a $2,100 plywood bass, or a $38,000 fully carved 18th century Italian contrabass?

 

[bherman]

I would think that a long cable wrapped around the bass a few times, maybe through the bag handles and secured to something, would be enough. As long as there is a spot where it would be out the way of any traffic through the pit, if any.

 

[lurk]

FWIW a couple of friends have had basses stolen, one from their car - they double parked in front of a deli and ran in and out and amazingly none of the guys hanging out outside noticed the breaking of the window and removing of the bass - and another who left his bass overnight in a well-known jazz club. So, it does happen. I have chained mine up, but I do worry about some helpful idiot trying to move it. Years ago, well before my time, there was a NYC bass players club where you paid dues and got the combination for locked basses at nightclubs, radio stations, theaters, etc.

 

[Ed S]

I use a bike lock cable in my car for long drives with the bass. Adding a layer for the thief is never a bad idea.

Same idea as with bikes - just doing anything might discourage a prospective thief from taking YOUR stuff, and instead, move on to an easier target. Even if you just looped a thin cable through the handles on your case...

 

[Don Hergert]

FWIW, I'd think the #1 rule would be, "Don't leave the wheel(s) attached", and that includes don't leave it in an unattended car, especially with the engine running; for a thief that's like winning both the NY and CA lotteries on the same day.

If someone is going to steal it, at least let them painstakingly schlep it too.

 

[Ben Esparza]

Speaking of karma, the Angel Ben and the Devil Ben have appeared on both shoulders a couple of times. The Angel Ben always won out because karma is usually worse. My parents taught me well.

 

[lurk]

I'm going to elaborate on my previous post because it's an amusing story. I won't name names because I don't have permission. A famous jazz bassist has a week-long gig at a well-known NYC club and leaves his bass overnight. Next day, it's missing. Another bassist, not so famous who lives in Brooklyn passes a guy on the sidewalk selling a bass for $100. He buys it, realizing it's stolen, and takes to a big NYC bass shop where they recognize the instrument, notify the owner, and call the police. Before he can take the bass home, the police make him leave the room and have the shop put it in a rack with some other basses to see if he can identify it. After all, they're all the same basic shape, have 4 strings, etc.

 

[Alexis Duntov]

FWIW a couple of friends have had basses stolen, one from their car - they double parked in front of a deli and ran in and out and amazingly none of the guys hanging out outside noticed the breaking of the window and removing of the bass - and another who left his bass overnight in a well-known jazz club. So, it does happen. I have chained mine up, but I do worry about some helpful idiot trying to move it. Years ago, well before my time, there was a NYC bass players club where you paid dues and got the combination for locked basses at nightclubs, radio stations, theaters, etc.

I heard an anecdote of a bassist coming down the stairs of his NYC walk-up, leaving the bass on the sidewalk with no case, running up the stairs to get the rest of his stuff, coming back downstairs to the sidewalk to see his bass being compacted in the back of a garbage truck.