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"Must have" equipment for a bass player?
- Thread starter Frettage
- Start date
if your stuff doesn't have casters, then a hand truck or wheel board may also be handy
don't underestimate the value of good transportation!
don't underestimate the value of good transportation!
yes - yes - yes... These are even among my essentials for practice with the gang, since my drummer is still hittin' them things and I'm parked next to him.
Also agree big time with the idea of carrying extra cables, both instrument and speaker types. I've certainly had them go kerflooey on me at shows in the past.
Other items that I like to remember for the gigs:
Duct tape
Towel - not too small, not too big (super handy!)
Leatherman tool or a small set of tools
Small Flashlight - borderline essential
Pens and paper to write on/with - notes on set list, phone #'s...
Spare batteries for active bass
Recently occurred to me that I should put one of those little quart sized fire extinguishers in my milk crate of stuff. Anyone?
A hand cart to carry it. Whatever "it" is. I remember thinking when I decided to spend $25 on my cart from Home Depot: "Why did I lug around my gear without one of these for all these years?" Now I'm not sweaty or have a tired back before I've played even a single note, and I can save my energy for the stage, and it makes my load-out so much nicer too.
I agree with this. Playing in NYC though, I had to go through a lot of house rigs, which meant getting used to the idea of my sound coming from my instrument primary. It sure saved me a lot of trouble getting to the gigs though. All I needed to bring to some gigs was my bass, and a cable.
YOu sir, are a seasoned gigging veteran for sure.
+5 on the earplugs. I lost the hearing in my left ear for a week after a particularly loud gig. I was lucky -- I had it tested later at an audiologist and I had no permanent damage. After that... earplugs or in-ears for EVERY GIG AND REHEARSAL!!!!
1. Acoustic Bass
2. Metronome
If you can learn how to make this sound good you'll sound like a $1,000,000 when you play an electric bass with a drummer. You'll also really enjoy having an acoustic around no matter how much other equipment you end up with. The metronome is the most important thing however.
2. Metronome
If you can learn how to make this sound good you'll sound like a $1,000,000 when you play an electric bass with a drummer. You'll also really enjoy having an acoustic around no matter how much other equipment you end up with. The metronome is the most important thing however.
A DI. Yes, your amp probably has a good DI, but if the amp fails, you have nothing. And a DI is *much* lighter than a second amp 
The obvious stuff has been mentioned, so I'll add:
fingernail clippers.
Also, I'm a geek, so I carry an inexpensive multimeter. It's good for testing the house power receptacles, checking cables, testing batteries, etc.
I'm big on spares. I have a backup for any item that would be required to get through the gig. That includes instrument, cabinet, cables, strings, batteries, straps, and amp. As mentioned above, the backup for the bass amp may be a DI into the PA, but that will still let me finish the gig should my rig fail.
fingernail clippers.
Also, I'm a geek, so I carry an inexpensive multimeter. It's good for testing the house power receptacles, checking cables, testing batteries, etc.
I'm big on spares. I have a backup for any item that would be required to get through the gig. That includes instrument, cabinet, cables, strings, batteries, straps, and amp. As mentioned above, the backup for the bass amp may be a DI into the PA, but that will still let me finish the gig should my rig fail.
i agree. i just bought my acoustic a few weeks ago and really cant live without playing it every few days at least. and also just got a metronome app for my iPhone so all is good
I dont know if it's a "must have" but I think the Bass VT is a very valuable tool that I'd be carrying in my gig bag (together with a power supply) anytime I go jamming or reharshaing.
I would like to add a stringwinder: makes detuning and tuning up SO much faster when you're either changing strings or doing intonation work.
Oh, and get a good, solid flightcase; sooner or later you'll bump into something with that precious bass of yours.
Oh, and get a good, solid flightcase; sooner or later you'll bump into something with that precious bass of yours.
for road travel:
extra strings
condoms
small electric tea pot
one impenetrably dense book you've always promised yourself to read
sheet music of bach 2-part inventions, so you can eventually learn both parts simultaneously.
extra strings
condoms
small electric tea pot
one impenetrably dense book you've always promised yourself to read
sheet music of bach 2-part inventions, so you can eventually learn both parts simultaneously.
Must have my own bass, in it's case with strap, good leads, tuner, DI and decent amp (if not using my Markbass). If not my own bass then someone else's bass that is GOOD, not something with 2 year old strings that cost $100 from a second hand shop... these are must have's for me, cannot gig without them.
What I need (but aren't completely essential) are spare strings, spare 9v batteries, spare leads, bass stand and my BDDI or equivalent (PBDR). With these I can comfortably do a gig knowing if things go awry I can still function.
Like someone said previously it depends on what you do. When I record all I really need is my bass (check intonation and action before the session), tuner, leads (I like to bring my own just to be sure) and I'll bring my BDDI just in case they have a second rate DI (like a Behringer). Bringing my amp is important but half the time I just DI anyway (though the last session I used both amp and DI into two seperate channels).
What I need (but aren't completely essential) are spare strings, spare 9v batteries, spare leads, bass stand and my BDDI or equivalent (PBDR). With these I can comfortably do a gig knowing if things go awry I can still function.
Like someone said previously it depends on what you do. When I record all I really need is my bass (check intonation and action before the session), tuner, leads (I like to bring my own just to be sure) and I'll bring my BDDI just in case they have a second rate DI (like a Behringer). Bringing my amp is important but half the time I just DI anyway (though the last session I used both amp and DI into two seperate channels).
