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Never again!

I once broke my 'E' string at a wedding gig... it happened to be the one time that I didn't have an extra pack in my bag, even though I (almost) always have one. :banghead::rage:

I ended up calling every musician that I know who owns a bass and then driving like a madman across town and back to borrow one so that I could complete the performance. Talk about a nightmare!
 
I always bring a back up bass. 10 years ago I had a bass's volume pot internally short out and the bass had zero output.
Fortunately another bassist on the bill for the show lent me his bass. Since then I always shlept a back up bass.
Needless to say, I've never had a failure of a bass happen since then. I have broken a few strings during a performance
but it wasn't and issue since I had my backup with me.
 
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Trunk drummer needs beer people!
drivercat.jpg
 
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I've been a gigging bass player for almost 20 years. Before yesterday, I'd never had a piece of gear fail on me at a show. Never even broken a string, honestly. I typically only bring one bass with me, and trust that things will work as they should. Never again! My bass started crackling at my gig yesterday, then completely stopped working. Fortunately, it was at the end of the set, and there was a piano at the venue so we finished up with some songs I play keys on. Still, it was very embarrassing and I will be bringing a backup bass to every gig I do from now on! Also a bag with extra cables, strings, and my DI/preamp in case something unexpected happens. You gotta be prepared for anything, as I learned the hard way yesterday!
I hate swapping out basses and bring one bass to gigs under protest, and I hate hearing stories like this. A broken string I can fix quickly. Broken wiring, not so much. OK, you talked me into it...some gigs I can't help but to bring only one, but after hearing this, on most of my gigs I'm going to start bringing a second one that sits in the bag. Got an old Levy's double bag with a broken pocket zipper, at least.
 
You went 20 years with no issues and, after a single incident, you're going to bring an extra bass, cables/ strings, preamp and DI :cautious:
It was a battery in your active bass wasn't it? ;)

In over 50 years I had one bass fail me once. The battery clip for the 9 volt broke. Strings I’ve broke strings a plenty, but always have spares on hand. It’s been 50 years since I’ve had an amp or speaker failure. I do take a spare head with me, but never an extra bass. Maybe I should take your advice...