Lending out a bass rig is like letting someone use your underwear. Maybe a real good friend with an extremely serious personal problem........
And what kind of friend would ask?
And what kind of friend would ask?
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People wanting to use your rig
- Thread starter Mantis Tobaggan
- Start date
The last time i loaned a rig out, the amp came back blown and half of the speaker ( 8x10 ) were blown as well. Never again.
Many years ago The Animals toured New Zealand and the promoter contacted me asking if the bass player could use my rig for the local shows as I had what he specified (it would have been either top of the line SWR or Ampeg SVT/coffin at the time, I can't remember). I was offered a free ticket and the opportunity to meet the band in return. I politely declined, much to everyone's surprise. Never thought twice about it, never regretted it. Cool band, but peace of mind and keeping my gear as I would like it always comes first.
Back in the 80's a friend of mine played a GK800RB into a BIG Peavey cab and a HF box of some kind). Great sounding rig. His band was opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were just getting really big. He agreed to let Flea use his rig. RHCP's techs hooked it up the wrong way (I think they sent the lows to the HF speaker and vice versa). Sounded fine in the house, but his cabinet was blown. The Peppers were long gone by the time he found out of course. Welcome to the big time. 
I learned from HIS mistake, maybe OP should too...
I learned from HIS mistake, maybe OP should too...
If it's someone I know and trust, no problem.
Otherwise, I have no trouble saying "No thank you"...
Otherwise, I have no trouble saying "No thank you"...
Friend of a friend (or bandmate). No. If I had a junker backup rig, maybe that but I wouldn't drive to go get it for them. They're showing a callous disregard for you and your stuff that should be a red flag.
I would find out what the rental prices are for the same type rig... jack up the price by 50%, then say... "or you can rent from the local back line rental place."
You need to discuss the "what if's", like what happens if it returns broken.
You will need to have a firm understanding that
1) they pickup
2) test before leaving.
3) they return
4) test on return
That the singer friend in between will take personal responsibility.
You will need to have a firm understanding that
1) they pickup
2) test before leaving.
3) they return
4) test on return
That the singer friend in between will take personal responsibility.
I have no issues with other bassists using my rig as long as I'm present. I for one enjoy hearing other people play through my amp, it gives a good perspective of how it sounds in the room, and if they break it, they buy it. Simple. That being said, I'm not loaning my stuff to anyone for use out of my sight unless they're a good friend of mine that I really trust. So far, the situation has yet to come up because I tend to have trustworthy and responsible friends.
Don't do it.
My drummer sometimes does one off gigs with another bass player and guitar player, which I have no problem with (I know both guys, we're not really friends, but I know them). A couple of years ago, they were doing one of these shows and his bass player needed a cab. My drummer asked me if this guy could borrow one of my spare cabs. I said no problem, but it's at a friends place several miles outside of the city—I jam with this friend of mine on occasion, and also taught his son how to play bass, so I left my spare rig there for the jams and for his son to use on a long term basis. I said that he had to arrange with my buddy to pick the cab up, and to return it when he was finished with it. This triggered a series of telephone calls with my drummer and his bass player trying to convince me to deliver the cab. Each call ended with me saying no. You want it, you go and get it (this should have been a red flag). They finally manage to work something out to pick up the cab themselves.
The gig is done. About a week later, I get a call from my buddy asking me if I'm going to bring the cab back for his son to use. I said, ahhhh, the guy didn't return it yet? Nope. So I get on the phone to my drummer and ask him why the cab hasn't been returned. I'm informed that his bass player has it at his house, and he's waiting for me to come and pick it up. I say, uh, no, that wasn't the deal, you guys were supposed to return it to the same place that you picked it up from soon after the gig. He tells me he's going to call the bass player. This telephone game goes on for a couple of weeks... at some point I call my drummer to ask him what the hell's going on, and he tells me that his bassist had another friend pick the cab up a few days before, and he was supposed to deliver it, so as far as the bass player is concerned the matter is out of his hands. I flip. I have no idea who this other person is or where he lives, and he's had my cab at his place for about a week. At some point, I realized that if I din't go and get the cab, I was never going to see it again. It took me a while to squeeze this stranger's address out of my drummer through his bass player. So I head over to the stranger's apartment... the door's open and my cab is sitting right there in plain view of anyone passing by... I ring the doorbell... no response... I bang on the door... no response... so I walk in... the place is a mess, the guy's a drug dealer and he's completely zonked on his couch... either in a deep sleep or a drug induced coma!! So I just picked up my cab, left the door open, and split—and took it back to my buddy's place.
I was livid! I called my drummer and blew his face in, which he in turn passed along to his bass player—to no avail—the guy just didn't give a crap.
About six months later, guess what? Yup. I get a call asking if the same guy can borrow my cab again!! I can't really print what my response was here, but use your imagination, and insert as many swear words as you can come up with... you'll probably be pretty close.
So, uh, yeah. Don't do it.
My drummer sometimes does one off gigs with another bass player and guitar player, which I have no problem with (I know both guys, we're not really friends, but I know them). A couple of years ago, they were doing one of these shows and his bass player needed a cab. My drummer asked me if this guy could borrow one of my spare cabs. I said no problem, but it's at a friends place several miles outside of the city—I jam with this friend of mine on occasion, and also taught his son how to play bass, so I left my spare rig there for the jams and for his son to use on a long term basis. I said that he had to arrange with my buddy to pick the cab up, and to return it when he was finished with it. This triggered a series of telephone calls with my drummer and his bass player trying to convince me to deliver the cab. Each call ended with me saying no. You want it, you go and get it (this should have been a red flag). They finally manage to work something out to pick up the cab themselves.
The gig is done. About a week later, I get a call from my buddy asking me if I'm going to bring the cab back for his son to use. I said, ahhhh, the guy didn't return it yet? Nope. So I get on the phone to my drummer and ask him why the cab hasn't been returned. I'm informed that his bass player has it at his house, and he's waiting for me to come and pick it up. I say, uh, no, that wasn't the deal, you guys were supposed to return it to the same place that you picked it up from soon after the gig. He tells me he's going to call the bass player. This telephone game goes on for a couple of weeks... at some point I call my drummer to ask him what the hell's going on, and he tells me that his bassist had another friend pick the cab up a few days before, and he was supposed to deliver it, so as far as the bass player is concerned the matter is out of his hands. I flip. I have no idea who this other person is or where he lives, and he's had my cab at his place for about a week. At some point, I realized that if I din't go and get the cab, I was never going to see it again. It took me a while to squeeze this stranger's address out of my drummer through his bass player. So I head over to the stranger's apartment... the door's open and my cab is sitting right there in plain view of anyone passing by... I ring the doorbell... no response... I bang on the door... no response... so I walk in... the place is a mess, the guy's a drug dealer and he's completely zonked on his couch... either in a deep sleep or a drug induced coma!! So I just picked up my cab, left the door open, and split—and took it back to my buddy's place.
I was livid! I called my drummer and blew his face in, which he in turn passed along to his bass player—to no avail—the guy just didn't give a crap.
About six months later, guess what? Yup. I get a call asking if the same guy can borrow my cab again!! I can't really print what my response was here, but use your imagination, and insert as many swear words as you can come up with... you'll probably be pretty close.
So, uh, yeah. Don't do it.
Just tell him no. And if you want to be a nice guy, and all bass players are nice guys, let him know tonight so he has advance notice to find a rig for the show. Keep the groove.
I've loaned amps twice, both times to bass players whom I was acquainted with. Long stories that I won't go into now, but the end results both times were that after the second "event" I no longer let anyone use my bass or amp, period.
A bassist who shows up to a scheduled gig without their amp (unless there is a house amp) - or especially a bass - deserve zero respect, IMO. In the 40+ years I've been gigging on bass that has happened to me several times. The only string that ever broke on one of my basses was done by an idiot I loaned my bass to at a gig that the band I was in was headlining....who broke a string on HIS bass. I should have known better.
The amp stories had endings that were much worse and more expensive to fix.
A bassist who shows up to a scheduled gig without their amp (unless there is a house amp) - or especially a bass - deserve zero respect, IMO. In the 40+ years I've been gigging on bass that has happened to me several times. The only string that ever broke on one of my basses was done by an idiot I loaned my bass to at a gig that the band I was in was headlining....who broke a string on HIS bass. I should have known better.
The amp stories had endings that were much worse and more expensive to fix.
Thank you for the offer to borrow. No. Thank you. You'll have to make other arrangements.
(No is a complete sentence and the rest are just polite words to fulfill "niceties")
(No is a complete sentence and the rest are just polite words to fulfill "niceties")
God no. I don't even let another person touch my gear. One band practice, I hand my bass to the singer for a minute and he manages to put a chip in the body. People who aren't used to gear will inevitably screw up, such as guitarists not paying attention to the headstock sticking out way further, causing it to bang into things.
This... but only if you trust the guys using it. I have no problems saying no. There is less than a handfull of folks that I will loan my gear to. I have learned the hard way that while most people are decent folks who will treat your gear like theirs .. too many will not and the cost of finding out who these folks are is too high.
The new rig? No way.
