I have a gig this weekend, playing an outdoor festival. It's on the beach, right next to the Atlantic Ocean. We play at 1pm. It's an hour-long set. My Overwater is my #1 bass, but it is very expensive. I was thinking of playing it for this festival, but I am not sure how I feel about taking it out in direct sunlight and with all that corrosive salt air at the beach. Granted, I also have a fairly inexpensive p-bass that would probably work. But it's a good gig & I'd like to have my best gear on-hand. Would you play your best bass in that environment? _____________ UPDATE: In case anyone is curious... game day decision, the weather was calling for a high of 78, 0% chance of precipitation & a light ocean breeze. Plus, the stage was covered. I played the Overwater. Great set. {}
No. Now, I'm a proponent of USING the "good stuff". But I've also played a zillion shows on the Mid-Atlantic coast. On the beach? Mid day? You'll need sunblock. That calls for a thick poly finish (Trust me on that.) Sweat. Sand. Salt. High temps. Sharks. Boat drinks that can be spilled by drunk people suffering from heat stroke. It's the perfect storm. Grab the P bass for this one show. I have never played a festival and had ANYONE say "Why is that guy playing a P bass?" It'll do just fine. If it were NEAR the beach, or at night, or indoors at the beach (removing one or more of the environmental concrens) I would say go for it.
While I don't know much about Overwater basses, I do know that salt air is not your basses friend. So, my counter question would be; just how much is this gig paying? Also, chances are the P bass will get the job done and likely be simpler to repair if there are any ill effects.
Yeah, my p-bass is nice. But, the Overwater is my main gigging bass... plus, it's a five-string, which would be really nice to have on a couple of tunes. But I have no hesitancy bringing the precision. It's a beast. Just not my first choice. I guess I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid about the beach, salt air & sun.
Nope. Why would you play a bass worth thousands at any gig? Risking scratches, dents, dings, getting stolen...no thanks. Only way I would ever gig an expensive bass was if I was playing arenas and had a personal guitar tech babying my gear. Find a nice, used MIM Femder for $300 and gig that, or use your existing P on gigs
This is why I have a nicely set up Squier 5 on hand for times I dont want to take my expensive main player. I've played at Seahawks games when its thirty-something out, sprinkling out, and 5 hour wedding day in mid-day sun.
It's really up to you. Probably most of the nastiness the bass will encounter will be sweat dripping from you. If you want to keep the bass nice, either leave it at home or plan on doing some major detailing to clean it up after the gig. Sweat, salt, sand, and sun screen can be pretty rough on an instrument if not removed. I suggest you make sure and wipe down the bass real well before you put it in the case, otherwise all the gross stuff will be transferred back to the bass after you clean it. I gigged a Yamaha TRB6P for 13+ years. It didn't have many dings in the finish but the hardware was a bit rough due to many outdoor gigs with rain and sweat where the bass got put away wet and dirty. When the musicians function as sound crew, roadies, drivers, etc, the instruments don't tend to get babied as well as they should, especially when a storm blows in mid set, and you have to pack and load 7,000lbs in the rain.
Good lord, it’s only an hour. That’s NOT going to hurt the the bass. You pay all that money you’d BETTER go play it. Life is too short to be all precious about this kind of occasional situation. Want to buy something expensive you won’t be a dweeb for leaving at home? Get a really nice boutique couch.
So a guy owns nice Rolls Royce and a Chevy Cruze and wants to go to the beach, which car should he take?