Double Bass Sometimes it pays to be cautious.

[Chuck M]

I played last night at a venue where I have an amp. I used my Thompson hybrid which has a Realist PU. I used a Fishman Model B preamp. Everything worked just fine and sounded great.

I have a gig today and plan to use my new Fender Rumble 100. I had the Fender in the garage and decided to bring it in the house and play through it to be certain it will sound good. I plugged it in and....nothing!

I played with the controls on the Fishman and got....nothing. I disconnected the cable from the Fishman and could hear that the amp was working. Took the Fishman to my practice room and measured the battery voltage. It was okay. I plugged an electric bass into the Fishman and went into my practice amp and got.....you guessed it...nothing.

So I put some Deoxit 5 on a Q-tip and cleaned the connectors and then it worked as it should. It is crazy that I used it last night with no hint of a problem and then this morning it does not work. I was never a boy scout but their motto of "Be prepared" is a good one. I am so glad I saved myself from having to deal with a problem at the start of a gig.

Anal that I am, I also have a Sans Amp Acoustic DI and put it in my goodie bag just in case I should need it. Yeah, I tested it too.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I always do a last check of equipment before I pack, and a final idiot check to make sure everything is packed before and after a gig.

 

[Chuck M]

I once got distracted by someone as I was loading my cart and left my bass head at a venue in the rough part of town. They were closed when I got home and discovered the head was missing so I was there when they opened the next day and the head was right where I had left it. I dodged a bullet that time. I do the same as you after a gig. I look to be certain I have everything that needs to go to the car and then go through a mental checklist as I begin my drive home.

It gets worse as you get older. If you are over 65 you know what I mean.

 

[Jefenator]

After having a Speakon plug go intermittent on me a few weeks ago, I think I'm going to work a little more tech time into my routine, inspecting cleaning and/or tightening some of those critical connections I usually take for granted.
And carry more spares...
If your preamp had gone dead on the gig, you would have probably gotten it going again, just by putting in your spare 9v (or just reinstalling the old one after checking it).
And of course you can always run straight in to the amp in a pinch. If not quite as natural & full, it will of course sound infinitely better than no signal at all.

 

[Chuck M]

I used the Fishman preamp yesterday and it worked perfectly. That old design is still a great sounding preamp and I appreciate having tone and volume controls on the bass. I clip the Fishman to my bow quiver.

I did carry a spare battery and another preamp just in case.

 

[fdeck]

I never assume that I packed everything correctly at the last gig. Also, I keep a bag of spares in my car. Over 40+ years of playing, my most common gear failure mode has been forgetting something.