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Survival kit for gigging bassists!

#61
While I don't have a steady gig, I do have an old blood glucose meter case that has several small velcro and zippered pouches.

I keep several spare picks, all the Allen wrenches for my Schecter, a Phillips/flat head multi screwdriver I got at Walmart for a couple bucks (it's pencil style), a 9 volt, an extra set of 10-32 bolts (4x), and a hand held tuner.

It conveniently fits in the small compartment of my gig bag and in any of the compartments on my hardshell case perfectly!

If things change, I'd definitely add super glue, band aids, and antacids.
 
#62
wow. here's in my 1 1/4 ft. wide gig bag: strings, 9v batteries, long nose pliers, cutter, ear plugs, patch cables, screwdriver, allen wrench, masking tape, adapter plugs, band aid (for wounded fingers), picks (if wounded finger with band aid cant play anymore), pill for diarrhea, paper, strap, tuner, DI, noise gate, extra shirt, rag, paper, tambourine, sharpie and fast fret.
 
#65
You guys are overdoing it.

I have:

. flat screwdriver to adjust my neck
. new set of strings
. string winder / clipper
. electrical tape
. extra picks
. extra ear plugs (one is in my gig bag, the other in my amp head bag)

That's it. No need to overdo it, seriously.

I also bring a backup bass, even if I leave it in the car. Easier to change bass than string.
 
#67
One would think that a guy gigging pedals and at least one active bass would carry around a few 9v batteries........

NickInMesa said:
You guys are overdoing it.

I have:

. flat screwdriver to adjust my neck
. new set of strings
. string winder / clipper
. electrical tape
. extra picks
. extra ear plugs (one is in my gig bag, the other in my amp head bag)

That's it. No need to overdo it, seriously.

I also bring a backup bass, even if I leave it in the car. Easier to change bass than string.
Click to expand...
 
#68
Wow, you guys carry a TON of stuff! I just ordered a 1U rack drawer which I plan to fill up with "survival" type stuff, but there is no way I'm carrying as much as most of you do. Probably super glue, spare 9v batteries, allen wrenches, screwdriver, spare strings, maybe a fuse.
That's it.

I usually keep a spare amp in the car, though.
 
#69
guy n. cognito said:
One would think that a guy gigging pedals and at least one active bass would carry around a few 9v batteries........
Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I have a pedal carry bag, and I have extra patch cords, extra cord, XLR, batteries in this one, but I use one of those dairy chain power adapters from GC that everyone seems to have these days.

I am thinking about carrying a spare of that.

9V batteries are too expensive and never seem to last.
 
#71
NickInMesa said:
Now that you mention it, I have a pedal carry bag, and I have extra patch cords, extra cord, XLR, batteries in this one, but I use one of those dairy chain power adapters from GC that everyone seems to have these days.

I am thinking about carrying a spare of that.

9V batteries are too expensive and never seem to last.
Click to expand...

Overdoing it, indeed.......
 
#73
ADVIL LIQUID GEL CAPS... I don't often need them; I can't function without them if the need arises.

I'm lucky because there's a tech on one of my gigs. Plus, the drummer on that gig has OCD, so he has a pretty nicely stocked emergency kit. We're doubly covered there.

When I do some jobbing outside of that gig, I bring one extra patch cable, a 12 pack of 9V batteries (for the X2), and two basses. My rig has tons of redundancy built in. If the amp goes down, I can go direct. If a pedal doesn't act normal, I take it out of the signal chain. If a bass screws up, I grab the other one. If someone else's gear screws up, it's on them.

The rhythm guitar player on the gig with the tech has been having chronic gear problems... bad cables, loose jacks, noisy tubes. He's finally getting his shyte together because, well, he's been (nicely) told to get on it. I rarely have anything go terribly wrong with any of my gear because as soon as anything acts up, I deal with it right away, but on my time not on the band's time.
 
#74
I've got what my band calls the "magic bag". There are actually two of them.

Magic bag #1 goes into the gig with me:
- All cables necessary for my rig
- 20' power extension cord
- Power strip
- Spare instrument cable
- Spare power cable
- Spare 50' XLR cable
- Spare strap
- Spare bass & guitar strings
- Lots of 9V batteries
- Leatherman multi-tool with wire cutters, used mainly for the screwdriver and wire cutters
- Gaffer's tape
- Spare SM57 with mic clip
- Clif snack bars

Magic bag #2 stays in the car
- Spare 50' speaker cables
- Spare headphone cables
- Spare headphones
- Random collection of cables - XLR, 1/4", phono, etc.

Also in the trunk of the car is a spare mic stand.

I can't count the number of times that a gig has been saved by something in the magic bag. Yeah, it's a lot of stuff, but it's not so bad to carry around. Magic bag #1 is a backpack and magic bag #2 is a smallish duffel bag. Most of what I carry is spares for everything that has gone wrong for me at a gig in the past, with a couple extra things thrown in to be nice, like the guitar strings.

I'm a big believer in backups though. I refuse to have a gig go bad because of me. Heck, I actually carry 2 basses and 2-4 potential signal paths with me to every gig. At minimum, I've got a Pod X3 and a direct box. At most, I've got the Pod X3, direct box, DI out from my preamp, and using my amp to carry FOH. As long as I have my amp OR the PA working, bass will be heard in the crowd.
 
#80
You guys forgot two fundamental items.
A nail clipper. Ever tried to play with long nails ? Nightmare.
Soap. A small container of liquid soap to wash hands and remove grease and dirt from load in.
Paper tape. Ideal to write the channel strip on it if you do your own sounds on the mixer.
 
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