This guy wants to sit in...

[VincentGrim]

This is a wild concept to me. I'll usually let fellow musicians check out my gear after the show, but I don't think I could ever let someone I didn't know "sit in" and use my gear for a song or two. Like, not at any price point.

 

[FSGrind]

I don't really understand what could happen to it. It's not like you're playing an arena rock show, lol. You're playing covers in some VFW hall somewhere or something. Even if it was an arena rock show who cares, they're instruments that are supposed to be played. I had a guy in a band I played with once break a string during the first song of his set. He runs side stage & asks my bandmates if he can borrow my bass. They say yes, so he grabs it & comes back. I walk back into the venue to see this stranger playing my $3,000 bass & rocking the shag out with it. Was I annoyed? Nah. I just asked my band why he had it & they told me. IMO it was cool to hear the way that it sounded through his amp & to hear it out in the room. Also to see it played in front of 2,000 people was a treat, felt like both of us did the bass justice that night. Guy was very nice after his set.

 

[Bassosaurus]

Did a sub gig last night, corporate event. Brought a couple of my basses as I usually do, this time a couple of Brubaker customs; a KXB5 Custom and KXB6 Xtreme. BL approaches me on break and tells me a guy asked to sit in on bass and wants to use mine. This is on a tight stage, cymbals to my right, horn section's music stands to my left. I said if he's going to be responsible for a bass with a replacement cost of $6k or $8k, cool. Apparently it worked out that he wouldn't play. Cool.

This caught me off guard, it's been years since anyone's asked to do that. Next time, with an unknown player, I'll just say no.

Most of my gigs it wouldn't really be appropriate for someone to "sit in" but I did have a guy ask to play my guitar. Like the OP, it kind of caught me off guard and I thought about it (just unplugged on break) but then I could tell he was pretty drunk and all bets were off. I think if you don't know the person at all and it comes up out of the blue like that, the answer is sorry no.

 

[Dynacord]

I just hate being put on the spot like that by a BL (or other band member). It's a no win situation. Unless the bass player is somebody I already know, I'm not at all comfortable letting them use my gear and if I stand up for myself and say "no" it's easy to be perceived as an uptight jerk and the whole thing leave a residual mood that doesn't make playing music better.

Back when I first started out, we played at an outdoor event where all the local recording, touring and top level musicians were in attendance. These guys were all incredibly talented. We were out of our league, for sure, but we were pretty good.

...

I guess what I’m getting at here is, it doesn’t matter how nice the guy is, how famous the guy is, how talented the guy is—there is ALWAYS the possibility that something can happen to your bass.

Reminding me of a funny story - a guitar player I used to play with (RIP) who was older than me and was from NY recounted that the very first gig his first band did was in a bar in NYC in the late 60's and while they were playing, Jefferson Airplane - the whole band - came in after playing in Central Park and, after settling in, asked to sit in. In other words they used their gear and played a couple songs as JA. Nothing damaged. Decades later the guitar player meets Jack Casady - "You won't remember but you played through my amp years ago..." Casady: knowing look and "Sorry, man." (implication being he'd heard many similar stories before with less than happy endings)

 

[glocke1]

I don't really understand what could happen to it. It's not like you're playing an arena rock show, lol. You're playing covers in some VFW hall somewhere or something. Even if it was an arena rock show who cares, they're instruments that are supposed to be played. I had a guy in a band I played with once break a string during the first song of his set. He runs side stage & asks my bandmates if he can borrow my bass. They say yes, so he grabs it & comes back. I walk back into the venue to see this stranger playing my $3,000 bass & rocking the shag out with it. Was I annoyed? Nah. I just asked my band why he had it & they told me. IMO it was cool to hear the way that it sounded through his amp & to hear it out in the room. Also to see it played in front of 2,000 people was a treat, felt like both of us did the bass justice that night. Guy was very nice after his set.

Get back to us after your instrument suffers damage from someone who doesn't care as much about it as you.

Bandmates letting someone pick up and play your 3k instrument without running it by you? I'd be having a chat with them.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Depends on which bass. My fretless would cost $6000 to replace new. Not that bass.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

Breaking a string(s)...another concern.
I remember our drummer being handed back 2 broken sticks.

On the amp/cab thing...I have had somebody blow a speaker.

Jim,

I played a party gig years ago and a guy asked to sit in while I took a break. I knew him. Great player, so I said "yeah ok". He gets on stage with the band and they launch into a ten minute free form funk exploration, with sub slapping his arse off a'la Larry Graham. De-coned a speaker in my 4 x 10. You live and learn...

 

[Artman]

I don't really understand what could happen to it. It's not like you're playing an arena rock show, lol

When I was a teenager in my first band during the early eighties I was rocking out and quickly turned around to face the drummer which left a nice deep dent on the front of the headstock when my Gibson Grabber struck the edge of a cymbal. I learned a valuable lesson about spacial awareness that night.

When I got my second hand Pedulla in 1990, it had a big chip in the finish that had been poorly touched up on the face of it’s headstock. I immediately knew what had happened to it in it’s previous life. “Poor thing needs a good home” I thought. It’s been my main bass ever since.
No you may not play it.

 

[Old P Bass Guy]

Thank God.

Yeah they do, they just bring their own mouth pieces.

 

[BooDoggie]

Dang, just remembered the time I broke an E-string in a New Country band...the BL is a talker, so I am able to re-string...the bassist in the band before us takes my bass to retune & gives me his bass. When my bass is tuned, I just wave him off & finish the set with his.
He was very cool about it.
Tony Hawkins is his name. Thanks, man!

I've had almost the same thing happen once. The only time in 50 years I broke a bass string and the sound guy is a bass player with his Fender jazz sitting backstage. He brought me his bass and took mine backstage. He replaced the broken string with one from his spare set, tuned it and got it back to me before the next song... Great guy!!!

 

[turf3]

There's a big difference between a guy who's in the next band helping out because your instrument suddenly went south, and some guy coming up from the floor and whanging away on your axe. I hope you can all see the difference. I would probably loan my instrument to another musician whose instrument suddenly failed. Some random drunk guy, not so much. In the first case, what goes around comes around and someday he may be in a position to do something good for me. The second case, naaaahhhh.

 

[Wood and Wire]

There's a big difference between a guy who's in the next band helping out because your instrument suddenly went south, and some guy coming up from the floor and whanging away on your axe. I hope you can all see the difference. I would probably loan my instrument to another musician whose instrument suddenly failed. Some random drunk guy, not so much. In the first case, what goes around comes around and someday he may be in a position to do something good for me. The second case, naaaahhhh.

Even then...

I was hanging out with a hotly tipped indie band, for several hours before the show.

Really nice bunch of guys, excited to be in the UK, and building a reputation as a must see band, on the beginnings of a world tour - yet really humble, and fun to hang out with.

We get to the show, and they're in the middle of the billing, and have arranged to use the headliners back line.

By the end of their set, they had destroyed a brand new Ampeg, a JCM800, a couple of mics, a DI, and a stage box.

Ironically, the drummer was the only one who hadn't broken anything.

They just got really carried away, and put on a ferocious show.

The sound guy, and the headliners, were understandably very upset.

 

[zenrad]

Depends on the bass I brought to the gig. No one touches my Smith except me. If I know you, you can possibly play my Modulus but in all likelyhood if you don't have your own bass with you you'll get to use my backup Squier CV P bass (which is awesome in its own right).

I never ask to sit in. I bring my own bass when I know I'll be sitting in, and only will play someone else's bass when asked to do so by the bass player.

 

[b_carville]

I'm fussy about other players using my Wolf JB4.
It's not an expensive bass($399) but it would be damn near impossible to replace.What few new ones that are out there(not many!) have different electronics,etc. I'd have to light a candle & pray while staying on the internet hoping to get one like mine should anything happen to it!
I'm a dick about it!

 

[DaveDeVille]

I just hate being put on the spot like that by a BL. It's a no win situation.
Unless the bass player is somebody I already know, I'm not at all comfortable letting them use my gear ,
and if I stand up for myself and say "no" it's easy to be perceived as an uptight jerk and the whole thing leave a residual mood that doesn't make playing music better.

... agreed.
unless i know the other player , the answer is "no ".

 

[Bass Viking]

On flip side, I was sitting in for an opening gig with a band I've subbed regularly for, and the headliners asked to borrow our band's backline gear. The drummer and guitarist knew ahead of time and had agreed, but our band leader clearly stated that since I was just subbing and also didn't know about it, I had no obligation. I was a little uncomfortable with the situation and said so. The band leader had some discussion with the venue contact and the main band, and you know what we saw? Their bass player went right by us and got his bass amp out of the band's trailer. They were borrowing our gear simply because they didn't want to set up and tear down their own. Needless to say, our BL had more (and less diplomatic) words with the venue contact.

So you would have to wait around until the headliners finished to get your amp because they're a bunch of lazy bastards?!!!

 

[DJ Bebop]

I'm fussy about other players using my Wolf JB4.
It's not an expensive bass($399) but it would be damn near impossible to replace.What few new ones that are out there(not many!) have different electronics,etc. I'd have to light a candle & pray while staying on the internet hoping to get one like mine should anything happen to it!
I'm a dick about it!

Never heard of them before so I checked them out. Wow
Is this yours?
Invalid Link Removed

 

[fivestringgecko]

So you would have to wait around until the headliners finished to get your amp because they're a bunch of lazy bastards?!!!

Yessir. Would've meant having to stick around until 1:30-2:00a.m. and a 4th late night gig in a row on top of the day job... While their gear chilled in their trailer.

5sg.

 

[CaseyVancouver]

Did a sub gig last night, corporate event. Brought a couple of my basses as I usually do, this time a couple of Brubaker customs; a KXB5 Custom and KXB6 Xtreme. BL approaches me on break and tells me a guy asked to sit in on bass and wants to use mine. This is on a tight stage, cymbals to my right, horn section's music stands to my left. I said if he's going to be responsible for a bass with a replacement cost of $6k or $8k, cool. Apparently it worked out that he wouldn't play. Cool.

This caught me off guard, it's been years since anyone's asked to do that. Next time, with an unknown player, I'll just say no.

Tune your bass in fifths and ain’t nobody gonna sit in.
Speaking of bandleaders, I played a corporate gig recently where space was a problem. An employee carelessly rushing around, amazingly, bashed my bass on the break. The band leader? He APOLOGIZED TO THE GUY. I’m pissed and couldn’t believe what just happened. This particular bl is a complete idiot.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Tune your bass in fifths and ain’t nobody gonna sit in.
Speaking of bandleaders, I played a corporate gig recently where space was a problem. An employee carelessly rushing around, amazingly, bashed my bass on the break. The band leader? He APOLOGIZED TO THE GUY. I’m pissed and couldn’t believe what just happened. This particular bl is a complete idiot.

Or like Glen Moore used to do, low C, A, D, high C
Btw I have a bass tuned in fifths, just so you know if I show up on your gig