What's in your Gig Bag?

[Acoop]

Aguilar 350, Radial Bassbone, TC tuner pedal, SM 58 mic, cables; 2x15' 1/4", 20' XLR, 2x Speakons, 10' 3-plug in extension cord and a bloody glove, to prove I mean business.

 

[JimB52]

Used to be a bunch of stuff other people might need. Now it's a tuner, TAScaM DR-8 recorder, a couple of picks, a rag and a spare 18' instrument cable.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Seems a lot of people call their utility bag a gig bag- what do you guys call the bag you keep your bass in then?

 

[Charlzm]

I use my Line 6 Bass POD XTLive multiFX unit bag as my gig bag as well since it has a generous pocket.

Instrument-to-FX cable
FX-to-amp cable
Power adapter for FX
Power cord for amp
A few picks

No spare battery? My basses are passive or active/passive, so if a 9V dies in a bass during a show, it's not that big a deal.
No spare tubes? My amp has a tube pre section and, if a tube should start doing something naughty, I can bypass it.
No spare strings? I have only ever broken one bass string on a gig in many, many years, so I stopped bringing spare strings. Besides, I usually bring two basses, so...
Bass straps? One each in both bass HSCs.
No tuner? Built into the Line 6.

Yeah, traveling light and living dangerously.

 

[bassbrad]

In the past I have carried extensive backup kits but these days it has pared down to pretty bare essentials.
In my gig bag there is a multi tool for adjusting the bass, a used set of strings, a 9v battery, extra ear plugs, a towel, 10' cable.
Everything else is in my effects bag.

 

[PlatoFunFactory]

Most of the good stuff has been covered but two things I haven't seen that have been very valuable to me:

• Sunscreen, for those outdoor shows where you don't want to go home pink on one side
• A door stop, because I've played too many venues where there was nothing to hold the door open for load-in.

 

[zachoff]

Backpack, no gig bag but...

3x 20' instrument cable. 2x6' 1/4" to 1/4" speaker cable. 1x 6' 1/4" to speakon speaker cable, Shure SM58, 6' mic cable, 9V adapter for my pedalboard power supply, picks, sharpie, tools (allen wrenches, screwdrivers), spare strings, power strip, gaffer tape, old setlists, XLR->1/4" adapter, earplugs, wristband, extra pedalboard connector cables, extra pedalboard power supply cables... Missing something, I'm sure. If I lost my backpack, I'd cry.

 

[dbase]

I forgot one more thing.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

you didn't read that right for some of it, I clearly did mention a power cable ..I forgot to mention that I do have a speaker cable ...I wish I had a cordless amp, space aged stuff there huh?

Well, I figured if there was no speaker cable mentioned and only one power cable mentioned...

Hmm - cordless amp - the PowerWallofSound? Pile of Lithium batteries, ought to be do-able. Set it up to charge off an electric-car charger, lose a lot of heavy power supply parts. It Could Work!

 

[Jimmy4string]

@dbase
I have actually been to some venues where that would come in handy!

 

[2cooltoolz]

Gig Bag?

I carry several gig bags.
Bass bag: pockets filled with Samsung tablet, page flip, portable battery, and charging cable
Stand bag: filled with...uuh, you know
Effects/pedal board bag: The obvious, plus several testers, spare cables, etc.

But I assume you meant this:

 

[Nephilymbass]

I only have the q4 since about two years and have recorded many gigs with it. I was a bit disappointed regarding the picture quality, too. But the settings are very important. If you don't get decent results at daylight or at a bright stage, most likely the settings are wrong! It is not as sharp or bright as an iPhone 7 cam, but not much worse. The Q8 should be a bit better than my Q4.

I’ve been messing with the settings trying to make the picture better. It doesn’t seem help that much. It’s either too dark or too grainy looking at dark shows. In regular lighting I think it works fine but the fish eye effect does make everyone look fat lol

 

[Christine]

Screwdriver
Allen keys
multi tool
spare 6M cable
Spare strings
Winder
Tissues
Makeup
Spare stockings
Bottle of water filled with Gin and tonic
Bottle of water
Snark tuner (and spare batteries after they went dead on me the other month)
Cloths for wiping down my basses after the gig

 

[Waytootrue]

If I had a dollar for every time my bass started helicoptering on me 'cause of a bad patch cable, I'd be able to buy nicer patch cables.

 

[Biggbass]

cables
capo
pick holder
picks
cables
strings
string winder
pliers
multi driver
iKlip
Drink holder
IEM buds
batteries
tubes
fuses

 

[edencab]

many people (including me) seem to carry an extra set of strings....I know one friend who broke bass string 20 odd years ago, I never have and never really heard of it

....anybody else actually break a string.... I guess some guys who dig in really hard might ....better safe than sorry

....just curious

 

[Michedelic]

Turkey sandwitch
Instant coffee
The latest issue of swank magazine
9volts

Swank? They're still print publishing that?

 

[dbsfgyd1]

My Resmed bag makes a great gig bag.
Ingredients are:
Tascam recorder with clamps,
Wind screen,
Backup battery pack,
A/C cord,
2 Shure microphones,
Microphone Cables.
Power strip,
Spare speaker cables,
Remote control for lights,
Spare Instrument cable,
Wireless modules for my bass
Spare set of strings.
Assorted plugs
View attachment 3118687

Well, my pile is never that neat..but...

Towel, hair brush, comb and nail clippers (so much for personal care items)
Tascam recorder, two guitar cables, two sets of speaker cables. Two sets of patch cable for pedals.
Kit box/w two transformers, WTDI, Boss Chromatic Tuner
iPad Pro, Air Tune Notebook Holder, AirTune pedal to turn pages
Assorted connectors and adaptors
50ft heavy duty extension chord, outlet strip.
Plus stuff I haven’t seen or needed for years,
and some things I’m sure I don’t want to see for years

 

[TonyP-]

Swank? They're still print publishing that?

I have 187 separate issues of Swank...

 

[1bassleft]

Seems a lot of people call their utility bag a gig bag- what do you guys call the bag you keep your bass in then?

Fair point. My gig bag also functions for any full band rehearsal/songwriting sessions. I have basses in 'gig' bags, but my bass for the night is in a HSC and the backup is carted naked. Ironically, the basses in gig bags stay in the house.

many people (including me) seem to carry an extra set of strings....I know one friend who broke bass string 20 odd years ago, I never have and never really heard of it

....anybody else actually break a string.... I guess some guys who dig in really hard might ....better safe than sorry

....just curious

Apols, I think I've written this before in an old thread. When I only had one bass, I always carried a least one spare set. It never happened to me, but on a 3-band night the opening band's bassist snapped his A. He opened my case, which contained a lefty, and the third band's, which contained an unlined fretless. His face was priceless. He owes me more than an A string.