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Why bring a backup?

#81
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of people who do/don't bring a backup, and how many play/played an instrument other than some form of guitar.

I use to play sax, a much more mechanically complex instrument than the bass. I don't know of any sax players (except doublers) who bring a second instrument. And it's generally not likely a member of the audience will just happen to have a tenor sax on them :D

However, this thread has been useful since it got me to finally get off my butt and order spare fuses for my amp. The one amp has a weird size I can't get anywhere.
 
#84
seanm said:
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of people who do/don't bring a backup, and how many play/played an instrument other than some form of guitar.

I use to play sax, a much more mechanically complex instrument than the bass. I don't know of any sax players (except doublers) who bring a second instrument. And it's generally not likely a member of the audience will just happen to have a tenor sax on them :D

However, this thread has been useful since it got me to finally get off my butt and order spare fuses for my amp. The one amp has a weird size I can't get anywhere.
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The only horn players I know who bring more than one of any instrument are playing more than one different horn. Our sax player brings a tenor and a bari. One of each. Otherwise they bring one instrument, and I can't think of one instance where they brought more. I'm not saying that as a reason not to bring a backup, but as a statement of fact.
 
#85
near the tail end of the Dead's second set at the beacon theater, june '76, phil lesh broke a string on the Ultrabass and parish brought out the Godfather bass. it was my first dead show, and i was really glad to see both superior, legendary instruments there together, if even for a moment.
 
#86
JimmyM said:
The only horn players I know who bring more than one of any instrument are playing more than one different horn. Our sax player brings a tenor and a bari. One of each. Otherwise they bring one instrument, and I can't think of one instance where they brought more. I'm not saying that as a reason not to bring a backup, but as a statement of fact.
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I don't know about your band, maybe sax is the main instrument, but in most bands I've seen you can do without a sax a lot easier than without a bass. Bass ties everything together and creates the groove. If you lose that the band is done. With sax if you have guitar or keyboard to take up the slack you will be ok if you lose the sax.
 
#87
I never bring a backup bass. A spare set of strings yes. My band mainly plays pub gigs. If a string breaks we either take that moment to take a break or take a 5 minute pause. No big deal to me. I'll make the audience wait rather than haul around an extra bass 5+ times a month. Now if this was a super important gig I would definitely bring a backup, but 9/10 its a local pub.

I also check my solder points and internal wiring every few months.

I've never had a problem with a string breaking. Ever. I do play on the lighter side though.

I am thinking strongly of getting a backup amp though.
 
#88
::::BASSIST:::: said:
I never bring a backup bass. A spare set of strings yes. My band mainly plays pub gigs. If a string breaks we either take that moment to take a break or take a 5 minute pause. No big deal to me. I'll make the audience wait rather than haul around an extra bass 5+ times a month. Now if this was a super important gig I would definitely bring a backup, but 9/10 its a local pub.

I've never had a problem with a string breaking. Ever. I do play on the lighter side though.
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+1. I always bring spare strings and a spare battery if I have my Spector.

I've only brought a backup once and I didn't even use it.
 
#89
::::BASSIST:::: said:
I never bring a backup bass. A spare set of strings yes. My band mainly plays pub gigs. If a string breaks we either take that moment to take a break or take a 5 minute pause. No big deal to me. I'll make the audience wait rather than haul around an extra bass 5+ times a month. Now if this was a super important gig I would definitely bring a backup, but 9/10 its a local pub.
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I don't even bring a second bass on super important gigs ;) Well, sometimes I do, but almost all my super important gigs are fly dates. At one time I brought two basses on fly dates, but it almost killed me from lugging them around airports and getting in arguments about having to check them instead of carrying them on.

It does suck to have a bass go out on you. But the one good thing is that nobody dies if your bass goes out. Just fix it ASAP and resume playing.
 
#90
I always bring a spare, but it's just in my personality to be prepared. Besides, it's fun to switch up during a gig and do a real life compare and contrast of my basses.

Something to think about: You've hired a contractor to work on your house. During his work, his drill breaks. He tells you that he's going home for the day because he didn't bring a spare drill. Are you likely to hire that contractor again?
 
#91
guy n. cognito said:
I always bring a spare, but it's just in my personality to be prepared. Besides, it's fun to switch up during a gig and do a real life compare and contrast of my basses.

Something to think about: You've hired a contractor to work on your house. During his work, his drill breaks. He tells you that he's going home for the day because he didn't bring a spare drill. Are you likely to hire that contractor again?
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Absolutely not. If he isn't smart enough to go to the nearest hardware store and buy one for $40 instead of losing out a day's work, that's not someone who's going to make good decisions otherwise.

But I'm not a contractor. I'm a musician. Again, I don't advocate not having a backup. But it works for me. When it doesn't I'll carry one again. Till then, wish me luck ;)
 
#92
JimmyM said:
Absolutely not. If he isn't smart enough to go to the nearest hardware store and buy one for $40 instead of losing out a day's work, that's not someone who's going to make good decisions otherwise.

But I'm not a contractor. I'm a musician. Again, I don't advocate not having a backup. But it works for me. When it doesn't I'll carry one again. Till then, wish me luck ;)
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Well, yes, but the music store probably won't be open at 11:00pm, when most of us are playing..........

..........and most contractors don't have a few hundred people sitting watching them work (or not work).

..........and wouldn't the good decision be to have a spare in the first place?????


;)

In all seriousness, Murphy's law is always in effect. If I was a bandleader, and one of my musicians brought my show to a grinding halt due to equipment issues, he probably wouldn't be hired back. Dog eat dog and all that jazz.......
 
#93
JimmyM said:
Absolutely not. If he isn't smart enough to go to the nearest hardware store and buy one for $40 instead of losing out a day's work, that's not someone who's going to make good decisions otherwise.

But I'm not a contractor. I'm a musician. Again, I don't advocate not having a backup. But it works for me. When it doesn't I'll carry one again. Till then, wish me luck ;)
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haha, good luck bro cuz i'm in the same boat with ya! heck, i only own one fretted and one fretless, so technically i dont have a backup if i wanted one...

january needs to hurry up so i can order myself a nice crispy SX!
 
#94
guy n. cognito said:
..........and most contractors don't have a few hundred people sitting watching them work (or not work).
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Spare basses, cables, amps, whatever....I use whatever resources I have available to avoid disrupting the flow of a performance whether it be the Harrison Opera House or the local Moose lodge. Now, if I can just get my bandmates to subscribe to the same philosophy....

Riis
 
#95
michael_atw said:
Ahaha..I knew that comment would offend people. Oh well, I liked the metaphor. And actually, I never will own a GPS, nor will I ever carry a cell phone because I'm worried about breaking down. I wouldn't buy a garbage bass that would cut out in the middle of a song, nor would I treat a good one like crap so it does start doing that. That's my solution.
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But the point you seem to miss is that not everything is in one's own control. Whether someone plays a cheap or expensive bass doesn't matter... I've seen both get taken out of commision. I accept the fact that I play where there are a lot of drunk people and anything can happen so I bring a backup because I'm paid to play music, not to give a tutorial on how to change strings or fix my bass on stage.

I honestly hope your luck never runs out.
 
#96
Diogenes said:
But the point you seem to miss is that not everything is in one's own control. Whether someone plays a cheap or expensive bass doesn't matter... I've seen both get taken out of commision. I accept the fact that I play where there are a lot of drunk people and anything can happen so I bring a backup because I'm paid to play music, not to give a tutorial on how to change strings or fix my bass on stage.

I honestly hope your luck never runs out.
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Why, am I gonna get burned at the stake? You make it sound like I'll have a whole audience revolt and tear my body to shreds.

Or is it just gonna be that 50 drunk people stumble to the bar for 3 minutes while my lead singer cracks two jokes and I slap an "A" string on my bass. Actually, that's a bad analogy...I'll never carry spare strings until I actually break a string, whether in practice or at a performance. Nor will I worry about a bass "breaking down". From what I hear, it seems like a once a half-decade issue...and that once a half-decade has a 75% chance of happening during practice anyways.

And sure...expensive basses and cheapies both break down. But I'm 1000% sure cheapies break down FAR FAR more. Think about it: would the Dodge Spirit of basses break down more than the Lexus? Of course...it also depends on how the player treats it. If someone treats a Sadowsky like crap, its gonna break down. It depends both on the brand AND the bassist.

To sum up: For most of us, its probably a better chance we get in a car accident on any given day than it is that our bass craps out up on a stage. Think about it - how many times has your bass crapped out on stage in 10 years...and how many times have you been hit/hit something or someone?

But do I worry about that daily?

Hide in my room because I'm scared of getting t-boned?

Tow around my 2nd car just in case I pop a curb on a snowy road with the first one?


Now, surely there's some guys around here who advocate lugging around spare gear because they don't take care of their primary gear. Some people here will get offended, but nobody here can deny that. I say, if you take care of your gear...you'll never need a spare. That's the crux of my advice.
 
#97
The Claude said:
I thought everyone would like this video of SRV breaking a string and changing guitars almost seamlessly like it had been rehearsed with his roadie. You can hear everyone cheer after they make the switch. Just too cool. :cool:

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+1 It just adds to his respect. And seriously, how many times have you heard of someone or been to a concert where people got pissed and walked out because someone was changing a string? C'mon now...I wish some tb'ers would be realistic. If the band doesn't suck, people will accept it easily.
 
#99
michael_atw said:
+1 It just adds to his respect. And seriously, how many times have you heard of someone or been to a concert where people got pissed and walked out because someone was changing a string? C'mon now...I wish some tb'ers would be realistic. If the band doesn't suck, people will accept it easily.
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Sometimes, I wish musicians would be more professional.

Several years ago I was at a bar listening to a band. During the show, the very animated lead guitarist stepped on his cable and ripped the output Jack from his Gibson. With no spare, he tried and tried to fix it. It would work for a few minutes, pop loudly and then cut off. After about ten minutes of this, people started leaving. My party left as well. It was annoying.

Being prepared for the unexpected doesn't mean you're paranoid, it means you're professional. Your gig may not require a professional attitude, but many do.
 
#100
I was playing at a large all day music festival with about 100 bands (many stages) and each band had a strict 45 minute timeslot (including setup), so there was no time to spare. I had just bought a 2nd bass that arrived at my house the day before and on a quick thought (even though I hadn't really gotten the feel for that bass yet (a passive G&L SB-2)) I decided to bring it to the show to back up my formerly owned Wal. Well in the middle of the 2nd song on a pop (some minor slap work) the G-string snapped at the bridge on the Wal. I was able to finish the song without that string (just skipped the slap parts) and then quickly had to grab the unfamiliar very different sounding G&L. It worked well enough to cover the rest of the set. I almost didn't bring it to the show because I hadn't had time to set it up yet, put my favorite strings on it, or get the feel for it, but I just had a gut instinct to bring it.
Glad I had that backup
 

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