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Why bring a backup?

#101
I usually don't bring one, I've brought one a few times and I've never needed it...BUT - there is always that chance isn't there?

Our guitarist has broken strings and had to change a few times, the only thing about a backup is its something else to possibly get nicked when at a gig. I may get a cheap squier bronco or something to stick in the car. (I don't need one coz I've got a few basses already, but I reckon a cheap one for backup would be a good idea...that way if anything happens to it I'm not gonna be crying over it!)
 
#102
I've been playing every weekend since, well, look at my sig; I never brought a backup (almost never) until last month, when I wanted to use a fretless for "Silver Springs." Two songs into the first set, the keyboardist steps on my cable and the jack of my Sting bass pulls out (they'll do that on their own, sometimes). I had a backup for the first time in 40 years, and it was the first time I ever needed one (it was an MIM modded fretless...sounded so sweet it is becoming my main player again).
 
#103
I never go to a gig without a spare. I've broken strings twice on stage -- once with a pick and once while pulling/snapping/popping (a technique since given up due to its ubiquity). My favorite backup bass is my Rick 4004L.

Rick4004L.jpg
 
#106
It's amazing many folks think the only failure that happens is breaking strings...wrong!

I've never broken any strings on a gig, but I had a ground wire snap at the jack. So the song starts in 10 seconds, and you have no idea why there's no sound.
I guess you can fire up the soldering iron and have the club owner turn on the lights so you can see what you're doing...oh wait, you say you didn't bring a soldering iron?!

I always have a 2nd bass.

I've also been on the bill with other bands where they only brought one bass. One guy broke an E and this band used backing tracks, no way they were going to stop playing, so I quickly handed him my bass.
Another guy had a strap button rip out of his.
 
#108
Caca de Kick said:
It's amazing many folks think the only failure that happens is breaking strings...wrong!

I've never broken any strings on a gig, but I had a ground wire snap at the jack. So the song starts in 10 seconds, and you have no idea why there's no sound.
I guess you can fire up the soldering iron and have the club owner turn on the lights so you can see what you're doing...oh wait, you say you didn't bring a soldering iron?!

I always have a 2nd bass.

I've also been on the bill with other bands where they only brought one bass. One guy broke an E and this band used backing tracks, no way they were going to stop playing, so I quickly handed him my bass.
Another guy had a strap button rip out of his.
Click to expand...

Very good examples. So many things can go wrong. A professional is always prepared.
 
#109
CElton said:
I gigged successfully without incident for 20 years with one bass, the same bass even. Then, I joined TB. I have since added two more basses. TB has shown me the errors of my ways and that I was obviously insane and living on borrowed time gigging only one bass, so I usually take two.:ninja:
Click to expand...

For years I never even wanted a second bass, much less a backup for gigs. Now I take one because experience has taught me that weird stuff happens, and it's not that much more to carry in a double gig bag.

At really important gigs (ones worth plenty of money), I take a backup head too.
 
#110
Caca de Kick said:
It's amazing many folks think the only failure that happens is breaking strings...wrong!

I've never broken any strings on a gig, but I had a ground wire snap at the jack. So the song starts in 10 seconds, and you have no idea why there's no sound.
I guess you can fire up the soldering iron and have the club owner turn on the lights so you can see what you're doing...oh wait, you say you didn't bring a soldering iron?!

I always have a 2nd bass.

I've also been on the bill with other bands where they only brought one bass. One guy broke an E and this band used backing tracks, no way they were going to stop playing, so I quickly handed him my bass.
Another guy had a strap button rip out of his.
Click to expand...

Actually, yes, yes I do have a soldering iron :p
 
#112
guy n. cognito said:
Very good examples. So many things can go wrong. A professional is always prepared.
Click to expand...

Same with a car. As a matter of fact, I had been thinking about how many things can go wrong with my car - many many more than my bass. I figured, since I lug extra basses around to gigs...I should probably start towing an extra car around. I mean, I am a professional at an office a small drive away - and Lord only knows no pros ever go anywhere without being extra-worried...ahem...I mean prepared.

So...I went out and bought a hitch. Slapped it on my Volvo. Went out and bought another Volvo. Tossed a chain around that bad boy and now I got myself a good, safe, worry-less car-train. Now I really am prepared for that once-every-four-year breakdown!!

And in good time! I never take care of my first Volvo...I don't treat it nice, clean it, get it checked-out...nothing. Actually, its a cheap old beat up Volvo - but I expect it to hold up forever without ever needing any TLC of any kind. So, of course...it broke down. I actually broke it when I put a strap on it and expected the strap pegs to hold up and the cord to stay in the input jack while I threw it around my head and jumped around on stage.

Oh wait...I think I stopped talking about my car. Either way, no wonder it makes sense to bring a backup to every single gig.
 
#116
michael_atw said:
Same with a car. As a matter of fact, I had been thinking about how many things can go wrong with my car - many many more than my bass. I figured, since I lug extra basses around to gigs...I should probably start towing an extra car around. I mean, I am a professional at an office a small drive away - and Lord only knows no pros ever go anywhere without being extra-worried...ahem...I mean prepared.

So...I went out and bought a hitch. Slapped it on my Volvo. Went out and bought another Volvo. Tossed a chain around that bad boy and now I got myself a good, safe, worry-less car-train. Now I really am prepared for that once-every-four-year breakdown!!

And in good time! I never take care of my first Volvo...I don't treat it nice, clean it, get it checked-out...nothing. Actually, its a cheap old beat up Volvo - but I expect it to hold up forever without ever needing any TLC of any kind. So, of course...it broke down. I actually broke it when I put a strap on it and expected the strap pegs to hold up and the cord to stay in the input jack while I threw it around my head and jumped around on stage.

Oh wait...I think I stopped talking about my car. Either way, no wonder it makes sense to bring a backup to every single gig.
Click to expand...

Don't be an idiot. You are comparing a situation in which it is simple and easy to have a spare, to something that is downright impossible.

I'm guessing, since you don't believe in being prepared, that you have removed your spare tire and jack, right? How about your owner's manual? I'm guessing you've just thrown that away, too. And, since having a wreck is almost unlikely, I'm assuming that you don't carry auto insurance, right?????

It's amazing to me how hard some people will try to be unprofessional.
 
#120
I take a couple of basses on most gigs. Two that I want to play on that gig. Redundancy is a bonus. I can play with a dead battery or broken string but other things could happen. Most of those other things can be minimized by regular maintainence.
 

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