For those that only take one bass to gigs

[Lozz196]

Fairly self-explanatory really. I always take a backup bass to gigs, and to date, have never needed it.

I`m trying to reduce the amount of gear I take to gigs, in an effort to stop aching so much the next day (aging is not a good thing). Have bought an Orange Bass Terror on the amp front, so the next thing to maybe cut down on is the backup bass. I don`t have different sounds/tones, it stays in its case, and like I said, to date have never needed it. For info, my basses are Fender Precisions, so no actives that can go wrong/batteries die etc.

Opinions would be gratefully received.

[charic]

See... I'm not so worried about a battery running out (on the acg you dont even have to unscrew anything ) I'm more worried about a string breaking (never happened to date!). In that situation, without a backup I would be absolutely screwed

[razze06]

I generally take only one passive bass to any gig I do. Never had any problems, other than picking one with the wrong tone for the gig...
I doubt you'll need a backup for a solid P bass, unless you're into smashing it or use metal gardening tools on the strings

[Doctor J]

Never needed one, never bring one. Keep spare strings in the bag, spare lead, that's it.

[wateroftyne]

Twice.

Back in the days when I played actives, a wire came loose and it made and almighty BZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Fixed at half-time by wedging a bit of beer mat in there (thanks to BC's own cd_david).

The second time was my old P. The middle of the song, the pickup just... died. Just like that. Thankfully it was the last song of the night so I got away with it.

I always try to take two basses.

[waynepunkdude]

Had the PUP's go on my Jazz mid gig once, swapped it out for a P bass mid song, didn't miss a note

[BigRedX]

IME the moment you stop taking a spare instrument is the moment something goes wrong with the one you're playing.

[ThomBassmonkey]

I've been taking one bass to gigs for about 95% of all the gigs I've done over 10 years. I've only ever had a string break once and luckily there was a playing in another band that was happy to lend me his bass. Was a pain because it was a 5er and I played 6er at the time, but I managed.

I do want another bass now as a backup, but not sure how often it'd get used but I fancy another one for a bit of change anyway.

[paul h]

Closest I ever came to needing a back up was when the bass player from a "rival" band decided to detune my bass just as I went on stage.

Luckily he detuned the back up!

I actually think that is the only gig I have ever taken a back up to, so it worked as a decoy, but that's about it. Other than that, never taken one, never needed one.

[flyfisher]

I only have one bass, a 1989 MIJ Precision that I've had from new, so I've no choice really. But it's never let me down and I've never broken a string (perhaps I'm not trying hard enough). I take a small bag of bits with me including, spare strings, screwdriver, tape, tuner, etc.).

However, I do worry a little about things breaking so I'd probably take another bass if I had one.

I've been thinking about getting a 5er for this very reason and to push my playing a bit - and also because I'm feeling deprived by all the photos of great bass collections on here!

[Clarky]

Never had a problem with taking one passive Fender bass to a gig (P or J)

When I have brought my (heavy) active Alembic to a gig I have always ensured I have a screwdriver and spare battery close to hand but was still happy to have no back-up

[neepheid]

Not a prolific gigger (11 so far, so I guess my experience doesn't really count for much) but I've only ever taken 1 bass to a gig. In that time I have never had technical difficulties on a bass, never broken a string in my life come to think of it.

[Dubs]

Never needed a backup, and I only bring a backup if I'm playing a paid covers gig. I try to keep my gear to a minimum.


I played a gig last Monday where the bass player from one of the bands was thrashing his bass around in one song then it stopped working. He asked if he could borrow a bass from one of the other bands... silence... ...then someone gave in and lent him his old backup bass - looked like a Peavey. He got his own bass working again though.

[sk8]

just take my P with me as i only have one bass to choose from!

[lemmywinks]

I've broken strings, had a push/pull volume pot fail (no sound), had a jack socket work loose mid-gig, had a crackly volume pot that sounded like a blown speaker..... Having a spare bass is a life saver

Always take a backup if you're getting paid. Just because you've never had a problem before doesn't mean you never will. IMO it's unprofessional to only take one bass to a paid gig

Find a cheapy copy on eBay for £50 so you don't have to worry about it and stick it in a £10 gigbag. I got sick of taking 2 expensive basses to gigs as it also means two hard cases and stands.

Edited November 1, 2010 by lemmywinks

[chris_b]

The only time I take 2 basses or 2 of anything to a gig, is when I've bought a new piece of gear. Then I take the old one and the new one for a couple of weeks, just in case the new one has a problem!

I'm very careful with my gear. I try to buy well and then look after it. In my time I've only ever had 1 amp breakdown on me and that was the last valve amp I owned! I carry batteries but usually end up giving them to the guitarists. Other than that nothing has failed (touch wood) so I don't carry 2 of anything.

If you've never used a back up bass I guess you don't need to carry a spare. I wouldn't expect a Precision to stop working even if you ran over it with the tour bus!!



Edit: Re reading this, I guess if I was on the likes of a stadium tour or involved with roadies and "humpers" I'd carry spares of everything.

Edited November 1, 2010 by chris_b

[Low End Bee]

Just the one. Usually have another band or two on with us so I normally get an agreement in advance that if the worst does happen we can borrow from each other.
Never had a problem with a precision on a gig.

[StevieD_FenderP2009]

Had problems on 3 different occassions.

1: Newly built bass (P Bass replica)
I had just finished building the bass the day of the gig and had a quick play on it before I went off to the gig and it seemed fine. Got to the venue which was well over an hour away from my house and the neck had decided to bow backwards, thus deeming it unplayable. I wanted to use it as my main bass that evening as my other bass has 4 month old strings on it and I didn't want to rely on it as the main bass. Luckily, i decided to take that bass with me as well and ended up having to use it for the full set which was an hour long. Strings held up (just about) and it became my main gigging bass from then on (after a string change, and just so you know, it's my Tobias Toby Pro 4)

2: BC Rich Mockingbird Classic Heritage Series NT Bass pt1
Turned up to my gig, got sound checking out of the way and the bass was absolutely fine. Then 10 minutes before I was due to go on, I went and warmed up my fingers and tuned the bass. As I got to the G, I noticed it had dropped a whole note where as the other strings were still in nearly perfect tuning. So anyways, as i was tuning it, the gear flew off and had sheared the screw. This particular gig I decided not to take a back up bass so i had to have the G just sitting on the bass and play the set like that which was seriously annoying as I like to do alot of fills and octaves which I couldn't do from the G. My only other bass, the Tobias, was off being set up so that's the reason I didn't take a back up

3: BC Rich Mockingbird Classic Heritage Series NT Bass pt2
Yet again this bastard of a bass caused me problems. This time it decided to drain the battery (which was fresh from only a week before) mid way through a set. Not the best of timing as it died half way through the middle song but luckily I had the Tobias sitting there in the other tuning my band at the time played in so I had to quickly change over and play everything 2 frets higher as it was tuned to Drop C where as the song was in Drop D. That bass has since moved on (to about 4 different people on here) and I never want to see it again. And before anyone says anything, I was in no way to blame for the battery dying. I used to always leave the bass unplugged with all the dials turned to zero whilst I wasn't using it and it was a brand new Duracell battery in it.

To sum up, backups are very good to have with you, but if you know your bass is solid (as most Precisions are) then just keep a spare set of strings, a pair of string cutters, set of small screw drivers and a tuner in your gig bag/case just in case you have a problem. I normally take just one bass to gigs now and it's either my Tobias (which has never let me down at a gig) or my custom P Bass (which has also not let me down yet) to gigs but keep a spare battery, screw driver, strings (if i can afford any haha) and tuner in my bag

[thisnameistaken]

I used to have problems with broken strings but that was 15 years ago, I don't think I've had a problem with a bass at a gig since about 1997.

[Cat Burrito]

I think I'd describe myself as a fairly regular - heavy gigger and aside breaking a string or two back in the late 90s, I have no problem bringing just one passive Fender bass to all my gigs. For me the chances of something happening it isn't worth the hassle of carting an extra item. I just keep a load of spares just in case. I've been playing fingerstyle since 1999 so I even think my chances of breaking a string again have reduced dramactially too. If you service your bass regularly you also reduce the chances of something silly happening onstage

[fretmeister]

Never had a problem with a bass on a gig (my main Statii have 2 separate pups & output jacks, so I have a spare 'built in' really)

I've had cables and pedals die though - and I find it easier to take off a bass and swap it for another that goes bass-compressor-amp. Effectively swap the signal chain to the end of the song. Just have to swap 1 jack at the amp then.

No need to find out what & where has gone wrong that way.

[Doctor J]

I always do a pre-gig check, make sure everything's tight, nothing is crackling or scratchy. It's amazing how many of the things which stop working at gigs show up in rehearsals or practice first and are just ignored.

[simon1964]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1008201' date='Nov 1 2010, 09:34 AM']IME the moment you stop taking a spare instrument is the moment something goes wrong with the one you're playing.[/quote]

I'm with BigRedX on this. I always take two basses. I've never actually needed the backup, but I'm pretty sure something will go wrong the first time I don't take it!

[fatback]

No. Only ever one bass, and I've never even broken a string.

Although I'm sure now that i've said it, disaster is just around the corner.

[tauzero]

I generally take a spare - it's a Hohner Jack so it's as compact as a guitar. Haven't actually needed it but it's not much extra to carry.