dudewheresmybass Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 In one of my cover bands we used to do slither (drop d), followed by run to the hills. More than once I forgot to retune my e string and had to play run to the hills two steps higher on the bottom string. It isn't easy rethinking the part in situ considering the tough nature of the bvs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Old Horse Murphy' timestamp='1333449973' post='1601752'] Our drummer once picked up a camping table in a bag from my garage instead of the mixing desk [/quote] Absolute classic Last year, we get a phone call from our drummer while setting up at a golf club. He says "I've met the DJ, where are you ?" He was completely set up at the other golf club five miles away. Edited April 3, 2012 by essexbasscat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I try to make at least one schoolboy error every gig. It's what makes playing covers interesting. At the last gig the drummer announces that we have to lengthen one of the sets from 45mins to an hour and that we would be playing three extra tunes at the start of the set. So I amend the set. We come on and hit the first note. Hmm that doesn't sound right. I'm so thrown that w're past the intro and two lines into the verse before I realise that the tune I'm trying to play isn't what the rest of the band are playing. At the break I ask the drummer why we didn't play the extra 3 tunes like we planned. His reply - "We are. It's the second set that was too short" For the first time ever we had planned an hour first set and a 45min second set. Has anyone else ever planned a shorter second set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I had a couple of balls-ups on New Years Eve just gone. My bass started cutting out, and then died completely. Changed the battery in my bass; nothing, changed the battery in the only pedal I was using; nothing. Changed the lead and it worked fine! This caused much hilarity amongst my bandmates, because it was a lead I had recently made myself and been bigging up. That'll teach me to solder stuff in a hurry...... Anyway, recovered and started the next song, "She" by Greenday, which of course starts with the bass. Due to the awful sound on stage, it took until the first chorus before we all realised I had started in completely the weong key, but the guitarists were playing in the right key! D'oh! In my defence, it was a 3 hour gig, and I was pretty frazzled by that stage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E sharp Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Drove from Norfolk for a weekend festival on the Isle of Wight , and left my amp at home . Borrowed for the first day , but the second day , had to use an old HH MA100 PA head "they found out the back" - not a striking tone from that , hehe . When I was a young'n , I forgot my strap , and did the gig sitting down . I wonder if Anthony Jackson saw me play and stole the idea for playing sitting down from me - though I'm less portly than him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo10 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 One gig, after set up, did sound check...everything fine. Then just before going on, remembered I hadn't changed the battery in my bass....quick as a flash, dived into my case, produced new battery, swapped for old one, just in case it packed in mid gig.....plugged in and we were off and running........apart from the fact the battery wasn't fitted in properly in the rush!!....first number, cue the bassist frantically swapping basses, retuning and coming in just in time for the outro....oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil_d Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Had a week of gigging (basically) every night with the band. Every night tuning up the spare guitar, and having it on a stand ready to go at a moments notice, but never needing it. Until the final gig (with joint largest crowd any of us have performed in front of) I don't bother to tune up or un-bag the spare... as you can guess, that's the one time the guitar in my hands decides to play up straight away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 [quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1333454141' post='1601837'] After getting my nice new Squier CV P i couldn't wait to show the band. when i got the gig i opened the gig bag to find my CV Jazz....in pieces. I had put the stock pups back in a week or so before, but hadn't wired them in as i wasn't going to keep them in there. For some reason i had put that bass back in my usual gig bag rather than the spare. I also only had a strap with strap locks and no pins in the bass so i ended up fixing the pups with gaffa tape, wired them in with gaffa tape and used nails to hold the strap on. [/quote] Great never-say-die attitude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 [quote name='Simon.' timestamp='1333451106' post='1601768'] A couple of times I've been tuning up between songs using a TU-2 stomp-box and forgotten to un-mute it when going for the opening note of the next song... [/quote] Didi that last week (except mine's a TU3. That's not important though, is it?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toddy Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Guilty as charged of most of the above offences,,,hey on more than one occasion we even forgot the audience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 My worst one was getting to a gig (as a drummer) and being convinced i'd forgotten my stool. I set up the PA and everything, made sure everyone else was OK then drove back to the studio to get my stool. It's disappeared?!?! I go back and do the gig on a bar stool (not the first time) but when I load all the gear out into my car, the bloody stool is in the back hiding under the driver's seat! ARRRGH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 My head and leads are in a laptop case and I once picked up a laptop instead of my head and leads. Was very awkward, especially as I found out when I was telling someone about how brilliant this tiny head with valves was, look it all fits in this laptop case!....oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monckyman Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) Done all of that and worse. I`ve even done it when working as an Engineer and gotten to a gig 100 miles away,set the P.A up.... no P.A cables... Late show that turned out to be.. Checklist now, on unit door and a fetish for spares for the spare spares. Edited April 4, 2012 by Monckyman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz666 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1333469338' post='1602198'] Worst I do, and I do it every time, is mixing up the input and output up on my Zoom pedal. Obviously this results in no sound Thankfully the 'problem' is fully resolved by the time I've actually got to play. And for some reason I like to put the lead from my bass into the headphone socket on my amp...not once has this worked [/quote] Hence I have drawn arrows on mine with a magic marker...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewrx7 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='mep' timestamp='1333455135' post='1601867'] Let a guitarist tune my bass, which was well out. We had to stop the first song, retune and start again. [/quote] Don't know why, but that made me laugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='andrewrx7' timestamp='1333555030' post='1603512'] Don't know why, but that made me laugh! [/quote] It's because guitarists couldn't tune a frigging tuning fork. Anyway, why did mep let a guitarist tune his bass?? I wouldn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1333469338' post='1602198'] Worst I do, and I do it every time, is mixing up the input and output up on my Zoom pedal. [/quote] Ah now then Rich, I can help you here. What I do is look closely at the pedal to see where it says OUT. I plug the amp into this one. Then cunningly, using the principle of elimination, I calculate that the other one must surely be IN. I plug the bass into this one. Never fails! Though I bet you've never turned up to see a band as a punter... ...[i]to find you're supposed to be playing in that band[/i]... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1333555965' post='1603528'] Ah now then Rich, I can help you here. What I do is look closely at the pedal to see where it says OUT. I plug the amp into this one. Then cunningly, using the principle of elimination, I calculate that the other one must surely be IN. I plug the bass into this one. Never fails! Though I bet you've never turned up to see a band as a punter... ...[i]to find you're supposed to be playing in that band[/i]... [/quote] Mrs Marvin just asked "has your pedal got IN and OUT written on it?" I obviously said "uh, yes". To which she replied "you sad twat" Edited April 4, 2012 by Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1333555965' post='1603528'] Though I bet you've never turned up to see a band as a punter... ...[i]to find you're supposed to be playing in that band[/i]... [/quote] Although that is a recurring dream of mine! Usually I'm playing the violin, which is really bad news... although last time it was the viola. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbytodd Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 my worst was when i plugged my bass into the tuner jack.i spent the first song trouble shooting checking all my speaker leads ect before it finally dawned on me duh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.I. Joe Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I dropped a couple of clangers a couple of weeks ago - firstly the Friday night, I forgot the last verse of Sweet Home Alabama. Luckily one of the guitarists (and usual frontman) jumped in to help then later that night I have a glance at the setlist then announce the next song, Don't Stop Believing only to then realise that that was later in the set, and the song I had looked at was Don't Look Back in Anger, which wasn't even the next song anyway! The following night I fluffed SHA again, so now instead of the last verse, I throw in some Werewolves of London and All Summer Long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 [quote name='andrewrx7' timestamp='1333555030' post='1603512'] Don't know why, but that made me laugh! [/quote] [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1333555554' post='1603520'] It's because guitarists couldn't tune a frigging tuning fork. Anyway, why did mep let a guitarist tune his bass?? I wouldn't! [/quote] I was young and thought the guitarist was being helpful. It was the first & last time that I will let anyone tune up for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 [quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1333464487' post='1602072'] The big question as to if it was a real schoolboy error is how did you recover? Panic and retune or simply go to the 2nd fret? [/quote] Ah, I know this one: glare at oblivious guitarist, bluff a slightly odd run to cover changing from D to E, flick the Hipshot, glare at the guitarist (now hopelessly confused by the process of events), resume song as if nothing happened... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucatus Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 My favourite mistake (although I never talk about it...): Busy venue, long summer playing horrible covers in long gigs... song begins, few bars playing a two chord intro... We all inmediately noticed something odd, but couldn't quite see what it was... Time passes by, singer tries couple of times to enter, looks confused and desists... we keep on playing... And suddently I realize I'm playing 4 strings instead of 5, so I move my hand one string lower and endure the killing looks from everyone around me with a brave face.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_skezz Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 [quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1333473503' post='1602298'] In one of my cover bands we used to do slither (drop d), followed by run to the hills. More than once I forgot to retune my e string and had to play run to the hills two steps higher on the bottom string. It isn't easy rethinking the part in situ considering the tough nature of the bvs! [/quote] I had the exact same thing on more than one occasion...same songs and all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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