bonzodog Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I always take a backup bass but I take backup for everything. As I am in charge of PA too, I have more backup gear than the stuff we actually use. You've probably cursed it now by raising this thread and asking if you need a backup as you will now have a bass fail. A bit like stopping doing the lottery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I usually have a back up bass. Playing left handed means it's unlikely I'll be able to use someone else's should I need to scrounge a spare instrument at short notice.And I've broken quite few strings (although not since I stopped using Rotosounds...) and the one time it was on stage - no back up bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I've broken a string once on stage, and also has a jack socket come loose resulting in no sound at all! I never take a spare bass, so I had to quickly tune my 6 string from standard tuning half a step down and drop the E to a C# mid song.. nightmare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I've never broken a string or had a bass fail - yet. I never used to take a backup and I only take 2 basses now as there are several songs that I use fretless on; if either were to fail I've always got the other one to get through, but history makes it seem unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassintheface Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I take a spare bass to all gigs, plus I usually have a spare set of strings in my case. I take a couple of spare leads and I always have my sans amp DI incase the amp goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I play drums. What should I take as 'back-up'..? A set of spare heads..? Extra sticks..? A snare strainer..? One or two toms..? Bass drum spurs..? A few cymbals, and a stand or two..? Nah, sod it. If it busts, I'll just do without. Although, for the anecdote... Mid '70s, before kit micing became the norme. Provincial France. A big (1000+...) venue; no great problem, my Camco kit can project just fine. The set is 21h00-02h00, non-stop pop/variety for the week-end dance. No sweat. Before continuing, let me just say that, for 'aesthetic' reasons, the band leader had insisted when I joined the band on having a circle cut in my bass drum resonant head. Not for micing, and certainly not for best sound (I play with both heads intact, normally...); just because that's what he's seen on the telly, so wants to have done. Like a fool I obeyed. Back to the sound-check... End of sound-check, bass drum batter head splits. I don't have a spare, the front head has been sabotaged, no drum shop for fifty miles around. We nailed a thin sheet of ply to each side of the split head, so that the beater could go 'thwap thwap'. Little to no volume, so for the first time ever, I get to play with a miced-up bass drum. A fair bit of eq required, but the show did go on. The disco-type numbers went down particularly well, with this synthetic 'thwap' sound; Hotel California was less successful, sonically. No, I still don't carry spares, except sticks; not that I break 'em, but the grip has gone, so they fly off sometimes. Live dangerously, it's only rock'n'roll... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Now i think of it, i always play through a Hartke Bassattack pedal anyway so even if the rig did go up in flames at a pinch i could DI through the pedal to the PA in an emergency. Even less reason to take a spare amp, huzzah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I've only ever broken one bass string---it was the E string on the very first note of the very first song at a gig I don't take a backup to gigs, but I'm not getting paid to play or doing any "serious" gigs. I'd start taking a backup were I in a function band, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 ive snapped one string in my playing career, and that was the first time I ever tuned a bass some 12 years ago. that said, I always take a spare bass since a gig where my guitar broke pre show, I limped it through but now I carry a second bass just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1400860565' post='2457700'] I've only ever broken one bass string---it was the E string on the very first note of the very first song at a gig [/quote] Not a big deal then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbass Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1400853367' post='2457579'] Good - we need to rein in the puns as they stirrup too many emotions. Let's keep it all nice and stable. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbass Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I ve never broken a string or had bass amp/guitar failure in over 20 years of gigging.I have had a strap break on me which was embarassing as the bass hit the floor! Although i'm lucky enough to have a spare bass i never take it as back up to a gig....got plenty of straps as back up though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Broke an A string once years ago and that was only time at a gig. Always spare strings, rarely spare bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) [quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1400857532' post='2457650'] You've probably cursed it now by raising this thread and asking if you need a backup as you will now have a bass fail. A bit like stopping doing the lottery [/quote] I was thinking the same thing. I think I'll take my back-up bass tomorrow night just in case Edited May 23, 2014 by MoJo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 [quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1400871904' post='2457828'] I was thinking the same thing. I think I'll take my back-up bass tomorrow night just in case [/quote] Better take a spare amp as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1400873213' post='2457846'] Better take a spare amp as well... [/quote] Taking the BDI21 and the GT-6B. Not taking any chances Edited May 23, 2014 by MoJo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 [quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1400849179' post='2457500'] I know there have been threads on this subject before but I'd value members comments A friend's recent comment on Farcebook to the effect that he'd "broken another string" got me thinking. In more than 30 years playing, I've never broken a string. I've never had a bass let me down either. I tend to go for passive basses so there's less to go wrong. On a couple of gigs, I've taken a back-up but never used it. Sometimes it sits on a stand all night or, if space is tight, it'll go back in it's case and get put in whichever room/store cupboard the venue owner has given us to store gear for the night. I'm starting to question whether I need to take a back-up or even keep a back-up. There's no question of 'rotating' my basses. My BB414 does the job perfectly and the back-up, though a great bass, just doesn't do the job as well as far as my current band is concerned. Does anyone else just take one bass to a gig or even own just one bass, leaving no option [/quote] it depends. I ask myself "what would happen if I break a string? Can I get away with replacing it on the spot?". Typically, the answer is yes, so I don't take a back up. Sometimes I don't want to risk it, either through string breakage or other unforeseen issue, and in that case I take two basses if feasible. But that's very rare. It may bite me in the ass one day, but I'm a firm believer of maintenance and keeping your instrument healthy, and that seems to eliminate 95% of the issues people report (exculding string breakage, which is a very minor issue)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damonjames Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 After learning the hard way at a gig recently, I would say always carry spares. Forget whether you are getting paid, cos into case it was a charity gig, but nothing is as embarrassing as standing there without making any noise! Fortunately for me I normally run 3 basses for quick change over for tunings (we have 5 different tunings in our set) but am about to buy a backup amp as that was what let me down. It won't be as powerfull as my main amp, but will make a racket at least Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Timely thread. Last weekend doing a gig and my D snapped mid song. First time this has happened during a gig in many years of playing. Singer and guitarist did an acoustic tune whilst i quickly restrung. Never had a backup. Wish i had and will be taking a backup for tomorrows gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I bought a Hofner Shorty travel bass, specifically as an emergency back up. On past experience, I'm unlikely to ever need it and it's more convenient than taking 2 full size Fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 In 14 years of live bass playing, I have never broken a string, and I have had one amp failure (I then plugged into the PA - sounded shocking, but the bald blokes in cutoffs leaping around to 'Pretty Vacant' and 'Teenage Kicks' didn't seem to care). I generally take just one bass to gigs - two are passive, the other 2 are active with a passive option. Obviously other things can go wrong, so I should probably adopt a 2-bass policy, although (for reasons I can't quite pin down) I am reluctant to do this on pub gigs. Sometimes I just like to swap over for fun, or to see which basses work best on which material, or though which amp. It's only in the last year or so that the possibility of taking a spare amp become a viable option. I always carry spares of all the usual 'consumables', and now that I have a second soldering kit, that's going in a compartment in the boot of my car (along with the 'spare' spares - guitar lead, mic lead, kettle lead, 4-way). Strangely, on skinny-string I almost always take 2 guitars out. Some guitars work so much better on certain songs, but I do try to minimise (if not eliminate) mid-set swapping. I have had guitars fail (selector switch, solder joints, bust strings) at rehearsal, so obviously that could happen on a gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirky Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Never broke a bass string or had a bass fail. I don't take a spare bass or even a spare lead (which is less forgivable) . I do take a spare battery and occasionally amp (MB200, so hardly a burden - never had to use it though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 In 30 or so years of gigging, I can't remember ever breaking a string. I have had a bass fail once or twice, and being a complete dunce with electrics I usually take a backup to gigs for that reason*. I'm much more concerned about amp failures - and for that reason I'm another who always has a BDI21 in the gig bag. *Actually, I managed to turn up at a gig last year without having packed any bass - but that's another story... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 [quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1400850874' post='2457532'] I've never broken a string in 35 years of playing, and never had a bass fail on me when gigging. Amps, however, are another matter entirely..... [/quote] This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 [quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1400849179' post='2457500']My BB414 does the job perfectly[/quote] I've never had a string break either, but I have had the jack socket fail during a practice on my BB415! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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