Number of basses on stage

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Stance' timestamp='1480210899' post='3182587']
I always have a spare - its a must! You just don't want the gig to end just because the bass player (who happens to have more basses than he needs) just decides to take one bass, cause he thought Murphy's Law didn't apply to him...

Be professional no matter what - it counts!
[/quote]
This for me too!

[blue]

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1480233487' post='3182609']
Most of the places we play have barely enough room for me let alone any spare stuff! I think the drummer has room for a couple of spare sticks , but that's about it.
[/quote]

With small spaces do UK pub owners realize how rough that is for bands, or do the leave tables and bar stools in the way making it even harder for bands?

Blue

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1480366917' post='3183815']


With small spaces do UK pub owners realize how rough that is for bands, or do the leave tables and bar stools in the way making it even harder for bands?

Blue
[/quote]

I find a mixture, in some places the landlord can't be found and a handful of young bar staff are left in charge with no idea a band were even booked!, others will have cleared a space and stopped daytime drinkers taking over the area where the band goes, plenty of power sockets and a round of drinks or two, then there's everything in between

[ead]

If I ever have more than one on stage, the other will be fretless. I will have a spare in a gig bag in the corner though, just in case....

[molan]

Two basses and two amps for every gig just in case.

The second bass is little Status Streamline that stays in its gig bag and the amp is an even tinier GK MB200, also in a minute gig bag.

I don't think this is anything to do with professionalism, or lack of it, on my part. Simply avoids a pain in the ass if were to break a string or battery inexplicably fails and / or a valve goes in my amp or I blow a fuse.

Having a spare will get me through a gig without hassle and without inconveniencing the rest of my band

[tauzero]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1480263830' post='3182897']
Wireless systems on stages no bigger than the average hearth rug always make me smile .
[/quote]

I'm thinking of taking mine to rehearsals as I'm fed up with treading on the leads. And that's even though I sit down most of the time. Or perhaps it's because I sit down all the time.

I take two basses to gigs, then I play one or both of them depending on how I feel. One's five-string fretless with flats on, the other one is either a 5-string fretted with roundwounds on or a 6-string fretted with roundwounds on. They're basses, they sound like basses. I also leave a spare amp in the car just in case. Our guitarist has two guitars, both PRS but one with a Strat-type pickup configuration and the other with twin humbuckers.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1480369603' post='3183860']
I'm thinking of taking mine to rehearsals as I'm fed up with treading on the leads. And that's even though I sit down most of the time. Or perhaps it's because I sit down all the time.[/quote]

I use wireless at rehearsal. why wouldn't you, not like it takes any longer than connecting a lead? I can wander round - there is always more room at practice.

[blue]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1480367359' post='3183823']


I find a mixture, in some places the landlord can't be found and a handful of young bar staff are left in charge with no idea a band were even booked!, others will have cleared a space and stopped daytime drinkers taking over the area where the band goes, plenty of power sockets and a round of drinks or two, then there's everything in between
[/quote]

I find most bar owners where we play are oblivious to the fact that bands need room to set up gear.

Blue

[tauzero]

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1480371264' post='3183891']
I use wireless at rehearsal. why wouldn't you, not like it takes any longer than connecting a lead? I can wander round - there is always more room at practice.
[/quote]

I've got a lead coiled up in the bass case so I just take the bass case rather than that and the case with the wireless in it, which also means I need one more mains socket than is available.

[blue]

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1480371264' post='3183891']


I use wireless at rehearsal. why wouldn't you, not like it takes any longer than connecting a lead? I can wander round - there is always more room at practice.
[/quote]

I moved to the Line 6 G30 wireless in 2009 and will never go back to using cords.

The wireless signal is stronger and more reliable than a cord.

Going wireless brings advantages to both the big stage and the postage stamp size space for the band to play in small pubs

Blue

Edited November 28, 2016 by blue

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1480371559' post='3183898']
I've got a lead coiled up in the bass case so I just take the bass case rather than that and the case with the wireless in it, which also means I need one more mains socket than is available.
[/quote]

I use the same power supply for the wireless and the B3, so I have to plug it in anyway.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1480371707' post='3183903']
I moved to the Line 6 G30 wireless in [b]2099[/b] and will never go back to using cords.
[/quote]

Thats pretty advanced

[CrackerJackLee]

[size=6] [/size]
[size=6] !SPARE AMP FUSE![/size]

Edited November 29, 2016 by CrackerJackLee

[chris_b]

In 1973 I had a Marshall 100 amp that was regularly blowing fuses so I stocked up on the lot. I've got a tub full of everything from 1 amp to slo-blo. Those fuses have been to every gig I've done since and the only time they have come in useful was when I gave one to a guitarist who blew a fuse in his Fender combo.

[FinnDave]

After last Saturday's gig I've added a few spare picks for guitarist to my gig bag.

[LewisK1975]

Always have 2 Basses at a gig with me. Duty / Standby.

[gafbass02]

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1480202648' post='3182552']
Guitars are easier to put out of tune.

Solos that involve a lot of string bending will do it, serious use of the whammy bar will do it faster.

When I saw the Eagles after their reformation all of them changed guitars after every single song, I saw Placebo a couple of years ago and they were the same.

Having said that I saw Robert Glasper recently and his bass player had two backups on stage but only used the one bass for a 2 hour+ set, retuning very quickly every half hour or so, so I'd guess the spares were only there in case of string breakages or electronics failure.
[/quote]

Until recently I played guitar in a placebo tribute band. There was a lot of swapping. mainly for songs that needed a jag for playing behind the bridge as opposed to the iconic SG.
I did take about six basses once, just cause I could. Never again.
One spare tunes and close by but that's it.

[ead]

Good point about a spare amp above. I always have a second head with me just in case (as well as fuses) and of course leads in case the wireless system dies).

[HengistPod]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1480263830' post='3182897']
Wireless systems on stages no bigger than the average hearth rug always make me smile .[/quote]

Aye ... but ...

Our guitarist recently got a wireless thingy. It means that we can get a bit of a better soundcheck, in that he can go up to the back of the pub whilst still playing and communicate instructions (invariably) that I need to turn up a bit, and then a bit more.

This is actually quite perturbing, because I always assumed that I was bloody loud and it turns out that Joe Punter probably could hardly hear me.

It also means that he can wander over to my side and do some Judas Priest co-ordinated guitar-swinging stuff. I'm tempted to get one myself now.

P.S. Usually just the one bass, sometimes two if a short pause in the set while I re-string wouldn't be cool. Depends on venue.

[ead]

Wireless systems on a stage no bigger than the average hearth rug also leave less things to trip over/get caught up in too.

[TrevorR]

[quote name='HengistPod' timestamp='1480598438' post='3185723']


P.S. Usually just the one bass, sometimes two if a short pause in the set while I re-string wouldn't be cool. Depends on venue.
[/quote]

I've always subscribed to the view... Not cool at Wembley, not cool at the Hammersmith Odeon (I'm old) but equally not cool at Bob and Mary's wedding or at the Dog & Ferret.

[Painy]

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1480759226' post='3186906']


I've always subscribed to the view... Not cool at Wembley, not cool at the Hammersmith Odeon (I'm old) but equally not cool at Bob and Mary's wedding or at the Dog & Ferret.
[/quote]

+1

Also, if a string breaks then more often than not it'll be fairly old which means a bright new string will stick of like a sore thumb if you just change the one.
Changing all of them would I'd imagine be a bit much even at the coolest of venues so I'd rather just grab another bass and carry on.

[IainS]

Our guitarist always has two guitars that he swaps back and forth throughout the gig. We're an uptempo party-type covers band and the constant delays between songs used to drive the rest of the band mad and clear the dance floor while people waited for the next song to start. He's much quicker at changes now but it's still the reason I stick to one bass per gig.