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Which Backup Bass?


redbandit599

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I don't have a backup bass that was bought as such. 

Every bass I own was bought because I liked it for some reason. Then, Unless I require a specific bass for a specific look/sound, I just gravitate towards one or two naturally, and they kind of become the #1 and the backup... 

I lie. The MM SUB was bought because I wanted to make sure I always had a Stingray I could use, no matter what. But that's the only one.

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If you view a second bass like a "get you home spare tyre", potentially never to be used then I suppose you could go cheap, but even if your backup bass only cost £100 I think that's a waste of £100.

I don't have "backup" basses. I'd been playing for over 25 years before I even bought a second bass. I've never had a failure on a bass, never broken anything, not even a string, so the need for a "backup" wasn't high on my list, on the other hand I do have 2, and occasionally more, #1 basses.

I'll chose which one I play depending on the gig.

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1 hour ago, chris_b said:

I've never had a failure on a bass, never broken anything, not even a string, so the need for a "backup" wasn't high on my list, on the other hand I do have 2, and occasionally more, #1 basses.

Boy am I looking forward to your next submission to the "How was your gig last night" thread.

S.P.

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2 hours ago, Stylon Pilson said:

I was just joking that having announced that you've never had a gear-related failure at a gig, sod's law dictates that something will now go wrong at your next one.

S.P.

Ahh. I hope you don't have a point, but knowing my luck these days I've probably jinxed myself!!

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On 26/07/2019 at 09:02, chris_b said:

If you view a second bass like a "get you home spare tyre", potentially never to be used then I suppose you could go cheap, but even if your backup bass only cost £100 I think that's a waste of £100.

I don't have "backup" basses. I'd been playing for over 25 years before I even bought a second bass. I've never had a failure on a bass, never broken anything, not even a string, so the need for a "backup" wasn't high on my list, on the other hand I do have 2, and occasionally more, #1 basses.

I'll chose which one I play depending on the gig.

I do like the idea of not wasting money on a cheap backup bass and just either taking one bass and trusting it implicitly or taking both my main basses, but instead I take one main bass and an Ibanez GSR180 that I’ve fettled and now plays really nicely. That way, if I can only keep track of one and the other has to be left in a gear store or dressing room then it’s a simple choice which one I risk getting nicked, if I have to leave one with another band member to transport for me because I’m coming straight to a gig off the train from work then it’s a simple choice which one I risk getting non-optimally handled or stored, and if it all kicked off in a venue for any reason then it’d be a simple choice which one I left behind when I grabbed my main bass in one hand and my pedalboard in the other! 🙂

It may well be wasted money and dead weight (in fact I hope it is!) but as long as it makes me feel better then I see that as getting what I was paying for when I bought it. For such a cheap instrument it is very playable, though; to stick with the get-you-home-spare-wheel thing, I’d recommend the cheap Ibanezes as ideal space savers!

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I use a Cort C5P (the P designates a piezo bridge but the regular C5 is otherwise identicai) as my backup now, one of the older Korean built ones. Paid £90 for it off a Facebook group and it weighs nothing, has a very good low B and sounds great. It now has a cheap Artec in as the original Fishman preamp went kaput which is more than good enough but the stock pre sounded great. Can gig with it no problem - it was actually my main bass for a while as it pushed the much more expensive Ibanez EDB to the back of the queue and that was later sold.

I also had the later Cort B5 (Indonesian made) which I didn't like as much, B wasn't quite as tight and the Lic Bart preamp wasn't as good IMO. Extremely light (around 7lb on the ash one I had) and compact basses still though. Another option is the Cort Curbow (I had the Mighty Mite/Fishman equipped version) which is light, very compact and has a good low B. 

 

If you need a good lightweight bass which is cheap but still has a good low B then that would fit the bill, does for me anyway. There's also a Bass Collection in the classifieds for £150 or something.

Edited by lemmywinks
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On 25/07/2019 at 17:13, dannybuoy said:

The pickup is the least likely thing to die, much more likely to be a jack, string, or strap button!

all of which can be fixed/bodged  at the gig. Apart from the dead pickup I've never had to change basses due to another failure.

But it is best to have a spare. I went to a gig the other night with 5 guitars. Two basses for the Policed set, 2 six stringers and an acoustic for the Paul Weller thing I do too. Utter madness

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50 minutes ago, police squad said:

all of which can be fixed/bodged  at the gig. Apart from the dead pickup I've never had to change basses due to another failure.

But it is best to have a spare. I went to a gig the other night with 5 guitars. Two basses for the Policed set, 2 six stringers and an acoustic for the Paul Weller thing I do too. Utter madness

I think I'd rather pull out a backup bass than make the audience wait for my soldering iron to warm up mid-set!

Although I have never brought a backup bass to any gig in my life!

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On 29/07/2019 at 10:54, police squad said:

all of which can be fixed/bodged  at the gig. Apart from the dead pickup I've never had to change basses due to another failure.

But it is best to have a spare. I went to a gig the other night with 5 guitars. Two basses for the Policed set, 2 six stringers and an acoustic for the Paul Weller thing I do too. Utter madness

My jack socket - not the lead - failed mid gig as a headlining band, and it wasn’t fixable. Luckily I had a spare.

I’ve had a couple of actives where the actives (not the battery) have gone down mid gig too.

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16 hours ago, 4000 said:

My jack socket - not the lead - failed mid gig as a headlining band, and it wasn’t fixable. Luckily I had a spare.

I’ve had a couple of actives where the actives (not the battery) have gone down mid gig too.

I must admit, I've not thought thought about a failing jack socket. I've been gigging over 30  years now and it's not happened yet.

Amps have blown, strings have broken, leads have broken and the pickup thing but not a jack socket.

Still, might happen now I've said it hasn't!!

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