Gigging without a spare bass

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='RickyV' timestamp='1471519417' post='3113594']
Ha, I knew I was opening myself up to scrutiny!! Laziness is all. It's just how I have learned the songs and havent bothered to change it. I guess being relatively new to bass and gigging, the comfort factor is important as in I dont want to give myself anything else to think about. I will get round to making it easier for myself at some point!!
[/quote]fair enough

[ambient]

I'm probably tempting fate here, but on 20 years of playing I've never ever broken a string.

My bass can be switched to passive, so in the unlikely event of the battery dying then I'll just switch to passive.

If my amp packed up, one never has, then I'd just go through the pa with the keys.

Edited August 18, 2016 by ambient

[Muppet]

If I'm interpreting the initial post correctly you're worried that if you had to switch to the Peavey you wouldn't actually be able to play it properly and what's the point of taking a back up bass anyway if you have no confidence in playing it?

I always take a spare and have never needed it, but it comforts me to know that it is there. If you like the security of having a back up then I'd ditch the Peavey and get another P bass.

[Les]

I don't take a back up and never have. It would have to be a catastrophic failure to not be able to cobble it and finish the gig.

[thebrig]

I have the choice of nine precision basses, but I only ever take one to a gig, not much can go wrong with a precision in my opinion, I always check it over before leaving the house, strap pins, tuners etc.. I always have a spare set of strings, although I don't dig in that hard so I don't think I would ever break a string unless there was a flaw in the string itself, and yes, I suppose a wire could come unsoldered, although I don't really see how this could happen if it's soldered properly in the first place, and I do check the wiring on all my basses from time to time.

I think the most likely thing to break down is the amp, and I'm certainly not carting a spare one to a gig, although I always have a spare valve, and a tool kit just in case.

[Graham]

I take a backup 90% of the time, unless there's a space issue in the car. If there's a decent sized stage I'll have it on a stand, but as it's a four string and my main bass is a five it wont get used unless there's a problem with the five - not happened yet. Quite often the stage space will be small, so it'll stay in it's case either off stage somewhere or in the car.

Only reason I bring a backup is we do a lot of private functions and it seems bad form to have to stop the gig whilst I re-string if someone's paid good money for us to perform.

[discreet]

Only ever taken one bass to gigs in 40 years and never needed a backup. Of course now that I've said that, my bass will no doubt fail at my next gig... I never take a spare amp either, and had only one failure... turned out to be a wire loose in the plug.

I know people who will take two of [i]everything [/i]to a gig, even two clip-on headstock tuners!!

[Painy]

I'd never play a gig without a backup bass. I don't need a backup amp as our PA is more than man enough to DI the bass into.
My precision and my jazz are my main gigging basses but, both being five strings, they have the same neck profile so it's easy enough to switch between the two.

As for how high profile the gig is, I've always taken the approach of applying the same level of professionalism to a gig playing to just the barman on a rainy Wednesday night in a secluded country pub to playing a 50000 strong crowd at a festival - you just put on the very best show you can every time.

[CamdenRob]

Transportation is my issue... I get to all my gigs on public transport so it's just the one bass for me. I do take spare strings, batteries, tools etc though obviously.

[Kirky]

One bass. I've never broken a string and been able to fix anything else that's gone wrong on the fly (and I can't off the top of my head think of anything - battery ran out once, but I had a spare, and only have passive basses now). I take a spare MB200 amp but I've never had to use it. Even for guitar gigs I don't take a spare anymore - I can't remember the last time I broke a string on guitar.

[ambient]

It seems odd that people who aren't professionsal are taking backup basses and other kit, whilst no pros that I know do, other than guitarists who use different guitars on different songs.

[gjones]

Ive played at least 1000 gigs and never had anything major go wrong with a bass.
I carry tools to repair any electronic issues.
What's the worst that could happen? The rest of the band would have to go on without me. Big deal.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1471516601' post='3113546']
I did all my gigging with only one bass & never had any problems, as did pretty much all of other players I knew.
[/quote]

Yep, never taken two basses to a gig.
One time though i took the wrong bass by mistake (picked up the wrong gig bag). When i took it out at the gig i was shocked to see it was the bass that i had taken apart for spares. I had to re wire the pups and jack socket, inc mounting the pups so they wouldnt fall out, with Gaffa tape at the gig.
Now days i always pack the bass in its bag just before leaving.

I did think the correct thing to do is to take a spare, especially if its a big event or a wedding etc. I think it looks very unprofessional if any gear isnt working 100% on a paying gig, but i also feel confident enough that my bass wont stop working to the point where i cant play the gig.

Edited August 18, 2016 by dave_bass5

[cheddatom]

I once re-soldered a wire to the jack socket with a lighter, just a minute before we went on! There's always a way

[stingrayPete1977]

I can see both sides of it tbh,I've got a van and an easy load in and out so putting an extra bass in the van really makes no difference, if I was catching the tube then I'd think otherwise.

[Marc S]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1471517250' post='3113563']
I'd rather have a cheap back up, in my case a £40 Hondo, than none at all, I've seen a bass pack up because a wire came unsoldered
[/quote]

For rehearsals, I don't usually take a spare bass (though I sometimes do, depending on where it is etc) but I wouldn't gig without a spare bass now. As PaulWarning says - you could just take a cheap backup. Others have said they've been playing for years and never needed one - but I do know several people who have been caught out. Personally, I'd rather have a cheap back-up and never need it, than not have a back up... It's all about the backup giving you peace of mind.

I also take a couple of back up jack cables, spare mains lead, and I even have a tiny Euphonic Audio micro amp head in the boot of my car

Edited August 18, 2016 by Marc S

[Marvin]

I have taken a spare before but haven't bothered lately, just mire lugging

[Cat Burrito]

I took 2 basses on tour recently (6 dates going right up into the Highlands so I thought better safe than sorry) but since the 90s I have just taken the one bass out. I have spare strings etc so if I broke a string or similar I could rectify it in the time it takes to do an acoustic song.

[chris_b]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1471524102' post='3113653']
One time though i took the wrong bass by mistake (picked up the wrong gig bag).
[/quote]
At home my main gear never leaves its cases, bags or covers.

If I practise with anything I never use my gigging gear.

[DanOwens]

Two Double Basses?!? I have lots of spares and tools in my spares kit but never spare instruments.

[Dave Vader]

What's the problem with broken strings anyway - you've got at least 3 more haven't you? I thought you were bassists...

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[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='RickyV' timestamp='1471516859' post='3113552']
I have 2 basses with me for a gig purely because a couple of songs are tuned down a whole step and i dont want to faff retuning all strings between songs so I just swap basses. If all songs were standard tuning I would probably wouldnt bother with a back up. I have spare strings and cables as well but thats all.
[/quote]

I'm in a similar situation to you in that my band, in it's wisdom, has decided to play all the Lizzy and DC songs half a step down and everything else in concert pitch. Whereas we used to detune a semitone for the entire set, I now have to take two basses to every gig for the same reason as you. I tried relearning everything on my five string but I'm just too lazy.
To answer the OP, I've been gigging on and off over a 37 year period. A lot of the time (pre-Basschat), I only ever owned one bass. I've never broken a string or had a bass fail on me. I tend to use passive basses primarily, so no battery issues. I play like a fairy, so I expect my strings would outlast me if I left them on that long. Amps, now that's a different issue. When I used to use old Peavey gear, it never crossed my mind that it would ever fail. My Class D Fender Rumble 500v3 however, doesn't fill me with the same amount of confidence. I've purchased an old US built, solid state, Fender Rumble as a back up, should the 500v3 fail

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1471527490' post='3113694']
At home my main gear never leaves its cases, bags or covers.

If I practise with anything I never use my gigging gear.
[/quote]

I had been swapping pups between the two basses, and put disassembled bass in my main gig bag as it was the only one in the room at the time. We didnt gig for a few weeks after that and i just completely forgot about it being in there.
I dont have many basses but i always practice on the bass i gig with.

As for not taking back up basses, as someone said, if getting public transport it can be a bit of a pain. I tired a double gig bag once and it killed me carrying it. I am now in the position to take a back up bass but not sure ill ever need it. I have a small headless bass that wont take up much room though.

[Trueno]

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1471527683' post='3113699']
What's the problem with broken strings anyway - you've got at least 3 more haven't you? I thought you were bassists...

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[/quote]

That's sort of what I was thinking. There's not much to go wrong... even if the amp blew up I'm going through the PA. Not ideal but not fatal.

[SpondonBassed]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1471520958' post='3113620']
I know people who will take two of [i]everything [/i]to a gig, even two clip-on headstock tuners!!
[/quote]

I believe OCD is an occupational hazard amongst touring musicians. I heard a roadie say once that any item once asked for, was always carried, as if it was provoking a superstition to do otherwise. I can kinda understand it but I would hate to get that way.