How closely does your backup bass resemble your main player?

[ThomBassmonkey]

I've been playing around with various basses for a long time, a few months back I found my Sandberg JJ5 and I can honestly say, every bass I've heard since just doesn't quite have the same feel about it, so fat and punchy. It's exactly what I want from a bass tone. Couple it up with my GK rig and I honestly think I couldn't improve on it to my ears.

So to the question, I've been keeping my ears open with what to use as a backup, my beloved Thumb (now moved on) didn't quite cut the mustard any more, I traded that for a Dingwall and although that sounds brilliant, I find it doesn't have the same depth and fatness as my JJ5. I've toyed with the idea of a SUB5 or L2500 (or even a Ray5) for the fatness, but am I just wasting my time when they're playing backup to a Jazz? Am I going on a goose chase to try and find a different tone I like or should I find a proper backup?

Worth noting that backup is just an excuse to fulfill GAS, though I do need a spare bass of some description.

So do you guys have a main player and a similar backup? Or do you have a few basses that you like for their own merits and they don't really resemble each other? Or have you found one particular type of bass that makes your ears orgasm and you've got different models/brands of the same style bass?

[Cat Burrito]

Mainly rotating a small collection of Fenders but I only take one out at a time. So yes & no from me

[obi 2 kenobi]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1173899' date='Mar 23 2011, 09:16 PM']I've been playing around with various basses for a long time, a few months back I found my Sandberg JJ5 and I can honestly say, every bass I've heard since just doesn't quite have the same feel about it, so fat and punchy. It's exactly what I want from a bass tone. Couple it up with my GK rig and I honestly think I couldn't improve on it to my ears.

So to the question, I've been keeping my ears open with what to use as a backup, my beloved Thumb (now moved on) didn't quite cut the mustard any more, I traded that for a Dingwall and although that sounds brilliant, I find it doesn't have the same depth and fatness as my JJ5. I've toyed with the idea of a SUB5 or L2500 (or even a Ray5) for the fatness, but am I just wasting my time when they're playing backup to a Jazz? Am I going on a goose chase to try and find a different tone I like or should I find a proper backup?

Worth noting that backup is just an excuse to fulfill GAS, though I do need a spare bass of some description.

So do you guys have a main player and a similar backup? Or do you have a few basses that you like for their own merits and they don't really resemble each other? Or have you found one particular type of bass that makes your ears orgasm and you've got different models/brands of the same style bass?[/quote]


Main bass = stingray. Back up = another stingray. Only take 1 bass to gigs as they're mega reliable

[martthebass]

Main bass is a Status Streamline which is mega ultra reliable and takes seconds to change strings on ....... So it goes to gigs on it's own.

I guess closest I get to a back up is my Sue Ryder which plays the flea pits

So again a yes and no

[Ou7shined]

I think the concept of a "backup bass" is sound but in practice it doesn't quite pan out.
The sort of person that has enough of a clue (or be anal enough) to take a backup bass with them to a gig is unlikely to be gigging a bass that is going to let them down in the first place. I've been gigging for over 20 years in all that time I've never needed a backup guitar or bass. There have been times where I've wished I taken a different bass for tonal reasons but never for emergencies.
I do carry a spare set of strings though and in all my years gigging you can count on one had the amount of times I've had to replace a string mid set.

[risingson]

[quote name='obi 2 kenobi' post='1173909' date='Mar 23 2011, 09:24 PM']Main bass = stingray. Back up = another stingray. Only take 1 bass to gigs as they're mega reliable[/quote]

...until you snap a string

[lemmywinks]

Mine (Aria Jazz) doesn't resemble my main bass (Zoot Custom) at all.
The whole point of a backup is a cheapy that i can leave propped up against a wall and pick up if i break a string or something goes wrong with my bass. All it has to do is intonate and make a bass sound, the rest can be sorted.

The last thing i want to do is cart another flightcase around and worry about another expensive bass, so the Aria goes in it's gigbag and if it goes walkies i can replace it for £50 or so.
As it happens it's a lovely bass which sounded great on the few occasions i've gigged it. In fact once i played a function on the Aria and left the expensive Zoot playing backup!

[ThomBassmonkey]

I'm curious, the guys that don't take backups, what kind of gigs do you do? I could imagine it if you only played the local every so often, but if you're being paid for gigs or really trying to make a good impression, surely you'd make a point of taking backups for everything possible. Asking someone who's paying you to do a job to hold the gig up because you need to run home and get another bass if something happens wouldn't leave a good impression.

Unless you can be 100% certain that you haven't got a dodgy set of strings on, no one's going to knock your bass over and damage it, no thieving &%$@ is around or any other number of unforseens, it seems a risk not to take a spare, regardless of whether it's a similar backup or if it's a totally different bass.

[Blademan_98]

Because I alternate between Bass and Guitar in the same gig I only take one of each plus strings for both.

I would take spares but would need a roadie

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1173939' date='Mar 23 2011, 09:42 PM']I'm curious, the guys that don't take backups, what kind of gigs do you do? I could imagine it if you only played the local every so often,[b] but if you're being paid for gigs or really trying to make a good impression, surely you'd make a point of taking backups for everything possible.[/b] Asking someone who's paying you to do a job to hold the gig up because you need to run home and get another bass if something happens wouldn't leave a good impression.

Unless you can be 100% certain that you haven't got a dodgy set of strings on, no one's going to knock your bass over and damage it, no thieving &%$@ is around or any other number of unforseens, it seems a risk not to take a spare, regardless of whether it's a similar backup or if it's a totally different bass.[/quote]
Does your drummer take a backup kit?

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1173939' date='Mar 23 2011, 09:42 PM']surely you'd make a point of taking backups for [u][i][b]everything possible.[/b][/i][/u][/quote]


[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1173950' date='Mar 23 2011, 09:54 PM']Does your drummer take a backup kit? [/quote]

It's not really possible to take a spare kit. Our drummer takes spares where possible, some cymbols, snare. I don't take a whole spare bass rig either. A spare bass guitar takes up significantly less room though and is practical in most situations.

I'm going to play a festival in Holland in a couple of months, I won't be taking a spare bass because of restrictions on the flight and I break out in a cold sweat every time I think about it. My basses are reliable, but playing 3 days in a row without a backup and being payed a fairly significant amount of money to do it is quite scary.

[mep]

Main bass is my Stingray, so no problem there.

I have taken a backup bass in the past, and these have been a P bass or my Charvel, although I have not had to use one for emergencies. The closet I got to a gig problem with my Ray was when the volume pot played up and cut out a bit in the souncheck. It got me through the gig and I quickly replaced it. I have only broken 1 string mid set in 30 years of playing.

I sometimes take my fretless out for a few songs, but if I don't then I'm out with just my Ray. I have an old set of strings just in case. I'm sure the others could keep the crowd going if I had to replace a string.

So I guess I'm another yes and no.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1173957' date='Mar 23 2011, 10:01 PM']It's not really possible to take a spare kit. Our drummer takes spares where possible, some cymbols, snare. I don't take a whole spare bass rig either. A spare bass guitar takes up significantly less room though and is practical in most situations.

I'm going to play a festival in Holland in a couple of months, I won't be taking a spare bass because of restrictions on the flight and I break out in a cold sweat every time I think about it. My basses are reliable, but playing 3 days in a row without a backup and being payed a fairly significant amount of money to do it is quite scary.[/quote]
I know mate I was being facetious to make a point.

If all you are scared of is snapping a string then presumably a spare set of strings would (to carry your argument further) take up significantly less room than a whole bass?

[skej21]

Two jazzes and a P bass are my regular gigging basses, so they are quite close I would say...

However, only ever one at a time (on rotation). Never needed more than one bass at a gig before. Ever.

(Yes, I realise that probably means something will go badly wrong at the next gig and I regret saying this )

Edited March 23, 2011 by skej21

[4 Strings]

I've never needed a spare bass at a gig in 30 odd years of playing. I used to bust the occasional string years ago (usually having been boiled a few times) but it doesn't take long to put a new one and that's better than playing a different bass for the rest of the gig. Must be 20 years since I broke a string.

However, I always carry spare strings, a lead, fuses. Have blown a fuse, can't remember needing a second lead (gigging leads are never cheap ones). I took a spare head for a little while but that novelty wore off without it being used.

A second bass for me is an old banger Precision, picked up all the time and used for rehearsals, practicing at home etc. For gigs its a pre-EB Stingray that I dearly love but couldn't afford to replace.

So, in answer to the original question, yes it does resemble it in that it's a fairly broad but slim maple neck that is comfortable and designed by our hero. I have a Jazz but that's too different for serious use, its not familiar enough for me. Nice bass though!

[BigRedX]

The two 5-strings in this shot are my main two basses:



There is slightly more variation to them than just the finish, the black one has humbuckers with coil taps passive electonics and an ebony fingerboard, while the red one has single coil pickups that can be used together in series or parallel, active elctronics and a cocobolo fingerboard. They are actually consecutively numbered being the 2nd and 3rd 5-string G3s that Simon Farmer made.

They would feel identical to play except for the fact that the black one has heavier gauge strings on at the moment. Sound-wise there's a fair amount of overlap, although the red one is generally be brighter and the black one thicker.

I use the red one as my main bass with Dick Venom with the black one as a spare, and the other way around for my covers band.

[The Bass Doc]

I've never carried a back-up bass - only a set of strings.

Mind you, I have been known to turn up to a gig without my bass, so a back-up would have been useful.

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1173968' date='Mar 23 2011, 10:09 PM']I know mate I was being facetious to make a point.

If all you are scared of is snapping a string then presumably a spare set of strings would (to carry your argument further) take up significantly less room than a whole bass?[/quote]

I would take a spare kit if possible, trust me. It's not what's available whilst taking up less space, it's about what's available whilst actually being able to fit everything. Obviously if we're out of space, things like spare cabs and spare basses are the first things to be sacrificed (in fact I rarely get to take a spare cab as I only have a Ford Fiesta and I can't fit both mine in).

A spare set of strings would be enough if snapping a string was the only possible problem. Faulty electrics, your bass being nicked, being knocked over and taking the headstock off, tuning peg snapping and rabid donkeys coming and nibbling the bridge off are all potential problems that could arise at a gig through accidents, idiots or just chance. There's things that, without taking a spare, you can't prepare for.

[Clarky]

Never used a backup. I'm sure it might come in useful about as often as my team (Arsenal) wins silverware, so yeah not needed one in the last six years. Never broken a string either. So the concept of backup is redundant as far as I am concerned. I can understand it for risk limitation purposes but the risks have been infinitesimally small so far in my experience.

[stingrayPete1977]

Stingray5 or 4 backed up with another stingray 4 If I don't need a five (yes need!) then I take either both Ray 4's or one Ray 4 and a Jazz, I loved playing my Jazz at my last function gig but I don't think there will be a 3 Rays for Alleva Jazz thread anytime soon




for once i disagree with ou7shined as the no backup bass is not an option sometimes, ie we used to play the bull and gate in Kentish town, it's a 300 mile round trip via the drummers house to collect the kit, you get a 30-45 minute set to play your original songs so it's a long way to go to not play all your set. That dropped song because of a 3 minute string change in the dark even if you can find your spares under 4 other bands worth of empty cases etc is often the best you were saving until last! It's ok at a pub gig where your in charge of the evening but a lot of decent venues will pull you off stage bang on the timer.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1173991' date='Mar 23 2011, 10:24 PM']...A spare set of strings would be enough if snapping a string was the only possible problem. Faulty electrics, your bass being nicked, being knocked over and taking the headstock off, tuning peg snapping and rabid donkeys coming and nibbling the bridge off are all potential problems that could arise at a gig through accidents, idiots or just chance. There's things that, without taking a spare, you can't prepare for.[/quote]
Yep faulty 'tronics can happen but realistically they should be throughly checked beforehand. Someone will only knock your bass over if you put it somewhere someone will knock it over. And if your patron gets pissy at your lack of professionalism because his donkey chews your bridge off or his punters half inch your gear then that's his fault not yours.

Like I say I'm not against it in principal just that it seems to be another spurious practice laid on us bass players by our peers.

Besides all these things you say can go wrong could just as likely go wrong with your backup bass... how much of a cnut would you look then.

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1173968' date='Mar 23 2011, 10:09 PM']If all you are scared of is snapping a string then presumably a spare set of strings would (to carry your argument further) take up significantly less room than a whole bass?[/quote]


If you're getting paid to play then the least you can do is take a cheap bass you can grab after the song ends, in my view anything else is unprofessional - apart from nailing the entire gig without an E or A string of course, that'd be pretty professional!

I've been in the situation before where we've had to have a break for someone to change a string. Not fun, looks amateur and clears the dancefloor - 3 things i don't like on gig night!

[deepbass5]

A really interesting thread and feedback.

I have to say I do agree with most of the comments that basses are fairly reliable and I have only broken two strings in 30 years, a G when first put on at home, and an E that parted somewhere inside and took me about 8 numbers to realise it wasn't an intermittent lead. But I do agree with GK that no back up is risky and not professional. And we are all pros when out earning on a Saturday night and amateurs or semi pro when not playing. We now have a pro guitar player and his professionalism has rubbed off on me in a good way. Firstly I had to get my act together musically, but I also now carry a spare amp as well as a spare bass to all gigs. Yes these were originally similar 2x schacks, but my streamer has taken over as my main bass and my active schack as backup. These are different in sound. And I now tend to try each out to see which fits the venue acoustics best. I also carry spare PA amp and mixer

Oh and I am a pessimistic nervous wreck, but I used to be a maintenance Manager and a boy scout before that.

should just add our drummer carries a spare snare and bass drum pedal. he also put his beater through his bass drum mid gig, and wow he had a spare in his case.

Edited March 23, 2011 by deepbass5

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1174049' date='Mar 23 2011, 10:59 PM']If you're getting paid to play then the least you can do is take a cheap bass you can grab after the song ends, in my view anything else is unprofessional - apart from nailing the entire gig without an E or A string of course, that'd be pretty professional!

I've been in the situation before where we've had to have a break for someone to change a string. Not fun, looks amateur and clears the dancefloor - 3 things i don't like on gig night![/quote]
I agree it totally looks bad if you all just shuffle about all unprofessional like.
I was in this band where our rhythm guitar would regularly snap a string (even happened twice one night once) and have to string up again. But we'd cope with it in our own way (some might say "professionally"). The singer would make some crack about it and involve the audience in some banter or the lead guitar and myself would do a spontaneous comedy jazz break or bash out a few bars of some well known but unexpected tune.
There's tons of ways of making light of an unexpected break. But dead air is the height of amateurism yes.

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='deepbass5' post='1174052' date='Mar 23 2011, 11:01 PM']We now have a pro guitar player and his professionalism has rubbed off on me in a good way. Firstly I had to get my act together musically, but I also now carry a spare amp as well as a spare bass to all gigs.[/quote]


I'll always remember the learning curve when i first started working with a pro sound engineer who played guitar for us.
PA pack down took a fraction of the time and all our leads were immaculately coiled and carefully stored, everybody had spares wherever practical. Having to interrupt the set because of prior negligence or laziness made him scowl!

I still do things exactly the way he taught me regarding looking after equipment and how to ensure your night goes without a hitch.