Spare Bass Question

[Dave D]

I guess that many of us take 2 or more basses on stage.

How is the spare set up?

Is it a standard tuning 4 string, or a 5?
Is it strung differently?

My new main is a Stingray, and i was thinking of setting up my Peavey 4 string BEAD to cover the few numbers where the low B will be needed.

[Gareth Hughes]

My spare is either a direct copy - as in identical in function - or else it's a variation, as in my main bass will be a 4 string with roundwounds and the spare will have flats, or be fretless, or a 5. Unless I know a gig requires specific variations then I'll just bring whatever tickles my fancy that night.

[sixdegrees]

Having a low B on a 4 string means that it would have to stay that way for a while, at least. Truss rod adjustment and re-cutting the nut would be the main concerns.

I picked up an OLP Stingray 5 in great condition last week for 50 quid. So maybe keep your eyes out for a bargain fiver for the low B.

For a spare bass - I like it to be as similar to my main bass and use it more as an emergency go to.

[Grand Wazoo]

For me a 4 and a 5 strings both in standard tuning, can be very different from each other.

[Marvin]

I have 2 basses set up identically. Well, the actions may be slightly different But the tunings are the same.

[chrismuzz]

I've never taken a spare to a gig. If I did it would be ideally the same as the main bass, perhaps a different colour

[bertbass]

A spare bass for me is just that. Mine is only there in case I break a string or the main bass stops working. Change basses as quickly as possible and I'm off again.

[Booooooom]

Hope this won't tempt fate but I've never needed a spare due to a problem. I play in standard tuning but I take a second bass tuned down to C with DR drop tuning strings and that's only used for one song but if push comes to shove it means I have a spare on stage. If that song's not in the set I still take a standard tuned spare but I've never needed to use it. I like the idea of using more than one bass but actually hate having to change mid-set.

[neepheid]

I have only once taken a "spare" to a gig but it was more like an understudy - I was gigging a bass for the first time and because I had a hard time getting a suitably audible setting out of it and the amp in the practice room I was worried that a similar outcome might happen at the gig. Therefore I took a bass that was proven to work well on stage, in case difficulties arose at soundcheck.

I needn't have worried, the bass performed excellently. I played the understudy at the next gig so that it didn't feel bad

No spare basses for me in general. Taking a spare to the relatively small gigs I play makes me feel like a bit of a twat if truth be told, in the same way that wearing sunglasses indoors does. "Who does he think he is?"

I always have a toolkit, I always have batteries, I always have strings. I'll get by.

To answer the OP's question - it was set up to my liking, same standard 4 string tuning, just there to deputise in case the #1 bass wasn't cutting through.

[LiamPodmore]

I normally have 2 basses, my main which is a Jazz V tuned standard, and the backup is normally something P/J like (Tanglewood Rebel 4K, Ibanez GSR200), tuned to standard, although last night i did use the Tanglewood, strung with Picato Flats (Thanks to Dave C), with the Jazz V (Ernie Ball Slinkies) as a backup. I could easily get away with a two 4 strings, but i have my 5 so why not use it, and its my only working bass at the mo.

Edit: Depending on the gig i actually use both, when i feel like it, for a bit of variation. The second is there as a backup, but it gets used anyway.

Liam

Edited November 14, 2011 by LiamPodmore

[charic]

I don't currently take a spare, always have spare strings handy though. It's because my 3 basses are strung:

CGCF
EADG
BEADGC

[JTUK]

2 are the same set-up

The tonal differences on the two are huge though, so I pick whichever one to start based on the soundcheck and even a whim.

I might even choose one over another if I want to play in a different style that gig

[Graham]

I used to use my G&L for almost the entire covers band set, but as it's tuned B-E-A-D I had to switch over to my jazz for Sweet Child O'Mine as you need the top string for the intro. However I decided that was too much hassle and just used the jazz for the whole set, particularly as the guitarist had a habbit of forgetting that I needed to do this and would launch into the intro without warning.

So now I've got my Lakland that'll be the one I'll use for the gig (tuned to standard) and I'll bring the Fender as a backup incase I break a string or something

[BigRedX]

A spare bass for me is one that can double for my main bass at a moments notice. Therefore it needs to be as close to my main bass in feel and sound as possible. At the moment I have two fretted Gus G3s which while not exactly identical have a big enough tone overlap for them to be substitutes for each other.

In the days when I was playing both fretted and fretless basses in the same band I always had a back up for each.

[Lozz196]

For the last few years I`ve taken a backup to gigs, never even needed to take them out of the case. Then one day decided I`m not going to bother anymore.

[4 Strings]

I took one once. Just another 4 string, tuned as the main one. Took it home again afterwards.

Fatal last words, I'm sure, but been playing for over 30 years and have never needed more than one. Take spare strings etc though

[Monckyman]

I`ve been taking my main Jazz and a backup bitsa jazz with one tuned a half tone down for all those songs that had brass in them and consequently had basslines built around open E strings,I thought it would be easier and quicker than detuning retuning.
But,I always ended up tuning it when I put it on anyway, so wasn`t really saving time,and subsequently stopped bringing it.
Lately though I have my bitsa P which I love the tone of so I`m taking that for shits and giggles.
OK it won`t sound like the Jazz, but the Jazz has Nordstrand SVs fitted so nothing else sounds like it anyway, and nobody cares in an emergency in any case.
Most people including your band mates wouldn`t notice if you pulled out a kazoo,never mind a different bass.
I wouldn`t fancy soldering my way out of trouble at a gig,nor testing my way through pickup wiring,not when all I have to do is bring a spare...

Edited November 20, 2011 by Monckyman

[Prime_BASS]

Money no question I would have another early 90's sterling setup the same with the same pickup.


I've yet to find myself in a situation where I needed another bass at a gig.

[4 Strings]

I find its one of those things that if I think about it makes me panic and need to take a spare, but then, before I know it, some more gigs have gone by and the feeling passed. In all the bands I've been in only one guitarist ever takes one, not with them any more. His guitar ended being used permanently by the keys/guitarist as he never paid any attention to his guitar and kept breaking strings and not replacing them between rehearsals/gigs.

If I did then it would be detuned if I had any detuned songs and just swapped when needed so to go with the OP question, yes go for it. If you need it as a spare just retune.

[Blademan_98]

I don't usually take two on stage but if I did it would be my two Jazz's

One fretted and the other fretless.

But I usually just have the fretless.

[The Dark Lord]

Usually take a USA Precision and a USA Jazz. I decide which one is the main and which is the back up on a whim. The Jazz sounds a little brighter than the Precision, so I tweak the EQ accordingly. Sometimes I will play one for the first set, the other for the other one. If one failed, I would swap ...... I'm so used to swapping them around, it would be no big deal. Never had a bass fail though. Only a couple of times, in a long, long time, when I though one of the strings was going off, have I swapped during a set.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I don't carry a spare.
I never have.
Having said that, the biggest emergency I've ever had was the lock on a flightcase jamming "locked" and the key not opening it- I fixed that with a cymbal stand (don't ask!)
I've never had a string break, and check my batteries/carry spares.

To be honest, if I DID carry a spare, anything even remotely capable would suffice, since;

1) It'd still sound like "me" playing it.
2) In the live environment, let's face it, no-one would really notice/care as long as it fulfilled whatever role was required.
3) Any port in a storm?