Do you take a spare bass to a gig?

[stefBclef]

I travel to gigs by public transport, and I love just rocking up to a gig with my gig bag on my back.

Now I realise that I may be skating on thin ice by not taking a spare bass. I don't even have a spare bass!

So, do I buy a spare bass? Do I buy a new bass and make my Yamaha RBX my spare? Do I just carry on with one bass?

[EssentialTension]

One bass is fine almost all the time - just carry spare strings and a soldering iron for those very rare occasions when it's not fine.


And, of course, a screwdriver.

Edited May 27, 2012 by EssentialTension

[stefBclef]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1338156729' post='1670295']
One bass is fine almost all the time - just carry spare strings and a soldering iron for those very rare occasions when it's not fine.
[/quote]

So on those rare occasions when it breaks and no-one has a spare, you get out your soldering iron? I guess you've gotta know what to do with it! I suppose I should learn about bass tinkering at some point.

[EssentialTension]

Well, it's going to be a rare occurrence, especially if you check your instrument regularly but a lead from pickup to jack can become unsoldered.

[Truckstop]

In nearly 10 years of live performing, I've only ever had to deal with broken strings (and that can be sorted in about 2 minutes if you've prepped your spare strings already) but I always take a spare with me. Some lout might stumble onto stage and crash into your bass and then you'll be shafted for sure! Some bugger might nick one, the headstock might snap off; god, there's a million things that can go wrong that can't be sorted on the night.

A spare is always handy. You can buy decent gigbags designed to carry two basses and as long as you stick with a fairly light bass (RBX's are pretty light as they go) you'll not find it too hard to carry them around. Decent 2nd hand RBX's go for around £70 on ebay. Maybe grab one and then at least you'll have another one that you can mod and tinker with? Maybe experiment with bridges, pups, learn how to set-up a guitar?

Truckstop

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1338158927' post='1670327']
In nearly 10 years of live performing, I've only ever had to deal with broken strings (and that can be sorted in about 2 minutes if you've prepped your spare strings already) but I always take a spare with me. Some lout might stumble onto stage and crash into your bass and then you'll be shafted for sure! Some bugger might nick one, the headstock might snap off; god, there's a million things that can go wrong that can't be sorted on the night.

A spare is always handy. You can buy decent gigbags designed to carry two basses and as long as you stick with a fairly light bass (RBX's are pretty light as they go) you'll not find it too hard to carry them around. Decent 2nd hand RBX's go for around £70 on ebay. Maybe grab one and then at least you'll have another one that you can mod and tinker with? Maybe experiment with bridges, pups, learn how to set-up a guitar?

Truckstop
[/quote]
Now you've made me wonder if I need several spares - just in case.

[Hobbayne]

I dont bring a spare although I have a bag full of strings etc. I,m more worried about my amp conking out than the bass guitar, thats why I get it serviced twice yearly.

[leftyhook]

never think its going to happen to you....but it can!

spare strings and soldering iron.....in the middle of a song when the dancefloor is full...?.o-h-h-h-h!

get a cheap back-up.
i snapped a string beginning of a set...first time I didnt take a back-up in ages.
the A string. had to get through the set with mind working overtime.

[EssentialTension]

Likelihood of an amp failing is, I think, much greater than bass failing and more difficult to repair on the spot.

So carry spare fuses and a DI.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1338159520' post='1670336']
never think its going to happen to you....but it can!

spare strings and soldering iron.....in the middle of a song when the dancefloor is full...?.o-h-h-h-h!

get a cheap back-up.
i snapped a string beginning of a set...first time I didnt take a back-up in ages.
the A string. had to get through the set with mind working overtime.
[/quote]

I've broken a string at a gig only once in the last thirty years. I can get to the end of a song with three strings even if the dancefloor is full. I can change a string in hardly any time at all.

I've never had to use a soldering iron on a bass at a gig - although I have used one on someone's guitar.

Do you take a complete spare rig?

[chrismuzz]

I've never taken a spare bass and thankfully it's not bitten me on the arse yet! On cover band gigs I take two basses though...A 5 in standard tuning and a 4 in Eb... I guess if it came to it I could just keep retuning instead of swapping basses!

[MrTaff]

I take two basses although in different tunings, but if something happened to one of them I could use the other one to play some sort of bass line, I certainly wouldn't want to risk only taking one bass and having something break during the set.

[Lozz196]

Well with my first two gigging bands, where I probably did upwards of 500 gigs in a 3 year period, I only had one bass, and never had any incidents where I needed a backup.

Plus, with my shoulder/back getting worse, I`m given to the thought that I`m going to take the risk and only take one bass to all gigs, cut down on carrying too much. I`ve got spare strings, plus screwdrivers/allen keys etc. Here`s hoping all goes well.

[Low End Bee]

I got fed up with carrying a back up that I never used. So at a gig in Croydon a couple of months ago I just took the one bass.
The A string broke (the first broken string since 1984!) on sound check and I had a flustering few minutes putting a new one on. Lucky it didn't happen later during the set. I'm taking the 'useless' back up to gigs again.

[chris_b]

[quote name='stefBclef' timestamp='1338156587' post='1670293']
....I travel to gigs by public transport....Now I realise that I may be skating on thin ice by not taking a spare bass....So, do I buy a spare bass?....
[/quote]

How do you use your gear? Do you throw it around? Are you rough with it? I'm not and the only thing I've needed to change on a gig has been batteries (and my bass is passive these days). I have never broken a string or used any of the fuses that I've carried for years.

So, IME, if you look after your gear, you don't need to carry any spares. The reason to buy and carry another bass is because you need a different sound; a fretless, acoustic, 5 string, etc.

It seems to me the one thing that could let you down on a gig is the public transport! I’d save up for a car.

[BigRedX]

Since I broke a string at one of the very first gigs that I played and had to use the other band's Grant violin bass which was absolutely nothing like my own, I've taken a spare bass to gigs. However since then I've not broken another string whilst gigging. In the last couple of years I've been doing a lot of gigs where travelling light has become necessary in order to fit the band and our instruments in a single car and so I've stopped taking the spare for any but the most important of gigs.

[Dave Vader]

Always took spare everything to gigs. Never needed it, and took bloody ages to lug it all in and out of the car.
In my new band, neither the fiddle player, guitarist or mandolin player have spare anythings, so I figure I'll join them
(although my gig bag has a lot of leads and strings and allen keys, screwdrivers, pliers etc in it, just in case).
it is nice to get in and out in one go without detroying my back.
bass in a bag on my back, Harley benton promethean clone in one hand, Pint in the other, happy days

[JTUK]

Do what you have to do..within the compromises you have accepted.
You will only need one failing to decide whether you need to revamp your thinking...or not.

Consider it as insurance but whether it is worth the cost to you...only you can say..or justify.

Me..? I know and am happy with my level of cover.

[drewm]

Remember to take a gas soldering iron, as an electric one won't work in a power cut, and then you'll never get that headstock reattached.

[Gust0o]

You sit and weigh up the odds for a long while... until it finally happens, and you have a fault. It's a very steep learning curve when you're live on stage with a fault.

So now I always take a spare, tuned and ready to plug in. But that's based on my means and my own priorities, and they won't be the same for everybody. At a minimum I would suggest a spare set of strings and the necessary gear to make a change.

For anything else, like a loose wire, you might be willing to chance it and hope someone else on the bill will have a back-up.

I'm not, so I take two. Very happy with my new Mono M80 bag - it's not half as big as I imagined a dual gig bag to be.

[stefBclef]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1338194093' post='1670497']
How do you use your gear? Do you throw it around? Are you rough with it? I'm not and the only thing I've needed to change on a gig has been batteries (and my bass is passive these days). I have never broken a string or used any of the fuses that I've carried for years.

So, IME, if you look after your gear, you don't need to carry any spares. The reason to buy and carry another bass is because you need a different sound; a fretless, acoustic, 5 string, etc.

It seems to me the one thing that could let you down on a gig is the public transport! I’d save up for a car.
[/quote]

I would say I am very gentle and caring towards my gear. But I also understand that no matter what you do, stuff can go wrong. Even if this is going to be very rare, I would like to be prepared if/when it does happen. I think I will buy a cheap backup (or maybe a nicer bass and use my current as a backup!). That way, I can learn more about fixing/setting up basses with the spare, and I may get to the point where I feel I could have a decent chance of fixing a bass with a soldering iron. In the meantime I can get used to carrying 2 basses.

I guess next in line to worry about is the amp failing. Would something like a SansAmp cover that problem?

Also, a few of you have mentioned spare fuses. Are you refering to amp fuses? I.e. there aren't fuses in an active bass are there? Do most amps use similar fuses? In other words, if you are going to be playing with a variety of amps as you use the houses backline rather than your own, is there a certain type of spare fuse you can keep with you that will fit all amps?

Edited May 28, 2012 by stefBclef

[Gust0o]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1338194093' post='1670497']
How do you use your gear? Do you throw it around? Are you rough with it? I'm not and the only thing I've needed to change on a gig has been batteries (and my bass is passive these days). I have never broken a string or used any of the fuses that I've carried for years.
[/quote]

Tempting fate, lah?

But, no, I'm not rough with my gear; and I recognise the above, as it used to be me. [i]And then I had an issue[/i]...

[Low End Bee]

I always carry a DI box too. If I've an audience who've paid to see my band I'd rather carry loads of gear that will hopefully go unused so I don't waste their money watching me rectify a fault. If I'm gigging with a band/s I know well I will sometimes have a gentlemans agreement that our basses and amps will be each others back ups in the event of a failure.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1338210102' post='1670810']
If I'm gigging with a band/s I know well I will sometimes have a gentlemans agreement that our basses and amps will be each others back ups in the event of a failure.
[/quote]

That's a really good call, chief.

[Muzz]

I always take two basses (in a double gig bag, unless it's gonna be a really long/rough trip, when I'll hardcase them) because I like the backup, plus I can swap basses for different songs if I feel like it. Means carrying a double stand, but that's hardly any bother at all.