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Best gear at gigs?


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Ironically the only 'fairly expensive' gear I've had issues with at a gig was a Ric 4003 that someone tried to walk off with between spots.  Apparently he was just taking it outside 'to show a mate'.  Some might argue he was trying to do me a favour...... 

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One of the bands we sometimes cross paths with lost a Gibson 335 between sets. The CCTV showed someone walk into pub, lift it off the stand and walk out with it, while they were out the back having a fag. The bar staff said they’d assumed the perpetrator was with the band. I don’t think they ever got it back either.

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2 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

It isn't limited to the pop music world. A drummer friend (who also does orchestral work) told me that a visiting Russian orchestra once walked off with the 80 grand's worth of the Festival Hall's timpani. Straight in the back of the coach and back to Moscow. They could hardly have done that "accidentally".

Oh, I'm not so sure. One kettle drum looks a lot like any other kettle drum... :|

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46 minutes ago, martthebass said:

Ironically the only 'fairly expensive' gear I've had issues with at a gig was a Ric 4003 that someone tried to walk off with between spots.  Apparently he was just taking it outside 'to show a mate'.  Some might argue he was trying to do me a favour...... 

I'm sure he would have bought it back when he realised what he'd got!

My bass is always in the case and  tucked in the corner when I'm not playing it.

I'm usually the only one in the band who sees a problem with leaving the doors of a half loaded and unattended van open during load out!

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I'd love to gig my Mesa M6 Combo - it's the best of my rigs. But at 80 lbs it's become my bass-ment's guilty pleasure! Now if only I was built anything like the fabled bass players of old who lifted fridge impersonating rigs with one hand...

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No point having kit if you're not going to use it.  I take 2 alembics (fretted and fretless)and a full mesa rig (titan, 410, 210) to most gigs.  Sometimes have to leave the 210 behind if it's a small venue. I bought the stuff cos I enjoy playing it so I do. 

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On 7 June 2018 at 21:41, taunton-hobbit said:

Being more-or-less retired, I look at my kit from time to time.........

I have some frighteningly good Matamp (valve) 300 watters, which are mint, never having been out.

If I were to consider gigging, I think I'd use my Crown 2000, which is immaculate, but not

irreplaceable if 'something' happened.........does anyone else have kit which is 'too nice to use'?

Or am I just being 'old'?

I take all my amps and speakers out, but there are some basses that I wouldn't take out

recently I had to talk myself in to taking my mint Fender Tony jacklin fretless out for a jazz gig

glad I did, that jazz pup on its in turned me in to a wizard soloist - made it a delight and made it easy to solo - never felt that way about soloing before

to be repeated

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I personally wouldn't buy any gear that I wouldn't gig. 

They're all tools for the job. My gear is good, maybe very good (GAS related), but nothing that I would not bother with if I couldn't take out in public. 

I aim to have one of each - bass, amp, cab. All very good, rather than a number of cheapies, but all giggable. 

 

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20 hours ago, taunton-hobbit said:

I once 'lost' a pair of 2x12 (with horn) Selmer prototypes.........

the police found them for me quite quickly.........stupid really, there

was only one band that could have 'accidentally' walked off with them,

and we had their gig list............at least they didn't nick my bass bins...........

😎

Had this at a gig once - the singer had brought a guitar to the gig as a backup for our guitarist, a very unpleasant looking BC Rich (they were quite popular with metal bands at the time).  We're on before the headliners, play our set, and as we're breaking down and loading our gear out of the back door into assorted cars the singer asked who's taken his guitar as it's not where he left it by the side of the stage.  We check that none of us or our mates has picked it up and put it into the wrong car, but there's no sign of it.  Singer goes off to see the promoter, who tells us that the only people with access to the stage other than us and our "crew" are the soundman and the headliners (setting up) but he can't say for sure as he doesn't know who everybody is and somebody might have sneaked up and looked like they were helping us carry stuff.

Singer checks with the people on the door whether anybody's come out with a guitar (no), asks people in the crowd if they've noticed anybody coming onto the stage (no), so the only way anybody could have got it would have been by coming back stage, in from the street.

Just as he's about to ring the police, our one proper roadie, a huge biker (think Opie from Sons of Anarchy) pipes up "I've found it lads".  He can see it lying in the back of the headliner's transit van, an unmistakably shaped and luridly painted guitar in a van that is otherwise completely empty.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this" says the roadie, gets the singer to block in the transit with his car, and then, grinning, goes off to "have a word" with the other band...

suffice to say, we got the guitar back

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I'm in the 'if you've got it, use it' camp. I don't have a 62 P-Bass (ohhhh) but if I did I'd use it at gigs. Who is going to know? Very few people are capable of identifying and valuing a bass guitar. If anything, people will think it's a copy. On the other hand, I certainly wouldn't let it out of my grasp for a moment, so maybe that would actually give the game away...

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4 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

I take my nice kit gigging. Life's for living.

If I stay in a hotel I won't leave a bass in the car but if the thieves can lift the Ampeg rig, I figure they've earned a reward ¬¬

You take your bass and Ampeg rig on holiday with you. WOW that's dedication :laugh1::laugh1::laugh1:

Dave

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As I've got older I've fallen into the if I don't gig it I don't keep it camp and tried hard to get rid of any sentimental attachment to any item. So I only use what I can easily and cheaply replace.

My bass cost on average £100-200 each, the cab £300 and the most expensive is my amp head at around £600.

Obviously id be gutted if the basses got nicked or damaged, but I know they could be replaced cheaply, without any major financial crippling or loss of quality.

Edited by la bam
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3 hours ago, Monkey Steve said:

we're breaking down and loading our gear out of the back door into assorted cars the singer asked who's taken his guitar as it's not where he left it by the side of the stage.

Leaving guitars or anything small or valuable anywhere on a muti band gig is asking for trouble. If it doesn't get nicked it'll likely get stomped by the roadies.

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Gear doesn't have to be gigged to justify having. There's no rule or special virtue about that. In fact plenty of us might be between bands or have ceased being in a band altogether. Does that mean we should sell all our gear?

If it's sitting around not getting played at all, whether at home, in the studio or live, it's only at that point I think "yup this should be with someone else".

But as long as it gets used and you get enjoyment, creativity or simple pleasure from playing it; in my books that's plenty. 

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I did have a - luckily - cheap bass stolen once. I was pretty sure who did it, but didn`t want to throw any accusations, so I went to their next gig. With a claw hammer. Probably lucky for all of us that said bass was nowhere to be seen.

But, lesson learned, don`t leave your gear to your band-mates to bring to gigs/take back for you. The singer of the band had brought all the gear in the van, and then said he would load up/take it back. He just thought I`d taken it back with me.

Edited by Lozz196
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1 minute ago, Lozz196 said:

I did have a - luckily - cheap bass stolen once. I was pretty sure who did it, but didn`t want to throw any accusations, so I went to their next gig. With a claw hammer. Probably lucky for all of us that said bass was nowhere to be seen.

Altho i laughed a fair bit i'm not sure why you took the claw hammer :D

Dave

NB : i was laughing at the claw hammer bit and not the fact your bass was stolen.

 

Edited by dmccombe7
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12 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Altho i laughed a fair bit i'm not sure why you took the claw hammer :D

Dave

NB : i was laughing at the claw hammer bit and not the fact your bass was stolen.

 

No worries Dave, I see what you mean. I took said claw hammer so that if I saw the person I suspected of stealing my bass, I could hit him with it. I was less reasonable in my younger years.

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