mcnach Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I don't have a backup bass that was bought as such. Every bass I own was bought because I liked it for some reason. Then, Unless I require a specific bass for a specific look/sound, I just gravitate towards one or two naturally, and they kind of become the #1 and the backup... I lie. The MM SUB was bought because I wanted to make sure I always had a Stingray I could use, no matter what. But that's the only one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 If you view a second bass like a "get you home spare tyre", potentially never to be used then I suppose you could go cheap, but even if your backup bass only cost £100 I think that's a waste of £100. I don't have "backup" basses. I'd been playing for over 25 years before I even bought a second bass. I've never had a failure on a bass, never broken anything, not even a string, so the need for a "backup" wasn't high on my list, on the other hand I do have 2, and occasionally more, #1 basses. I'll chose which one I play depending on the gig. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 1 hour ago, chris_b said: I've never had a failure on a bass, never broken anything, not even a string, so the need for a "backup" wasn't high on my list, on the other hand I do have 2, and occasionally more, #1 basses. Boy am I looking forward to your next submission to the "How was your gig last night" thread. S.P. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 14 minutes ago, Stylon Pilson said: Boy am I looking forward to your next submission to the "How was your gig last night" thread. S.P. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 6 minutes ago, chris_b said: ?? I was just joking that having announced that you've never had a gear-related failure at a gig, sod's law dictates that something will now go wrong at your next one. S.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxyFuze Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Surprised no-one has mentioned Vintage brand stuff.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 2 hours ago, Stylon Pilson said: I was just joking that having announced that you've never had a gear-related failure at a gig, sod's law dictates that something will now go wrong at your next one. S.P. Ahh. I hope you don't have a point, but knowing my luck these days I've probably jinxed myself!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hohner B2AV. Nice and compact so it doesn't take up much extra room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 On 26/07/2019 at 09:02, chris_b said: If you view a second bass like a "get you home spare tyre", potentially never to be used then I suppose you could go cheap, but even if your backup bass only cost £100 I think that's a waste of £100. I don't have "backup" basses. I'd been playing for over 25 years before I even bought a second bass. I've never had a failure on a bass, never broken anything, not even a string, so the need for a "backup" wasn't high on my list, on the other hand I do have 2, and occasionally more, #1 basses. I'll chose which one I play depending on the gig. I do like the idea of not wasting money on a cheap backup bass and just either taking one bass and trusting it implicitly or taking both my main basses, but instead I take one main bass and an Ibanez GSR180 that I’ve fettled and now plays really nicely. That way, if I can only keep track of one and the other has to be left in a gear store or dressing room then it’s a simple choice which one I risk getting nicked, if I have to leave one with another band member to transport for me because I’m coming straight to a gig off the train from work then it’s a simple choice which one I risk getting non-optimally handled or stored, and if it all kicked off in a venue for any reason then it’d be a simple choice which one I left behind when I grabbed my main bass in one hand and my pedalboard in the other! 🙂 It may well be wasted money and dead weight (in fact I hope it is!) but as long as it makes me feel better then I see that as getting what I was paying for when I bought it. For such a cheap instrument it is very playable, though; to stick with the get-you-home-spare-wheel thing, I’d recommend the cheap Ibanezes as ideal space savers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 (edited) I use a Cort C5P (the P designates a piezo bridge but the regular C5 is otherwise identicai) as my backup now, one of the older Korean built ones. Paid £90 for it off a Facebook group and it weighs nothing, has a very good low B and sounds great. It now has a cheap Artec in as the original Fishman preamp went kaput which is more than good enough but the stock pre sounded great. Can gig with it no problem - it was actually my main bass for a while as it pushed the much more expensive Ibanez EDB to the back of the queue and that was later sold. I also had the later Cort B5 (Indonesian made) which I didn't like as much, B wasn't quite as tight and the Lic Bart preamp wasn't as good IMO. Extremely light (around 7lb on the ash one I had) and compact basses still though. Another option is the Cort Curbow (I had the Mighty Mite/Fishman equipped version) which is light, very compact and has a good low B. If you need a good lightweight bass which is cheap but still has a good low B then that would fit the bill, does for me anyway. There's also a Bass Collection in the classifieds for £150 or something. Edited July 29, 2019 by lemmywinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 On 25/07/2019 at 17:13, dannybuoy said: The pickup is the least likely thing to die, much more likely to be a jack, string, or strap button! all of which can be fixed/bodged at the gig. Apart from the dead pickup I've never had to change basses due to another failure. But it is best to have a spare. I went to a gig the other night with 5 guitars. Two basses for the Policed set, 2 six stringers and an acoustic for the Paul Weller thing I do too. Utter madness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 50 minutes ago, police squad said: all of which can be fixed/bodged at the gig. Apart from the dead pickup I've never had to change basses due to another failure. But it is best to have a spare. I went to a gig the other night with 5 guitars. Two basses for the Policed set, 2 six stringers and an acoustic for the Paul Weller thing I do too. Utter madness I think I'd rather pull out a backup bass than make the audience wait for my soldering iron to warm up mid-set! Although I have never brought a backup bass to any gig in my life! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 55 minutes ago, dannybuoy said: I think I'd rather pull out a backup bass than make the audience wait for my soldering iron to warm up mid-set! Although I have never brought a backup bass to any gig in my life! agreed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 What about something like this? Nothing to do with me BTW. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 On 29/07/2019 at 10:54, police squad said: all of which can be fixed/bodged at the gig. Apart from the dead pickup I've never had to change basses due to another failure. But it is best to have a spare. I went to a gig the other night with 5 guitars. Two basses for the Policed set, 2 six stringers and an acoustic for the Paul Weller thing I do too. Utter madness My jack socket - not the lead - failed mid gig as a headlining band, and it wasn’t fixable. Luckily I had a spare. I’ve had a couple of actives where the actives (not the battery) have gone down mid gig too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 16 hours ago, 4000 said: My jack socket - not the lead - failed mid gig as a headlining band, and it wasn’t fixable. Luckily I had a spare. I’ve had a couple of actives where the actives (not the battery) have gone down mid gig too. I must admit, I've not thought thought about a failing jack socket. I've been gigging over 30 years now and it's not happened yet. Amps have blown, strings have broken, leads have broken and the pickup thing but not a jack socket. Still, might happen now I've said it hasn't!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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