BassAdder60 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Interested if you gigging ( when it returns ) guys always have a back up amp ? My only and current rig is new and I don’t know if when I get back to gigging what to have as a backup in case of issues arising My current need is 300 to 400w into a single 8ohm cab up to medium sized venues etc Or have no spare amp and just have a di pedal in my bag Ideas please .. if suggesting amps keep the cost down please to around £300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I've carried a back up amp around for donkeys years and never used it once. If I get back to gigging I'd like to think I won't take one any more..............but I will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 "Or have no spare amp and just have a di pedal in my bag" This. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I bring a spare SM58 so if my bass amp breaks down I'll be able to sing the bass lines. Luckily the amp has never broken down as my singing is terrible. 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I generally take a MarkBass Nano 300 with me as a backup. On one gig it ended up powering one of the PA speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 4 minutes ago, BassBunny said: "Or have no spare amp and just have a di pedal in my bag" This. If you can DI to the PA, why have even one bass amp, let alone two? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 In my last band much of the time I’d be using shared or provided rigs going to FOH PA so all my eq/sound came from my Preamp/DI pedal, as such I carried a back up for that. In my current band, for our one and only ever gig that we intend to do I’ll take a backup amp as it will be a pub gig with vocals only PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I use 2 1x12 cabs, so a natural back there, and also have a Trace Elliott ELF which takes up no space as a back up and is pretty loud as well sounds good. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmybass Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I always carry my Tc bh250 just in case. it’s nowhere near as punchy as my Marshall, but it will do in a pinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Always back up. Cables, speakons, amp head, bass guitar, tuner. You only need one thing to fail once and you'll never leave anything to chance again. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 4 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said: I bring a spare SM58 so if my bass amp breaks down I'll be able to sing the bass lines. Luckily the amp has never broken down as my singing is terrible. Have you tried using a decent mic? That might help... Back on topic: I haven’t needed my backup amp in 10 years of gigs. I still carry at least a DI box, and often a Trace Elliot Elf which is about the size of DI box anyway. For out of town gigs I take my 1x10 frankenamp combo and a spare bass if there is room in the van. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 5 hours ago, jrixn1 said: If you can DI to the PA, why have even one bass amp, let alone two? DI into PA as a backup solution might not be nearly as preferable as using a bass amp or even a spare bass bass amp. If the preference is for DI to PA then taking an amp would be the backup plan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 After having a Markbass head fail on me, luckily on the encore, I always take a spare amp. I've never needed it though. I take a spare for everything now. The spare bass is a Steinberger XT2 so very compact. Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I've never needed a back up amp but a few years ago bought a head, secondhand, which arrived with a fault. I took it apart and put it back together again, and it then worked fine, but I've never 100% trusted it. Since then I always take another head with me, just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Half the time I don't even take a spare bass, so I'm not going to carry a spare amp. I've always got a couple of DI boxes with me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Well I always gig with an amp and separate cabs so I think a small backup head is sensible Any suggestions that can hang with a drummer and guitarist playing rock ? Small to medium venues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I had my Acoustic amp go up in smoke many (30-odd) years ago. No backup. Tiny vocal-only 'PA'. End of gig. I've always carried a backup since, and never needed it. Which probably doesn't help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Elf for me. Now I've bought the Peavey valve beast though, my Bugera Veyrom will be redundant so I'll prob take that as my spare. The elf is capable but only just whereas the Veyrom has volume in spades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 7 hours ago, jrixn1 said: If you can DI to the PA, why have even one bass amp, let alone two? In case the PA packs up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 1 hour ago, BassAdder27 said: Well I always gig with an amp and separate cabs so I think a small backup head is sensible Any suggestions that can hang with a drummer and guitarist playing rock ? Small to medium venues Some find the 200w Elf quite adequate as a main amp while others sneer at it, all playing rock with guitars and drums. Ymmv. Having multiple cabs makes 200w go far so worth a look imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 23 minutes ago, Count Bassy said: In case the PA packs up? If the PA packs up, your band has a problem a lot worse than merely not having a bass amp. We have our own PA, with that being the resilient part: spare bits in the van, or can repurpose monitors as FOH at a push. But yes, when it's not your PA and you're relying on supplied equipment, then I agree: bring something to be self-sufficient. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 8 hours ago, jrixn1 said: If you can DI to the PA, why have even one bass amp, let alone two? That's the plan going forward. Assuming there is a forward 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 I used to take a Mesa BB750 along as backup in case my SVT-II became emotional during a gig. A year out of gigging and it all seems a bit mad now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 36 minutes ago, jrixn1 said: If the PA packs up, your band has a problem a lot worse than merely not having a bass amp. We have our own PA, with that being the resilient part: spare bits in the van, or can repurpose monitors as FOH at a push. But yes, when it's not your PA and you're relying on supplied equipment, then I agree: bring something to be self-sufficient. I think it can balance out though. I suspect you've got a very decent PA though plus several monitors? We have two lightweight RCF310As that can handle 3 vocals, acoustic guitar and sax, and we manage with just one monitor for the vocals. Our backline serves as the "monitors" for bass and electric guitar, which works just fine for pub gigs. My sense is thay you need a pretty decent PA to handle bass as well as quality separates can - so it boils down to which route you're going down and clearly both can work well. In terms of the OPs question: I've never had an amp blow, never bothered with a spare and we will have a spare lead somewhere so that I can DI into the PA in an emergency. Or not and audience probably wouldn't notice... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 49 minutes ago, Al Krow said: I suspect you've got a very decent PA though plus several monitors? Yes, true, we do. Quote We have two lightweight RCF310As that can handle 3 vocals, acoustic guitar and sax, and we manage with just one monitor for the vocals. Ok, but then in your case, if you/your band had £300 earmarked for back-up gear (the original poster's budget), I would say you'd be better off with a spare RCF 310A or mixer than a spare 200W bass head. A RCF 310A can play the role of FOH, floor monitor, guitar amp, or bass amp; but you can't put the vocals, sax, and guitar through a Trace Elliot Elf. Quote My sense is thay you need a pretty decent PA to handle bass as well as quality separates can I'd take my RCF 732A over any bass head and 1x12 cab 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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