Back up Amp - or nothing ?

[paulbuzz]

7 minutes ago, peteb said:

You can't say it won't happen to you, because if you do enough gigs then eventually it will. Having said that, if I find myself obliged to take just one bass then I will bring a passive. 

Yes I can, because my bass will never have a battery in it!

[peteb]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

+1 ^^

My ideal back up is a passive pull switch on active basses, and failing that a spare 9V battery in the gig bag and quick check on battery voltage tester (cost just a few quid) before I set off. 

One spare 9V battery?? I always have a box of Duracell 9v batteries in my gigbag and another in my spares box! 

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, peteb said:

One spare 9V battery?? I always have a box of Duracell 9v batteries in my gigbag and another in my spares box! 

Excellent! 

Ok @paulbuzz I think that's just answered your risk spectrum question. I'm going to sleep much easier now, cheers Pete 😁

[peteb]

13 minutes ago, paulbuzz said:

Yes I can, because my bass will never have a battery in it!

Changing a battery is not big deal, but it is not so easy to sort a jack socket failing or a more general wiring issue. As I said, four times in 40 years, but a couple of those were among the biggest gigs that I've ever played!  

When I first started gigging, I just had a P bass. When I first joined a band that really gigged a lot, a condition of them asking me to join was that I got a spare bass. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by peteb

[peteb]

18 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Excellent! 

Ok @paulbuzz I think that's just answered your risk spectrum question. I'm going to sleep much easier now, cheers Pete 😁

If someone like @casapete brings a spare bass, then perhaps you should at least consider it too. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by peteb

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, peteb said:

If someone like @casapete brings a spare bass, then perhaps you should consider it too. 

Agreed, and I certainly did Pete - this particular thread got me thinking! But I'm still at the more relaxed end of the spectrum (by BC standards) when it comes to spare basses at gigs, particularly following my conversations with a couple of BCers I know well. Even on this ultra cautious thread it's still no more than 52:48 methinks. Brexit all over again eh? 😂

And if one bass was good enough for John-Paul Jones, it's good enough for me 😉

[paulbuzz]

25 minutes ago, peteb said:

One spare 9V battery?? I always have a box of Duracell 9v batteries in my gigbag and another in my spares box! 

Ah no, that doesn't alleviate my battery paranoia at all!
The question is: how many songs will you have played with it sounding slightly bad, before it gets bad enough for you (or worse, someone else) to notice...?

Edited February 27, 2021 by paulbuzz

[peteb]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Agreed, and I certainly did Pete - this particular thread got me thinking! But I'm still at the more relaxed end of the spectrum (by BC standards) when it comes to spare basses at gigs, particularly following my conversations with a couple of BCers I know well. Even on this ultra cautious thread it's still no more than 52:48 methinks. Brexit all over again eh? 😂

And if one bass was good enough for John-Paul Jones, it's good enough for me 😉

Don't get me wrong, there are times that I only take a passive Fender to a gig. But usually I will take a spare, especially the big gigs. I've only needed the spare four times in 40 years, but that has included two of the biggest gigs that I have ever played! 

[peteb]

3 minutes ago, paulbuzz said:

Ah no, that doesn't alleviate my battery paranoia at all!
The question is: how many songs will you have played with it sounding slightly bad, before it gets bad enough for you (or worse, someone else) to notice...?

Not long actually. Active basses tend to work at full power then go very suddenly. I do change batteries long before I really need to. Boxes of industrial quality Duracell 9v batteries are pretty cheap on eBay. 

[Al Krow]

Just now, peteb said:

Don't get me wrong, there are times that I only take a passive Fender to a gig. But usually I will take a spare, especially the big gigs. I've only needed the spare four times in 40 years, but that has included two of the biggest gigs that I have ever played! 

And that totally makes sense - we are all a product of our own personal journeys. Just in the same way as @owen has had 40 years of gigging with no mishaps and would not dream of taking a spare amp or bass to a gig. 

My own landing space is a spare lead to DI into the PA in case the amp goes and a spare 9V  battery, and making sure our guitarist brings his spare axe because he regularly breaks a string!

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Nah you're quite correct. 

Fixed 😁

PS is it about time we had an update from you on the Broughton new super HPF thingy...

 

You're relentless!

(But I like you that way :p)

Got the Broughton thing but I've barely used it yet. First impression is ok, just not as intuitive to get where I want to as I hoped. I'll update the thread is due course, and will include clips now that I've finally opened all my boxes after I moved and got all my gear connected. You'll derive a small amount of joy when I confess publicly that I may not like it as much as I thought I would

Oops...

[peteb]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

And that totally makes sense - we are all a product of our own personal journeys. Just in the same way as @owen has had 40 years of gigging with no mishaps and would not dream of taking a spare amp or bass to a gig. 

My own landing space is a spare lead to DI into the PA in case the amp goes and a spare 9V  battery, and making sure our guitarist brings his spare axe because he regularly breaks a string!

As guitar players often do. If you ever play with one who uses a Floyd Rose you will want them to bring at least two spare guitars! 

To me, if you are travelling in a van or your own car, then its a no-brainer to chuck in a spare bass. If you are sharing transport or getting taxis, etc, or if you are playing festivals where you can always borrow a spare in an emergency and there may be an issue keeping track of gear then, sometimes you just have to rely of taking the one bass. 

[mcnach]

44 minutes ago, peteb said:

One spare 9V battery?? I always have a box of Duracell 9v batteries in my gigbag and another in my spares box! 

 

That's nothing, I have a spare box of batteries. It's empty, but the other box doesn't know it, its purpose is to make them feel expendable, so they try their best not to fail.

[Al Krow]

15 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

You're relentless!

(But I like you that way :p)

Got the Broughton thing but I've barely used it yet. First impression is ok, just not as intuitive to get where I want to as I hoped. I'll update the thread is due course, and will include clips now that I've finally opened all my boxes after I moved and got all my gear connected. You'll derive a small amount of joy when I confess publicly that I may not like it as much as I thought I would

Oops...

Can it be more than a small amount of joy? 😁

I saw that Lozz moved his more basic model on almost instantly. 

But actually it's a bit of surprise 'cos the Broughton HPF stuff was I thought pretty well regarded. 

Keeping it on topic, what's your back up plan? 

[MacDaddy]

 

Amp and speaker or combo. No spare but always have a decent DI (or pedal with a DI out) just in case. 

[Cuzzie]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

That's a very good point and question! 

I'm feeling exactly the same as your first sentence - so much so that I messaged a BC buddy of mine who is a pro bassist and was doing around 300 gigs a year pre Covid to ask him whether he took a spare bass to gigs, and he said "pretty much never" and was pretty relaxed on the basis that he looked after his gear carefully (which I do too). Made me feel a whole lot better with my measly 30 or so gigs a year...

And i know a pro who takes spare stuff who also looks after his gear - so what does that mean?!

We all know it’s about doing what makes you feel comfortable, and no one wants a failure, but if you are covered for eventualities with whatever then its cool, but if it happens to you and you are caught with your pants down, its not a nice situation

[Lozz196]

32 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Can it be more than a small amount of joy? 😁

I saw that Lozz moved his more basic model on almost instantly. 

But actually it's a bit of surprise 'cos the Broughton HPF stuff was I thought pretty well regarded. 

Keeping it on topic, what's your back up plan? 

Yeah it just wasn’t “me”, Bas. Very good pedal, did exactly as described but as I often find - to the cost of my wallet - I just prefer my bass/Para Driver/amp set up. Anything else in the line and it just sounds “wrong”, much the same as when I play a non-Fender bass. I suppose it just means I’ve found my ideal set-up (with backups, to keep on topic).

[Al Krow]

30 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah it just wasn’t “me”, Bas. Very good pedal, did exactly as described but as I often find - to the cost of my wallet - I just prefer my bass/Para Driver/amp set up. Anything else in the line and it just sounds “wrong”, much the same as when I play a non-Fender bass. I suppose it just means I’ve found my ideal set-up (with backups, to keep on topic).

Yeah I was kinda thinking along those lines when you bought it, particularly as you have your parametric mids on your para driver plus a really nice bit of grit, and knowing how much you love that pedal!

[Al Krow]

55 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

And i know a pro who takes spare stuff who also looks after his gear - so what does that mean?!

We all know it’s about doing what makes you feel comfortable, and no one wants a failure, but if you are covered for eventualities with whatever then its cool, but if it happens to you and you are caught with your pants down, its not a nice situation

It simply means we have different attitudes to risk. In particular the risk of our gear breaking down, which is guided by our own personal experience.

It's not possible to cover off every eventuality, you've gotta decide what risks are ones you consider negligible and which ones likely and how much spare gear you want to be carting to gigs. So one spare 9V battery for me, and a box full for Pete. 

But we're all grown ups capable of deciding where on the risk spectrum we're happy with being. John Paul Jones and several other pros on this thread, had / have just one bass at their gigs. That works for me, it doesn't for others. All good. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Al Krow

[Lozz196]

15 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Yeah I was kinda thinking along those lines when you bought it, particularly as you have your parametric mids on your para driver plus a really nice bit of grit, and knowing how much you love that pedal!

I think I’ve come to the conclusion that switching allegiance from Precisions to Jazzes is really all I should do at present, and keep everything else as it was.

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Can it be more than a small amount of joy? 😁

I saw that Lozz moved his more basic model on almost instantly. 

But actually it's a bit of surprise 'cos the Broughton HPF stuff was I thought pretty well regarded. 

Keeping it on topic, what's your back up plan? 

 

The HPF and LPF (it's the LPF I was more interested in) work just as expected and are great, although the LPF should go lower than it does, it turns out, to make me love it (I have an SFX Thumpinator + adjustable LPF that fits my preferences better... I really just wanted it to have adjustable HPF too, which the Broughton does). The midrange EQ is great too. It's the resonance filter aspect that I need to work on. I have used the adjustable HPF on my Mesa D800+ in combination with boosting the bass EQ to get that bump at the low mids while cutting the far low end and it's very nice... I wanted to be able to get that sort of effect on the Broughton unit in a bit more directed manner. I'm sure it'll do what I want, but it covers a wide range and I found it easy to get some frankly pretty bad sounds out of it. I'm not one to spend a lot of time getting to learn how to use an FX pedal: I want them simple and easy to use. On paper it should work, I just need more time with it... but if it turns out to be too fidgety I'll move it along.

Backup?  

 

 

[peteb]

30 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

It's not possible to cover off every eventuality, you've gotta decide what risks are ones you consider negligible and which ones likely and how much spare gear you want to be carting to gigs. So one spare 9V battery for me, and a box full for Pete. 

The thing is, the more gigs you do, the more you know what the risks are and what you can easily carry to ensure the gig goes without any undue hassle. For example, I always carry a spare strap with straplocks and another cheap strap without. This is because a couple of times other people have had a disaster with a strap, or we have wanted someone to sit in on a gig and having a spare guitar strap to hand has saved the day. 

The reason I carry a box of batteries is that it is cheaper to buy a box of top quality procell batteries than it is to buy 3 or 4 ordinary duracells. If anyone else has forgotten to bring a battery then its no issue, nor do I have to remember to pop to the supermarket to buy an overpriced pack of batteries every time I have a gig and have had to change one. 

[chris_b]

5 hours ago, paulbuzz said:

TBH, the most gig-disruptive equipment problem I ever created was when I found I didn't have my bass strap,

I've broken a strap. Luckily the guitarist had a spare, so I spent the night playing the bass under my chin. I've carried a spare strap ever since.

I carry an accessories bag which has a spare for most things. Strings, gaffa, batteries, strap, pens, ear plugs, fuses and 2 full sets of leads. I even have several picks, which I don't use but I did lend them to the guitarist when he forgot his pick tin.

I also have a set of everything for home use. I never take any gig stuff out of the bags or cases. I've left stuff at home in the past!!

Edited February 28, 2021 by chris_b

[Al Krow]

28 minutes ago, mcnach said:

I'm not one to spend a lot of time getting to learn how to use an FX pedal: I want them simple and easy to use.

I think you're underselling yourself:  e.g. you mentioned "You could experiment a bit in your favourite DAW, with the advantage that you can see the EQ curves, and you'll see what I mean. It's a very useful 'trick' when mixing." That's way more sophisticated than many of us get with our pedals, me included! 

[mcnach]

10 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I think you're underselling yourself:  e.g. you mentioned "You could experiment a bit in your favourite DAW, with the advantage that you can see the EQ curves, and you'll see what I mean. It's a very useful 'trick' when mixing." That's way more sophisticated than many of us get with our pedals, me included! 

 

But it isn't, it's super easy on a DAW, it's visual, move a couple of points, sorted.

Or maybe that just comes easier to me, a couple of years ago we were recording one song for a charity CD thing and I was not happy with the mix, I tried to explain to the guy recording us what I wanted but he wasn't quite getting it so he let me have a go... got it straight away. I don't know a lot, but I know what I like, I guess.

Actually, come to think of it, the way I 'discovered' that was with my D800+. Literally 2 controls: the adjustable HPF and the bass EQ control. I accidentally found that if I turned the bass higher than I wanted and used the HPF to slightly 'trim' the lowest end, I get that fat bass tone that retains definition and has no flab. It's been central to how I EQ my bass ever since.