skidder652003 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 never needed a spare axe at a gig (now wait until next week) in over 25 years of gigging. Needed a spare amp now and again but use a DI to PA so that's covered. Arrived at a gig and had forgotten my strap, luckily they dug a spare from behind the bar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said: My brother had a Gibson with robot tuners. He strummed it and it literally unwound one of the strings so it fell off 🤣 I had a gibson darkfire, the mother of the robotic tuners. It was fantastic. Ok, sometimes it took a couple of goes and the wiring was absolutely appaling, but if you fixed gibsons shocking QC, it was a great guitar, and it never had a problem tuning. Would have another one in a heartbeat but they have got quite expensive now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddBass Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 (edited) It may sound somewhat harsh, but I rarely re-hire musicians (permanent or dep) who don't turn up suitably prepared. When I 'hire' professional musicians, I expect a professional approach; excellent musicality, good personal hygiene and suitable appearance, spare equipment, good time keeping, clear communication skills etc. For me, professional musicians should have the 'tools and a spare' to cover for most reasonable eventualities. Edited June 2, 2021 by MuddBass 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 1 hour ago, MuddBass said: good personal hygiene That's my musical career scuppered... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 6 hours ago, jrixn1 said: I've attended a gig, i.e. as an audience member, where the guitarist's amp died (btw I didn't know the guy) and he had no idea what to do; it ruined the experience for me to the point where I eventually went and retrieved a powered speaker from my van and lent it to him for the rest of his gig! I had a similar experience. I went to the Crawdaddy Club to see the Yardbirds (1967). I got there early, and during the sound check Chris Dreja's P bass didn't work. I went home and fetched my bass. There were some raised eyebrows and nudge, nudge comments from Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck when I turned up with my Framus Star Bass! But it worked and Chris was very thankful at the end of the evening. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 24 minutes ago, chris_b said: I got there early, and during the sound check Chris Dreja's P bass didn't work. I went home and fetched my bass. There were some raised eyebrows and nudge, nudge comments from Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck when I turned up with my Framus Star Bass! As you do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 2 hours ago, MuddBass said: It may sound somewhat harsh, but I rarely re-hire musicians (permanent or dep) who don't turn up suitably prepared. When I 'hire' professional musicians, I expect a professional approach; excellent musicality, good personal hygiene and suitable appearance, spare equipment, good time keeping, clear communication skills etc. For me, professional musicians should have the 'tools and a spare' to cover for most reasonable eventualities. To be honest, I would take that as a given for a gig such as you would offer. Personally, I wouldn't do any gig without a spare and always have two of the same bass so that there is minimal impact if I have to change. Only ever actually needed a spare once in about 47 years but each to their own. I don't want to run the risk of anything happening but if people are then they accept the consequences if something does come unstuck. You'd be dead miffed if your emergency plumber turned up and his only 12mm spanner snapped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Must admit when we used to tour I also had a backup amp with me, trusty Ashdown RM500 (ably backing up my ABM600) fitted easily in my leads/pedals/gumf box, kept at the side of the stage with my backup bass. Any problems sorted quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 (edited) This is another one of those threads (like using a compressor) that turn up regularly on BC. The responses pretty much show where the poster is on the evolutionary ladder of bass players – not whether they take a spare or not, but their reasons for doing (or not doing) so! Whether I take a spare depends (as ever) on the gig. I take a spare bass to the vast majority of gigs, especially if it is: a) a big show, and; b) where I am travelling in my own car or a shared van, etc. If there are likely to be difficulties with getting to or from the gig, if it is a multi-band affair where there are more chances of gear going astray and easier to borrow a bass in an emergency, or if it isn’t a particularly important show then I am more likely to risk it and just take the one. In over 40 years of gigging, I have only needed a spare bass four times. But in accordance with Murphy’s Law, they were all pretty big gigs, including the biggest audience (of about 3,000) that I have played to in the last 15 or 20 years. Edited June 2, 2021 by peteb 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Well if I never manage to evolve past JPJ who only ever had one bass for much of his Led Zepp days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Spares are more fun… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Open question not to demonise - for the ones who fervently against taking a spare, if you did (unfortunately) have a failure which would have necessitated having a spare to solve the issue would it change your perception or would you write it off as one of those things? Would it also depend on what gig, size, function etc. Genuine interest, because some people here have developed their practice based on personal misfortune or misfortune to those they know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Only circumstances where I don't gig with two of everything is a jam session when I'm supplying the bass gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 13 hours ago, chris_b said: There were some raised eyebrows and nudge, nudge comments from Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck when I turned up with my Framus Star Bass! The Bass Gallery would like £995 for this please. A lot less than what a mid 60s P would cost, I guess, but still an awful lot more than sod all 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 I always take a spare where it’s feasible. I favour the cheapo backup option to keep the insurance premium sensible, and also because “my jag wouldn’t start so I went in the merc” sounds nowhere near as much fun when drunkenly recounting the tale at a later date as “..so I fired up the reliant and off we went!” 🙂 Our rhythm guitarist is ‘that guy’ when it comes to gear maintenance and associated malfunctions. He had yet another string break and proceeded to change it on stage, mid song. We just carried on playing and he managed to come back in for the last few bars. Unfortunately for him, he had a GoPro pointed straight at him, so the lead guitarist took the footage of the string replacement, speeded it up, set it to the benny hill theme and sent it round. It got the point across. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 10 hours ago, Al Krow said: Well if I never manage to evolve past JPJ who only ever had one bass for much of his Led Zepp days... Indeed - Just 2 Jazz basses, a Fender Bass V, a fender Bass VI and a couple of alembics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 7 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: Indeed - Just 2 Jazz basses, a Fender Bass V, a fender Bass VI and a couple of alembics. Check out the attached...in his own words. The guy was seriously "unprofessional" 😂 On 24/02/2021 at 23:38, Al Krow said: John Paul Jones Interview: Part 3 | ELIXIR Strings - YouTube [3.03] Apparently he only had one bass even when he started with Led Zep. Damn that must have made taking a spare along a bit tricky...😁 Nice video btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibody Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 On 01/06/2021 at 17:09, AndyTravis said: Ive had an amp Die onstage at the Deaf Institute in Manchester. That was grim. I'm having 'nam like flashbacks to a gig in Leamington Spa and my Carlsbro BG150 stack developing a dry joint mid set - saved by a bass player in the audience who ran home and returned with his own head for me to use (and told the Singer and guitarist what a pair of cnuts they were for giving me so much grief for it in front of the crowd) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 16 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Check out the attached...in his own words. The guy was seriously "unprofessional" 😂 It seems to me that you're just scouting for an argument. Highlighting a famous bass player that didn't have more than one bass for a live performances does not remove the risk. I wouldn't call it unprofessional, more unprepared and willing to take the gamble. As I said before, I think the gamble is easier to take with a passive bass and a new set of strings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 6 minutes ago, Nibody said: I'm having 'nam like flashbacks to a gig in Leamington Spa and my Carlsbro BG150 stack developing a dry joint mid set - saved by a bass player in the audience who ran home and returned with his own head for me to use (and told the Singer and guitarist what a pair of cnuts they were for giving me so much grief for it in front of the crowd) I was in ‘nam, Man…you weren’t there…man vietnam? nah man…Chelten(h)am… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Edwards69 Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Never to rehearsal, but I usually take a spare to a gig. At least, I always keep a set of old strings in my gig bag and a roadie wrench! I've never snapped a string, but I had one unravel at rehearsal when the sharp edge of the tuning post cut through the windings. I found out much later that DR coloured, coated strings are not meant to be trimmed down, which I did. So my bad. Only other issue I've had is a strap button working it's way loose but I manged to get to the end of the set without changing bass, then fixed it in the break (so much for straplocks if the button works loose!) I've since abandoned installing straplocks and just use a rubber washer and leave the strap on each bass - there's much less chance of a screw working loose if I never replace it. Touch wood, I've never had to use a backup bass due to a failure, but I bet if I didn't take one, then sod's law I'd need it. Spare backline however... After a catastrophic failure after my old Markbass LM2 suffered a small drop I started taking a spare head to gigs. Then I replaced the spare head with a flyrig type DI to go direct to FOH if need be. Now however, me and my two guitarists each use a helix and frfr speaker, one of them also bring a helix stomp as a backup which was can all use, and each FRFR speaker has multiple inputs, so there's spare channels everywhere, not to mention we now also go direct to FOH as well depending on the gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 3 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said: The Bass Gallery would like £995 for this please. A lot less than what a mid 60s P would cost, I guess, but still an awful lot more than sod all 😊 This is the bass. . . . . . . . probably worth 10/- by the time I'd finished with it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 2 hours ago, Al Krow said: Check out the attached...in his own words. The guy was seriously "unprofessional" 😂 Yep - all he had was the one jazz bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Ref. amps. If you are truly desperate, a bass (via pedals if necessary) can go direct into a dynamic mic input on a mixer without a DI box, as long as your sound engineer has some wits to get decent EQ and watches the levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 7 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: Yep - all he had was the one jazz bass. Good stuff! Hope he wasn't telling porkies on that video interview then - and did he take them both to the same gig? But he clearly discovered the benefit of having a 5 string bass, whilst he was at it 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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