Spare bass .. do I really need one

[Steve Browning]

You can just picture the scene at Madison Square Garden as JPJ's bass suddenly dies and he walks across the stage forlornly - only to see Peter Grant waiting for him!!!

... or Ian Faith. 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Steve Browning

[BassAdder60]

As the OP I can now say for me the answer is YES I should have one / need one.

My new Yamaha TRBX174 arrived today with gig bag for £250 

It was nicely setup out of the box, maybe a little high. Truss Rod tweeked and action lowered to the same as my Fender PBass and put new strings on it ( stock are not great ) 

Ready and set now and for approx a 1/3 of  the cost of my PBass I have a very usable second bass / backup 

Sorted 👍

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

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 😁 

He was about the only person I have ever seen play the fender V, it was an odd bass, same range as a 4 spread on 5 strings, E-C and 15 frets!

[Steve Browning]

James Jamerson also had one. 

 

[gafbass02]

This image haunts me. Supporting Sikth, decent venue, big solo. By the time the shutter had gone off on this pic, the bass had failed. I swapped to my backup jazz and carried on. But not until after restarting the amp and checking the pedals etc. The bass just cut out, I checked it at home after and it was fine. It never did it again either. But right there and then, a backup was essential. 

[Al Krow]

20 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

As the OP I can now say for me the answer is YES I should have one / need one.

My new Yamaha TRBX174 arrived today with gig bag for £250 

It was nicely setup out of the box, maybe a little high. Truss Rod tweeked and action lowered to the same as my Fender PBass and put new strings on it ( stock are not great ) 

Ready and set now and for approx a 1/3 of  the cost of my PBass I have a very usable second bass / backup 

Sorted 👍

Out of interest did you get a spare amp, too, from your previous thread on that topic?

[BassAdder60]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Out of interest did you get a spare amp, too, from your previous thread on that topic?

Yep and the spare became my main amp 

ABM600 purchased from a nice chap on here 👍

[Al Krow]

7 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

Yep and the spare became my main amp 

ABM600 purchased from a nice chap on here 👍

Good stuff!

You seem to also have stumbled on the Iron Law of BC threads - starting one can prove costly on the wallet. Well that's certainly been my experience! Maybe best not to start a "Do I need a spare pedal board" thread 😁

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

6 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Maybe best not to start a "Do I need a spare pedal board" thread 😁

I can’t believe I’m even typing this, but my pedal board is the one thing that has not died on me. I’ve had amps go and basses, but never a pedal board. Probably just jinxed myself 😂.

[Al Krow]

3 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I can’t believe I’m even typing this, but my pedal board is the one thing that has not died on me. I’ve had amps go and basses, but never a pedal board. Probably just jinxed myself 😂.

We're all a function of our experience of what is likely to break down and which will shape our attitude to risk. It's very similar to folks' views on home insurance and the level of cover people take out.

In my case, I do actually have spares of pretty much most key gear i.e. (too many!) basses, recently acquired spare gigging amp, couple of cabs etc. But I play pretty much daily at home and much less frequently out on the road by comparison, although I'm probably doing a middling number of gigs by BC standards. So for me if a piece of kit is likely to fail then it's most likely to happen at home, so I'm comfortable that if it all checks out and not showing any signs of being temperamental pre-gig then that works for me and my bands.

There are plenty of pro bass players I know on BC who have not had any issue over decades of gigging with their basses (refer to the OP's previous thread for examples) and are comfortable with not bothering with a spare bass for a local pub gig but might take one to a more distant wedding. And others who will take spares of all gear to all gigs. I personally don't consider either to be more "pro" or more "evolved" as bass-players as one earlier post suggested. They're just basing their decisions on their own experience and attitudes to risk, just as some folk don't want to start gigging until the autumn due to Covid-19, whereas others can't wait to get back out as soon as we are allowed to.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Al Krow

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I can’t believe I’m even typing this, but my pedal board is the one thing that has not died on me. I’ve had amps go and basses, but never a pedal board. Probably just jinxed myself 😂.

The cable on my home made PSU gave way mid-gig, thankfully between songs. Most of my pedals have battery backup but pulling out all the PSU wires AND removing anything without a battery would have taken too long. I just pulled out the receiver (I was wireless) put it in the amp and whacked up the gain a bit!

Now got a rather snazzy TGI psu.

[garyt]

I have 2 reliable basses, and both have never failed on me.  I’ve only ever taken one bass to rehearsals and gigs, and that’s worked.  I wish I hadn’t written that, because I’m bound to have jinx myself.

In reality, I have a lot more faith in my bass’s reliability, than some of the pieces of stinky poo I drive to gigs, and I’ve never considered having a back up motor. 
Come to think of it, over the years my basses have been a lot more reliable than some of the people I’ve shared a stage with 🤣.

As for string breaks, I’ve only ever had 2 incidents at a gig.  And both times just played on with minus one string.   I wouldn’t consider re-stringing at a gig until there was a set break. 

[Geek99]

On 02/06/2021 at 19:02, Stub Mandrel said:

That's my musical career scuppered...

Are you Pigpen from Charlie Brown?  I claim my £5

[chris_b]

10 minutes ago, garyt said:

In reality, I have a lot more faith in my bass’s reliability, than some of the pieces of stinky poo I drive to gigs, and I’ve never considered having a back up motor.

I bought my first Volvo in 1985. I keep buying them because they never seem to stop working!

My problems are usually self inflicted! I missed the only gig I've failed to turn up to, because on the way, I filled it up with petrol rather than diesel!!  What a d!ck, and even more stupidly, I cheerfully rocked up to the Blues At The Farm gig in Billericay, when I should have been at a festival at Blues On The Farm, near Chichester!! I finally made it and we played 3 hours late!

[peteb]

Basses never fail until they do! It's only happened to me about four times in 40 years gigging, but on three of those occasions it was pretty big (one very big) gigs. Do you want to risk blowing an important gig and getting kicked out of a band because you didn't chuck an extra bass in a gigbag in the back of the car?? 

Of course we all evaluate risk in all parts of everyday life. How much gear we take to a gig depends in the gig and the likely risk / consequences of a f*** up. There are gigs where I only take one bass and the bare minimum of gear (generally those where there are going to be travel / logistical issues, or those that are simply not that important to me), but there are others that I take spares for nearly everything! Not having spare leads / strings / batteries in your gigbag is simply amateurish and on certain occasions, so is not having a spare bass.

If I was to turn up with only one bass to most of the gigs I do for the rock bands I'm in, then there would be raised eyebrows (to put it mildly - again, depends on the gig), whereas only having one bass on some of the dep gigs I've done was accepted as the done thing. 

[Lozz196]

12 hours ago, chris_b said:

I bought my first Volvo in 1985. I keep buying them because they never seem to stop working!

My problems are usually self inflicted! I missed the only gig I've failed to turn up to, because on the way, I filled it up with petrol rather than diesel!!  What a d!ck, and even more stupidly, I cheerfully rocked up to the Blues At The Farm gig in Billericay, when I should have been at a festival at Blues On The Farm, near Chichester!! I finally made it and we played 3 hours late!

Reminds me of the first tour I ever did. Got in the back of the van, all chatting/laughing/looking forward to the gig. Pulled up, driver opened the door and we got out. I noticed a shop that said Barnsley Newsagents and enquired, isn`t the first gig in Bradford? 

Back in the van then.......

[Doddy]

Whether I take a spare bass or not really depends on the situation. For theatres and arena shows, I'll have a spare: for local pub gigs, I won't. When I was doing cruises, I'd fly out with one bass to play 3-5 sets a night for 3 months.  Even if you've got a spare, sometimes you don't have time to swap instruments, and there has been a couple of occasions where I've snapped a string and had to carry on until the end of the set.

 

[Steve Browning]

6 hours ago, Doddy said:

Whether I take a spare bass or not really depends on the situation. For theatres and arena shows, I'll have a spare: for local pub gigs, I won't. When I was doing cruises, I'd fly out with one bass to play 3-5 sets a night for 3 months.  Even if you've got a spare, sometimes you don't have time to swap instruments, and there has been a couple of occasions where I've snapped a string and had to carry on until the end of the set.

 

That reminded me that, in one band I was in, I would play some songs deliberately missing out a string just so I wouldn't be phased if it ever happened. I would be for changing the string in a break, if there was one (if I were carrying the one bass). Ironically, I did have a spare (as always) in that band but just gave myself the challenge.

Reading that back, I don't know why either!! 🙂

[Stub Mandrel]

12 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

That reminded me that, in one band I was in, I would play some songs deliberately missing out a string just so I wouldn't be phased if it ever happened. I would be for changing the string in a break, if there was one (if I were carrying the one bass). Ironically, I did have a spare (as always) in that band but just gave myself the challenge.

Reading that back, I don't know why either!! 🙂

I've done whole rehearsals just using my fretless, to prove I can rely on it as my backup.

[garyt]

Interesting debate.  Apart from string breaks, what malfunctions has anyone had during a gig, that has required the use of a back up bass?   
The worst I’ve had is string breaks, and I do always check my bass on a regular bassis for condition and set up.   Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I do tend to look after my bass, and would fix anything I could think of likely to fail. 
I’d need a back up brain, back up car, back up band mates, back up venue, back up punters, back up passport, back up headliner, back up a few hours not to hit the rider early, back up directions, back up sound engineer, etc., as these are just a snippet of the things that have failed me at gigs …. but one thing that has been rock solid is my bass. 

[garyt]

13 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

That reminded me that, in one band I was in, I would play some songs deliberately missing out a string just so I wouldn't be phased if it ever happened. I would be for changing the string in a break, if there was one (if I were carrying the one bass). Ironically, I did have a spare (as always) in that band but just gave myself the challenge.

Reading that back, I don't know why either!! 🙂

That’s a good exercise.  I have played on with 3 strings before and it’s certainly better than stopping the gig.  I now mostly play a 5-string, so have N+1 strings by default 😉.  I did a gig a couple of years back where the guitarist stopped a song mid-flow because he broke a string - no, just no. 
I broke my finger on my left hand when I was 18, and had to do a series of gigs.  Playing with 3 strings is a doddle compared with playing with 2 fingers (I had to strap 2 together so save the broken finger). 

[Cuzzie]

7 minutes ago, garyt said:

Interesting debate.  Apart from string breaks, what malfunctions has anyone had during a gig, that has required the use of a back up bass?   
The worst I’ve had is string breaks, and I do always check my bass on a regular bassis for condition and set up.   Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I do tend to look after my bass, and would fix anything I could think of likely to fail. 
I’d need a back up brain, back up car, back up band mates, back up venue, back up punters, back up passport, back up headliner, back up a few hours not to hit the rider early, back up directions, back up sound engineer, etc., as these are just a snippet of the things that have failed me at gigs …. but one thing that has been rock solid is my bass. 

Reading back over this and other threads there are loads of things - jack wiring, pot wiring come loose, cold solder rears it’s ugly head etc.

Most things can be fixed, but (again it’s personal for everyone) despite me being happy to do a complete Re-wire, I have a double gig bag which is not too much more hassle than a single one, so taking a second, quick change and diagnose and fix the problem later seems the easier option imho, and if never required, well I have just gotten stronger in the process.

[fretmeister]

On 04/06/2021 at 11:35, Al Krow said:

Good stuff!

You seem to also have stumbled on the Iron Law of BC threads - starting one can prove costly on the wallet. Well that's certainly been my experience! Maybe best not to start a "Do I need a spare pedal board" thread 😁

I have 3 pedal boards. And although they are different sized and have different purposes the core elements for me of tuner / compression / drive are available on all of them.

And yes - I do take 2 of them to a gig.

[peteb]

1 hour ago, garyt said:

Apart from string breaks, what malfunctions has anyone had during a gig, that has required the use of a back up bass?   

 

1 hour ago, Cuzzie said:

jack wiring, pot wiring come loose, cold solder rears it’s ugly head etc.

 

[peteb]

This thread has made me think of something that happened many years ago. Back in the mid 90s, I was part of a new band playing hard rock covers. A couple of us had been in well known local bands and everyone involved was known to some degree to local punters who were into that genre. We rehearsed a set up, booked a gig in a big pub and promoted the hell out of it.

So, the first gig comes along and the place is packed. The guitar player turns up with one guitar. I asked him where his spare was. He said he didn’t need one, he didn’t break strings on stage (this was a guitar with a Floyd Rose) but he had a spare set just in case. Sure enough, halfway through the first number the guitar breaks down and we stop the show. We spent a desperate 15 minutes trying to fix it before a mate of mine in the audience who lives down the road says he has a Les Paul we can use. So, taxi to his house, pick the guitar, taxi back, straight on stage. Except, of course, nearly half of the audience had left and we had completely lost momentum with those who stayed. The rest of the show went great, but the damage was done. Despite a lot of interest, the band never recovered and only played a few more gigs locally before splitting up. Me and the guitar player never got on after that (to be fair, there were issues before) and he disappeared from the local muso scene soon after the band split.

Fast forward 25 years and a singer who I play with in a tribute band is putting together a side project to knock out covers in pubs. He rings me up to ask if I know this guitar player who they have been put in touch with (yep, it’s the guy from the old band). I tell him that I know him and although he’s a reasonable player, personally I would refuse to play with him. I tell him the reasons why, including the fiasco when he didn’t bring a spare guitar. They ask somebody else to play guitar for them…

Edited June 6, 2021 by peteb