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Lending someone your bass


bassbloke

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33 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

You're a braver man than me. My backline's worth more than my bass.

I pay loud and hard, in a 3 piece usually, there aren't many bassists that can push backline like I do, I used Barefaced cabs and power amps when I was gigging, with a variety of pre-amps, usually a Line6 Bass PodXL pro, but now a Stomp HX into a QSC 12.2, it's pretty bomb proof.

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2 hours ago, SuperSeagull said:

Bought a second hand Status a while back and my son asked if he could use in a church set he was playing in. When he stepped up and and went to strap it on he missed the strap button, bass hit the floor. I remained remarkably calm, he was distraught, being a status it didn’t even need a retune. No lasting damage done but I fitted straplocks right after. 

I hope you beat him sufficiently when you got home lol

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3 hours ago, SuperSeagull said:

Bought a second hand Status a while back and my son asked if he could use in a church set he was playing in. When he stepped up and and went to strap it on he missed the strap button, bass hit the floor. I remained remarkably calm, he was distraught, being a status it didn’t even need a retune. No lasting damage done but I fitted straplocks right after. 

 

The church on the other hand.......

vi.jpg

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That's the difference between lending a bass and letting someone use your backline. Difficult to drop the backline. Although drinks do get spilled. 

 

My speakers are more than capable of handling the amp, it's just a case of making sure the gain doesn't get fiddled with. 

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15 minutes ago, TimR said:

That's the difference between lending a bass and letting someone use your backline. Difficult to drop the backline. Although drinks do get spilled. 

 

My speakers are more than capable of handling the amp, it's just a case of making sure the gain doesn't get fiddled with. 

I once let a support band use my backline. The amp was somewhat too powerful for the cab but I only ever had it on about 3 so it was never an issue for me. I gave the bassist clear instructions not to crank it and why. When they’d finished and I went on stage to plug in, the amp was on full. I kid you not. I was NOT happy. 

 

When I had my first bass, a new Rickenbacker, while I was at Uni some housemates invited a friend of theirs round. They told me he was a really good bass player and he asked to look at my bass. He’d had a few drinks by then; I reluctantly handed it over asking him to be careful and within about a minute he dropped it, although I managed to catch it. Lesson learned. I’m happy to let people try my basses providing I have faith in them, but if there’s any doubt, nope.
 

In terms of lending a bass to someone on a gig, I’ve done it once I think. I knew a couple of the band members a bit, but not the bassist. Unfortunately his bass, a fretless acoustic with (for me) a fairly high action, crapped out at the start of their gig. I was the only person in the room with a bass - my Azure ‘72 Ric -  so I (somewhat reluctantly, as it was worth over £4K even then) handed it over. Of course it was set up for me, so very low action, and had a tone about as far from his as possible; he had oodles of fun trying to control it. He was a really nice chap though and very grateful for my assistance. 
 

Have to say in most circumstances I wouldn’t let someone use either of my Rics for a gig unless I really, really trusted them, and there’s hardly anyone I know that falls into that category. We do have a song in my current band that I play 12 string on live, where one of the guitarists plays the bass (I played both parts on the recording), but to say he’s careful with bass would be an understatement. He lives in abject terror of the consequences of damaging it and breaks out in a cold sweat every time I hand it over. 😂
 

 

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I've benefited from loans a few times... for example I went to the US with work, and went to an Americana/roots thing  with a few open-mic spots in the interval. I went the the desk t pay and said I'd be interested in the open mic but didn't have a guitar. Without a beat one of the guys said "I'll lend you mine". Happy to pay it forward.

 

In general I'm happy to help out another musician. If there are a few @rseholes out there who will take advantage of that then so be it. Most people are OK.

And it's simply not in my nature to give the "if I can borrow your wife/car etc" type of answer. Just the way I am and not about to change.

 

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Plenty of responses to my original post, so here's my take. 

 

We've played with them before and they're local and the bassist is a good sort.

 

I handed him bass with my strap fitted, with straplocks.  He was reasonably gentle with it, not that he had much choice; i play with a pretty low action.  Actually, I think possibly learnt something, which is play more gently and let the amp and PA do the work.  More dynamics and it just sounds better. 

 

We also got lots of thanks from the stage, a good turn out and credit for being decent chaps. 

 

If he'd been a bit of a pink torpedo I wouldn't have helped him 

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24 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

I've benefited from loans a few times... for example I went to the US with work, and went to an Americana/roots thing  with a few open-mic spots in the interval. I went the the desk t pay and said I'd be interested in the open mic but didn't have a guitar. Without a beat one of the guys said "I'll lend you mine". Happy to pay it forward.

 

In general I'm happy to help out another musician. If there are a few @rseholes out there who will take advantage of that then so be it. Most people are OK.

And it's simply not in my nature to give the "if I can borrow your wife/car etc" type of answer. Just the way I am and not about to change.

 

Its only in my nature to give the wife/car answer if the person asking is a right tosser who is known to take the mick 

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10 hours ago, Thunderbird said:

Its only in my nature to give the wife/car answer if the person asking is a right tosser who is known to take the mick 

Might be extenuating circumstances 😃

 

(on Edit: I mean that might the extenuating circumstances to cause you to say that)

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I was house bassist on a jam night and when I went up, after a friend had finished his "spot", I found a lighted cigarette smouldering away on the side of my cab! It hadn't burnt the tolex but it was close.

 

That was all I needed to make me stick to the "no lending" rule.

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