How many basses do you take on stage?

[Old Horse Murphy]

9 hours ago, cetera said:

Two. A main one and a spare, unless I need a 3rd (fretless).

Yep, exactly the same for me 

[Kev]

For those who don't take a backup, is it because you literally don't have one, or you just don't want to, or physically can't, take an extra instrument with you?

 

I kinda get that people are saying that they've never had a problem in xxxx gigs so don't need it (I suppose they don't have fully comp car/home/breakdown insurance for similar reasons? As ultimately that's all taking a backup bass is), but its such a minimal effort if you use a vehicle to get to gigs that I just don't really get why you wouldn't, however unlikely it may be.

[Dan Dare]

Two. One tuned a semitone down. Our singer has a penchant for Eb and I want the root available.

[tony_m]

Another one + spare here, though which of them gets the gig and which is the spare depends very much on how I'm feeling on the day. Think it's probably going to be the Jazz this weekend, though it might turn out to be the '51 P Reissue yet. 🤷‍♂️

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

I'll take onboard the collective knowledge of basschat - I had been planning on selling my spare 5 string Bass but will keep it as backup instead. 

 

And if the flow of the set on stage is important to you, I'd also suggest that unless your two basses are very similar, that you do at least the occasional rehearsal just using the "spare" so you can be confident that you can dial in any EQ and gain changes it might require and that you can play everything in the set using it.

 

For one of my bands I play Bass VI and my main bass is an Eastwood Hooky (Shergold copy) and the backup is a Burns Barracuda. The Burns has much narrower string spacing than the Eastwood, and for that reason is a lot more challenging to play. Until I can afford to replace the Burns with another Eastwood, I make sure that I can play everything to a suitable standard on it even if it's just a play-along to the drum track at home once a month.

[MacDaddy]

2 basses. The main bass and this as a spare:

 

 

 

[nilorius]

11 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

2 basses. The main bass and this as a spare:

 

 

 

This is a bit freaky !!!

[dclaassen]

I have not gigged enough with my basses to only bring one, and both my fretted basses are active. My solution in either my classic rock band or a jazz gig is to bring one fretted and the fretless.

[FinnDave]

Like the majority here, I take one to play and a spare just in case of a problem with the first.

[bassbiscuits]

For years and years it was just one bass without any problem.

 

Nowadays I’ve always got a spare even if it’s just in its case behind the backline. 
 

The only exception is pub gigs in hard to access city centre venues where i travel as light as poss. 

[Lozz196]

At the moment carrying one bass is a task in itself so I’ve it is but as soon as I’m ok to take two two it will be.
 

The only time I’ve ever needed a backup was the time I didn’t take one, and no it wasn’t strung breakage but an iffy jack socket that was working fine before I put the bass in the case for the gig. 

[chris_b]

Tonight I took both basses as usual. I played the Jazz in the first set and the PJ in the second set.

 

Just cos I could.

[chris_b]

Just now, Lozz196 said:

At the moment carrying one bass is a task in itself so I’ve it is but as soon as I’m ok to take two two it will be.

 

 Lozz, you need a trolley. Don't carry anything that you can pull.

[Lozz196]

Just now, chris_b said:

 

 Lozz, you need a trolley. Don't carry anything that you can pull.

I’m thinking of one of those bass cases with wheels at the moment Chris, as at present it’s literally just a case that I take - as you say if it can be wheeled rather than carried.

[chris_b]

2 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I’m thinking of one of those bass cases with wheels at the moment Chris, as at present it’s literally just a case that I take - as you say if it can be wheeled rather than carried.

 

I've got cases for all my basses but they are kept in the shed. I use gig bags instead. Every lb saved is a god send.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

13 hours ago, Supernaut said:

One. I've never broken a bass string in 20 years of playing. 

Well, I wish you the best of luck continuing your record, but for those of us that have had something go wrong (and it's not just strings), I can assure you that once it does, you'd be a fool not to rethink the back-up plan.

Of course, the degree of foolhardiness is dependant on the level of gig. I'd look pretty f***ing stupid as the bass player at an 80's theatre gig (as I often am) where there is no support (therefore no other bass players/equipment) and my bass went down for some reason. The only option, without a back-up, would be to stop the show and attempt to rectify it. If I can't, the show is over.

A yardstick is, would @cetera turn up to a Leather & Lace show without a back-up. No, I don't think he would.

If you're happy attending the occasional jam night or some other gig where there are several other basses, yes, you can mitigate against that risk, but it's not really in the spirit of the bassist role IMHO.

[LowB_FTW]

Always two, there are. No more. No less. A Master and an *apprentice.

 

Mark

 

*backup

[Passinwind]

Zero, for coming up on 6 years now, and I'm fine with that. When I was gigging the answer was almost always one, and that's all I even owned for couple of decades. In about 40 years of gigging I only used a fretted bass all of twice, IIRC.

[IanA]

Just the one… never had a problem, never been let down by a bass, am pretty meticulous with maintenance etc.

[SumOne]

14 hours ago, Kev said:

For those who don't take a backup, is it because you literally don't have one, or you just don't want to, or physically can't, take an extra instrument with you?

 

I kinda get that people are saying that they've never had a problem in xxxx gigs so don't need it (I suppose they don't have fully comp car/home/breakdown insurance for similar reasons? As ultimately that's all taking a backup bass is), but its such a minimal effort if you use a vehicle to get to gigs that I just don't really get why you wouldn't, however unlikely it may be.

 

 

Risk vs hassle. Why not carry backup pants incase you 5h1t yourself? 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by SumOne

[neepheid]

This question always goes tribal in the end.

[James Nada]

5 minutes ago, SumOne said:

 

 

Risk vs hassle. Why not carry backup pants incase you 5h1t yourself? 

 

 

 

Because if you s**t yourself you're only letting yourself down, if you can't continue a gig you're letting down bandmates, audiences, promoters...

Edited June 10, 2023 by James Nada
stinky poo

[Kev]

Just now, SumOne said:

For me, it's something along the lines of: Why not carry backup pants incase you 5h1t yourself? 

 

 

I suppose those that don't have adequate control over something like that happening probably do.

 

However well maintained my basses are, something going wrong is ultimately out of my control, why risk it? 

 

My band's live setup is pretty complex, with dmx triggered lighting shows, midi triggered patch changes, backing tracks, IEMs, clicks, the works.  It's all run off one rack and effectively a macbook, and we are far from being able to afford to have a backup rig.  If the macbook dies on the day, we can't gig.  It TERRIFIES me, so I like to control what I can control wherever I can.

[Skybone]

Just the one. 

 

If I was in a professional band doing functions/weddings/etc. and playing for a couple hours, then yes, a back up instrument is probably advisable.

 

If there was a need for fretless or other such variation, then yes, a back up instrument is probably advisable.

 

As I am in neither category, just the one works for me.

[Kev]

7 minutes ago, Skybone said:

Just the one. 

 

If I was in a professional band doing functions/weddings/etc. and playing for a couple hours, then yes, a back up instrument is probably advisable.

 

If there was a need for fretless or other such variation, then yes, a back up instrument is probably advisable.

 

As I am in neither category, just the one works for me.

So if something did happen that rendered the bass unplayable, jack socket failure, tuning peg snapping, pickup screw failing etc, would you just sit the rest of the gig out or would your band stop playing and call it a night?