Good Question On Backup Equipment In The Acoustic Forum

[Darwin]

Having gigged since 2000, I have always believed in backup. Less than a month ago my bass amp head took about a 30 inch fall to concrete. Fortunately is fell on the rear corner and had no apparent damage. I was relieved that it worked. The same amp head took a fall last weekend and it was fatal.

No problem as my backup plan was to use my spare PA head which we have carried in my van for the last 5 years. Cabled it up and could not get any output. Now getting short on time I ran my bass directly into our main pa. After adjusting a few things it worked fine. Essentially two failures in one evening.

Talked to a repair tech and the backup pa is not repairable as no parts are available. (2003 build) The bass head is the same conclusion- no parts and not worth repairing.

Our lead singer has a Fender Passport Pa and that head will get us through the end of the year as we may retire. My old bass head was too heavy to carry in a bag. It took its' hit as a result and after many years, the importance of a backup plan became apparent especially when you are a paid performing musician.

My new bass head is on the way, 700 watts at about 7 lbs and will fit in a laptop case and should be much safer in our environment.


It is amazing that all my equipment has survived the stress of loading/ unloading/ use during these years. I have been truly lucky but I will still have backup for everything. You never know when........

Do you have backup gear when you are gigging?

Darwin

[Rodger Knox]

Where's the question?

[Darwin]

Good question Roger. I did add one at the end of the post. I was assuming everyone read the Acoustic Forum. -- Darwin

[Paleolith54]

Originally Posted by Darwin

Having gigged since 2000, I have always believed in backup. Less than a month ago my bass amp head took about a 30 inch fall to concrete. Fortunately is fell on the rear corner and had no apparent damage. I was relieved that it worked. The same amp head took a fall last weekend and it was fatal.

No problem as my backup plan was to use my spare PA head which we have carried in my van for the last 5 years. Cabled it up and could not get any output. Now getting short on time I ran my bass directly into our main pa. After adjusting a few things it worked fine. Essentially two failures in one evening.

Talked to a repair tech and the backup pa is not repairable as no parts are available. (2003 build) The bass head is the same conclusion- no parts and not worth repairing.

Our lead singer has a Fender Passport Pa and that head will get us through the end of the year as we may retire. My old bass head was too heavy to carry in a bag. It took its' hit as a result and after many years, the importance of a backup plan became apparent especially when you are a paid performing musician.

My new bass head is on the way, 700 watts at about 7 lbs and will fit in a laptop case and should be much safer in our environment.


It is amazing that all my equipment has survived the stress of loading/ unloading/ use during these years. I have been truly lucky but I will still have backup for everything. You never know when........

Do you have backup gear when you are gigging?

Darwin

Backup amp and PA head both of which stay in the trailer. Backup guitar hidden near me. Extra mics, cables, various other miscellany, also in the trailer. So yeah, I can't think of anything important that doesn't have a decent backup. But, I spent 35 years in a field where "defense in depth" was a way of life, so I usually have multiple barriers between me and a catastrophic failure.

So far, I haven't needed any of it!

[Dru Edwards]

Hi Darwin. Back in my gigging days in a metal band I used to always bring a backup guitar but I didn't bring a backup amp. Never needed the backup guitar but I could have used a backup amp once.

[jim777]

Always have a backup guitar, and back in my playing out days I only had one amp but I did have extra tubes I am very thankful I never had to change one of those during a gig! lol I do actually play through 2 amps now in my living room, I wish I had had my current rig back in the 80's!

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Darwin

...Do you have backup gear when you are gigging?

• Guitar: keep all of mine in good physical/electronic repair at all times so it depends on the gig, low-risk (church service, only act on large stage, instrument in hand at nearly all times, etc.) vs. high-risk (outdoor show, small stage, mandatory full set-up beforehand, fast on-off stage with several other acts, etc.); always keep spare strings/picks/cable/string winder/tuner in each case...
• Amp: also depends on the gig, have an old Peavey Studio Pro 50 w/built-in XLR (that normally does duty as my banjo amp) that I bring as backup for electric if the need arises; nearly always run acoustic direct-to-board anyway, so I don't need a dedicated amp as long as there's a PA...
• Accessories: got a 40-pound satchel with assorted cables, connectors/adapters, DI boxes, tools, etc. that goes to every gig regardless of size/venue, and since I started carrying it about 35 years ago it's gotten me out of more crap than you can imagine; to paraphrase Karl Malden, while I might not bring an extra instrument/amp I would never leave for a gig without it...