tools

After devoting several columns to exploring the physics of neck joints and how different designs can affect tone, let's bring things back to the most practical of all subjects: how to manage gear problems at a gig.

The electric bass is a straightforward instrument with just a few critical parts that might break at the wrong moment. Because of this, many bassists show up to a gig with only a spare set of strings (and sometimes not even that). To them I say: Don't be complacent. If you haven't yet experienced gear disaster onstage or right before a gig, it's only a matter of time before Murphy's law catches up with you. Although some of these events make for a good story after the fact, they are less entertaining while you're facing them. And the story is only worth telling if you somehow manage to cope with the problem without ruining the gig.