SALT AND BATTERY
Dave Burrluck’s Spare Fare article in issue 431 brought to mind a couple of cautionary tales, both stemming from using instruments I hadn’t used in while. In the first instance, I showed up for a rehearsal for a musical theatre company planning to use my Fender Jazz. I hadn’t played this bass for a couple of months and the instrument kept cutting out throughout rehearsal. I thought maybe the output jack had shifted and put strain on one of the leads causing breaks in the signal path, but when I took off the control panel later everything was fine and clean, or so it looked. Next step? Clean the jack. Wrapped some emery cloth around a suitably sized drill bit, reamed out the barrel, and was amazed at the gunk that came out. A wipe of the tip and a spritz of contact cleaner put everything right.
Next up I was booked into a recording session calling for double bass. I brought my three-quarter size concert instrument, but as an afterthought, also stuck in my Amatista electronic double bass (by Horacio Etcheverry, a fine Argentinian luthier). The engineer opted for the electronic instrument, as the take was meant to go down live and he didn’t want the problem of one extra mic and the leakage associated with an acoustic instrument. The tech plugged me into the board through the bass’s XLR connector, but no sound, and no flash of red light indicating the instrument had no power. Dead battery!
No problem, I always carry a spare. But I bought the spare at the same time as the one I had in the bass, so it had also gone flat. The day was saved because I had fitted a Fishman transducer to the bridge. A DI box was produced, and all was well. Moral of this story, make sure your spare batteries are of a different ‘vintage’ than your frontline ones! Hudson Birden, Sydney, Australia
Thanks Hudson, those are great tips. The horror of malfunctioning gear is to be avoided at all costs and, of course, Murphy’s Law dictates that the moment kit chooses to die is always the least convenient time possible… If any other readers have gig-saving tips to share, email them in and we’ll print the best.