Backup gear for gigs can feel like overthinking until the exact thing you did not prepare for happens in front of a full room. For me, that lesson arrived during a big Christmas production, in a huge church, with probably around 1500 people in the room.
The first song had gone well. The band felt good. The whole production was moving exactly as planned. Then we started the second song, and my acoustic guitar died.
Not in a dramatic, rock-and-roll, “the guitar exploded and became a legendary story” kind of way. It was much more boring than that. The battery in my acoustic guitar died.
However, boring problems can become very interesting problems when they happen during a tightly planned live show.
This is the story of how I learned that bringing backup gear is good. More importantly, I learned that you also need to think about how your gear might fail.
Why Backup Gear for Gigs Matters
The show was called Christmas of Fire and Light, and it was not a small casual coffeehouse gig. It was a big Christmas production with lights, visuals, video, music, dancers, fire, and a lot of moving parts.
The whole thing was carefully planned. The arrangements were rehearsed, the transitions had their place, and the band had to keep moving with the production. So when something went wrong, there was not much room to stop and calmly fix it.
Out of the twelve songs we played, six included my acoustic guitar. Because of that, the dead battery was not only a problem for one song. It could have affected half of the show.
In theory, changing the battery sounds like the obvious solution. In reality, it was not that simple.
The Problem With a Dead Acoustic Guitar
First of all, my batteries were backstage. I could not leave the band, run to the back, find a battery, change it, and return like nothing happened.
Even if I had the batteries with me on stage, the battery hatch on my Taylor is very tight. It almost always requires tools and a bit of patience. Those are not exactly easy to find in the middle of a Christmas production.
The show was also too tightly planned for a quick repair break. There were no random five-minute gaps between songs. The videos, transitions, arrangements, and song changes all had their place.
So instead of fixing the acoustic guitar, I had to keep playing and make it through the rest of the song. After that, I switched to electric guitar during the short break between songs.
That solved one problem. Then it created another one.
The Capo Problem I Did Not Think About
The next song needed a capo.
More specifically, the arrangement required a certain part in a certain key. I had planned to play that part on the acoustic guitar with a capo. Since the acoustic guitar was no longer useful, I had to use my electric guitar instead.
That was the moment I realized I should have brought my electric guitar capo as well.
I had a capo for the acoustic guitar, but not the one I would normally use on the electric. So I rearranged my parts on the fly and played around the problem. I think it went fine, and it got us through the song.
Still, it was not the part we had rehearsed. It was not the plan. And in a show like that, the last thing you want is to make new arrangement decisions because a 9V battery gave up on life.
After the third song, there was a short break for the band while a video section was playing. That gave me enough time to take the capo from my acoustic guitar and put it on my electric guitar.
It was not a perfect solution. The capo matched the acoustic guitar better, and the radius was different from my electric. On some songs, the low E string was a bit sharp.
But it got me through the set.
Honestly, I do not think most of the audience noticed anything. That is one comforting thing about live disasters. They feel massive when you are the person experiencing them, but most people in the audience have no idea what is happening.
They are hearing the song and watching the production. Meanwhile, you are having a small internal crisis about battery compartments and capo radius.
Backup Gear Is Not the Same as a Backup Plan
The annoying part is that I did bring backups.
Before the show, I had even made a rig rundown video where I talked about preparing for things to go wrong. I had backup guitars. I had backup amps. I had also thought about what would happen if the pedalboard failed.
I even had a BOSS Katana available as a backup amp. It has a decent line out and built-in effects, so it could have got us through the gig if the main rig had failed.
So this was not a case of me showing up with one guitar, one cable, and blind optimism. I had backups for the big things.
The problem was that I had not thought enough about the small things.
Or maybe the better way to say it is this: I had thought about what might fail, but not enough about how it might fail.
It is easy to say, “I have a backup guitar.” But what if the guitar that fails is the one with the specific tuning, capo setup, or part required for the next song?
What if the backup guitar works, but the accessory you need is in the wrong case? What if the issue is not the guitar itself, but the battery inside it? And what if the battery can technically be changed, but not quickly enough during the show?
That is the difference between having backup gear and having a backup plan.
Other Things Went Wrong Too
After the first show, we found out I was not the only one having guitar problems.
Another guitar had also started acting up. One of the other players had a Jazzmaster that apparently did not enjoy the stage conditions. After a few songs, it stopped working properly, so another backup guitar had to be brought in.
At that point, we were basically hoping that the backups did not also need backups.
Thankfully, some people had no problems at all. And of course, if everything else fails in a church setting, there is usually still the church organ.
It might not be the original arrangement, but it would technically get sound into the room.
Maybe that is the ultimate backup rig. A massive pipe organ.
Probably not very practical for pedalboard people, though.
Think Through Failure Scenarios
The lesson here is not just “bring a backup guitar.”
That is good advice, obviously. If you are playing an important show and you can bring a backup guitar, bring one. If you can bring a backup cable, bring one. If you can bring a backup amp solution, bring one.
However, the bigger lesson is to think through failure scenarios.
Before a show, ask yourself what could realistically go wrong. Then ask an even better question: what would I actually do if that happened during the show?
If the acoustic guitar battery dies, can I change it quickly? Do I have a fresh battery nearby? Do I need a tool to open the battery compartment? Is there a song coming up where the acoustic guitar is absolutely necessary?
Also, can the part be played on electric guitar? Does the electric guitar need a capo? Do I have the right capo for that guitar?
That may sound ridiculous, but these questions become very real when the problem happens on stage.
I have been pretty lucky over the years. I have played a lot of gigs, and I do not remember having many proper gear failures. Because of that, I think I had become a little lazy.
I did not always bring backups. And even when I did, I did not always have a proper routine for checking the tiny things before the show.
This gig reminded me that luck is not a plan.
Change the Battery Before the Show
The most obvious practical lesson is painfully simple: change the battery before an important show.
Do not wait until it dies. Do not assume it is fine because it worked at rehearsal. Do not tell yourself that it probably has enough life left.
If the guitar uses a battery and the show matters, put in a fresh one.
It is such a small thing, but it would have prevented the entire situation. The same applies to strings, cables, power supplies, wireless batteries, clip-on tuners, capos, picks, and anything else that can quietly ruin your evening.
If something is cheap, small, and easy to replace before the show, replace it before the show.
Future me, please read that sentence again.
The Show Itself Was Still Amazing
Even with the gear problems, the show itself was a lot of fun.
Christmas of Fire and Light is a big multimedia Christmas production held in a huge church. There are large projections on the walls, video elements, graphics, dancers, fire, and a full band.
At its core, it is still the Christmas story. However, the presentation is huge. There is a lot happening on stage, on the walls, in the arrangements, and in the room.
This was my second time being part of the band, and I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite things about this project is that the arrangements are actually rehearsed properly.
Everyone knows what they are doing, but there is still room for the musicians to bring ideas. It does not feel like everything is dictated from above while the band just follows instructions.
Instead, it feels like a proper band working together inside a much larger production.
That is a very fun place to be as a musician. Big room, lots of people, strong visuals, good players, and Christmas music with enough drama to make everything feel a little bit epic.
For the second year in a row, it was honestly one of my Christmas highlights.
Gear failures included.
What I’ll Do Differently Next Time
Next time, I will still bring backup guitars, backup amp options, and all the obvious stuff. But I will also prepare differently.
I will change batteries before the show. I will make sure the capos I need are available for the guitars I might actually use. I will think through the setlist and check which songs depend on specific pieces of gear.
I will also keep small emergency items closer to me. And I will not assume that having backup gear automatically means I am prepared.
Because a backup only helps if you can use it in the moment.
That is the part this gig taught me. The show does not stop just because your gear has a problem. The audience does not know your plan. The arrangement keeps moving.
The next song starts whether or not your battery hatch is easy to open.
So yes, bring backups. Bring extra strings. Bring extra batteries. Bring extra cables. Bring the boring little things that seem unnecessary until they suddenly become the most important things in the room.
And maybe bring the right capo for your electric guitar too.
Just in case.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.