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carrying the gear
- Thread starter repair01
- Start date
jive1
Commercial User
Like Pete said, been there done that.
Situation 1: I drive to a gig and bring my gear, and wank out for 30-60 minutes, maybe get a couple of free drinks, and then lose the stage just as my band is starting to warm up. Our fans/friends who come to the show miss our performance by 10 minutes and instead see some other act. I get a whopping 30-60 minutes of exposure to hype the band and merchandise. But the exposure is limited because the band that played before mine sucked so bad it drove out a bunch of the clientele.
Situation 2: I drive to gig and lug my gear. I get to play for 2-4 hours, and my band is the main attraction. I get some free drinks, and sometimes a free meal. I get to jam out, hype my band, sell some CDs, and watch people dig our tunes all night. Then at the end of the night I get a decent amount of cash to put toward buying gear or whatever.
Which situation looks better to you?
We practice at the guitarists house and I keep an amp there so all I bring is my bass. The friggin' bloody drummer's equipment is what takes the time. And our drummer actually helps cart it in and sets it up himself! If he didn't, I'd have to tell Mom on him...he's my brother.
jive1
Commercial User
Which music scene would you rather be in?
1. Talented musicians work hard on their instruments and material for their band. Afterwards, they have to go back to waiting tables, programming computers, filing paperwork, etc. to make ends meet.
2. Talented musicians work hard on their instruments and material for their band. By doing so, they are paid handsomely and they are able to make rent, pay bills, support a family, and buy some cool stuff.
I have enuff sh*t to carry 2 basses 2 810 cabs and a rack loaded with 70lbs of stuff.. sooooooo I hire a sound dude...lol....got two great ones with awesome stuff.....
#2 is a better option, obviously, but #1 is the only option for alot of people. The local scene here is great and very very few bands get paid (usually the only ones paid are away bands that have travel expenses, etc..) Bar bands obviously get paid, but I dont include those.
I have perfected the load in load out thing. I usually only lug a head, 410 cabinet and my bass (in HSC) and a bag that has pedals, cables, etc in it.
I actually installed a hook on the back of the speaker cab, that the HSC sits on. The cab has casters, and off I roll. One self contained bass mobile... And this all takes about 5 min to set up.....
I actually installed a hook on the back of the speaker cab, that the HSC sits on. The cab has casters, and off I roll. One self contained bass mobile... And this all takes about 5 min to set up.....
WhatOtto said:
This is the direction I'm taking - gonna get a smallish handtruck with slair glides and stack my cab(s) and head on it, strapped down and whatnot - boom, amp stack rollin', pedalcase in the other hand and my bass on my back. If I can slide my pedalcase under the strapping against the cabs, all the better. It's all mo-bilitized.
already built a platform for my cabs to sit ontop of so they roll around and i can get in ant out quicker without using alot of muscle
Phat Ham said:Same with me. Actually my guitarist isn't bad, but he usually has to take an extra five or ten minutes to figure out why his amp or one of his pedals isn't working. The drummer has ADD so I have to babysit him to make sure he doesn't get sidetracked, and the singer, while having absolutely nothing to setup, takes the longest. I have no idea why it takes him half an hour to get from the car to the stage......Man, that is identical to my band. Our guitarist has abused his Marshall combo so much it has a short in the on/off switch. The drummer also has a short attention span, so if he sets up his snare and bass drum, he wants to sit and play with while I make him get the rest of it. The singer has no equipment of his own, so we provide (temporarily) for him. I'm the only guy in the band that has motivation it seems sometimes.
Everything apart from the guitarist's axes get loaded into the back of my car, me and the drummer drive from our practice room to the gig (usually during rush hour) and lug it all in, and set up. The guitarist and singer arrive half an hour late, just in time for the soundcheck 
Then at the end of the gig they socialise in the bar whilst me and the drummer lug the gear back into the car and then drive it back to the practice room.
To be honest, this doesn't bother me too much, cos after a gig I just wanna head home and chill, but it would be nice if the guitar player or singer would watch the car whilst we haul stuff out, makes it much easier that way... anyway we mentioned this at the last band meeting so hopefully things will go a lot smoother from now on
Steven
Then at the end of the gig they socialise in the bar whilst me and the drummer lug the gear back into the car and then drive it back to the practice room.To be honest, this doesn't bother me too much, cos after a gig I just wanna head home and chill, but it would be nice if the guitar player or singer would watch the car whilst we haul stuff out, makes it much easier that way... anyway we mentioned this at the last band meeting so hopefully things will go a lot smoother from now on
Steven
I show up late, carry in a double gig bag, with 2 Basses, MXR
DI and my Monster Cables. I plug into the DI, then I just plug into the snake,pull my Bass out, plug into it
and I am ready to play.When were done I am outta there
in a minute.I carry an extra Bass, an old DI box and some old
Peavey cables for back up.
DI and my Monster Cables. I plug into the DI, then I just plug into the snake,pull my Bass out, plug into it
and I am ready to play.When were done I am outta there
in a minute.I carry an extra Bass, an old DI box and some old
Peavey cables for back up.
I definately appreciate the acknowledgment about Drummer's having a whole lotta stuff to haul.
I have only had a few gigs.....But I'm very fortunate that my husband would help me with the heavy stuff....because my band mates sure never helped out!
I have only had a few gigs.....But I'm very fortunate that my husband would help me with the heavy stuff....because my band mates sure never helped out!
hmmm... my rule is that no-one who has been drinking can touch my gear. Sober people don't usually damage anything.NV43345 said:
Poida, Poida, Poida. That's just a Sydney law
The real solution is 100mm castors on everything, and don't take any gigs that involve stairs!
The real solution is 100mm castors on everything, and don't take any gigs that involve stairs!
