Do you have gear you bring out for harsh conditions?

About the only thing that will bring out my Peavey Mark 6 instead of my SVT is playing off of a generator or knowing that the club electrics are really bad. For outdoor gigs , I just keep covers and a plastic tarp handy. I played an outdoor gig last year where a really bad thunderstorm came through. Plastic tarp taped down got my gear through it just fine. I got soaked , the gear survived. The stage was a swamp and we couldn't play after the storm. Full pay for 4 songs. Not a bad night after all.

 

I don't play without overhead cover and side covers available. We did once and although it wasn't a disaster, some of our gear got wet. Next time we let them know that we weren't putting any gear on stage if the tarps for side coverage weren't ready to go.

Nothing wrong with being able to roll with the punches either, I'm just tired of being punched.

 

Being a poor musician in my gigging days I didn't have the luxury of gear to choose from. Just had what I had. We once had a radio station hire us to set up on a barge and float around the lake playing. Rachet straps were the order of the day. And it was a free gig too. So any loss would have been a crisis back then. Anyway, whole point being I remember this as one of the most incredibly fun gigs of my professional music career..... Gear can be replaced. Great memories are fleeting. Most of us play for enjoyment of the music we make. Don't let your apprehension about your gear rob you of that enjoyment.

 

I love outdoor gigs too. I just take my same gear and keep a tarp handy.

 

Except for casinos, most of my summer season gigs are outdoors on bigger stages. The ones that you have to watch out for are the ones in small towns or county fairs, where I've seen just about everything. I have a complete hatred for flatbed trailers, and having toured with a country act, I found with most biker or smaller gigs, you could almost be certain you would get stuck on one of those. My absolute favorite is when two are used, they don't even match in height, and still have mud on them from the caterpillar that was on it the day before. Sheesh... That sums up my rodeo experiences in a nutshell.

Sorry off track.. Regarding equipment, my gear has been toured, so the shiny wore off in the first leg of the tour. A lot of shows I work backline is provided, but for outdoor events I use Ampeg, either svt with an 810 or 410 Hlf. The 410 is in a road case, the 810 is a road case lol. I bring tarps , one of those shiny solar shield blankets, and a big umbrella. The blanket and umbrella are for controlling the sun for the Tolex and svt cl head, during the time after sound check to show, and tarps are for the rain. If there is even the slightest drop of rain, my rig gets shut off and the head quickly put in its road case.

Most of the gigs these days are covered so I'm lucky in that respect.

 

My electric is cheap and cheerful enough not to sweat it. but what I'm actually playing with people is the upright. Would be lovely but unthinkable $$ to have a carbon-fiber upright so as not to worry about rain, but I'm scheming towards a kinda whacko URB cheap-build that would suit for that case and might also be a bit smaller to carry (while still retaining cubic volume, as my bandmates are amplification-hostile acoustic folks.) Of course, at the rate I go that might be another decade...

 

I carry tarps when playing outdoors. I also use my all weather combat bass. It's a great playing old beater MIM J with hot rodded pickups. No matter what the temp or humidity, set it out for 20~30 minutes where it's gonna be played, tune it up and go.

 

I hate outdoor gigs.
Bugs, rain, 100 degree heat with no roof.
No power sources, need a generator with 300 ft power cords.
Unattentive audience because people are totally distracted outside
unless they dropped $100 per ticket.

 

Outdoor gigs over here are backlined so I'll take my TC Electronic RH750 to use if the weather is nice, and if not then I'll just use the backline which is usually some type of Ampeg, Hartke or Carvin. I did do an outdoor show 2 years ago that had no backline and was in a dusty and very hot area. For that show I took my GK MB500 and NEO 410 cab. I chose that amp because the fan never seems to come on and I took the extra precaution of putting the amp inside of a womens panty hose I bought to try to keep the dust from getting inside of it. Worked like a charm. The amp did not get hot and the dust did not get in. The cab got pretty dusty but that was an easy clean.

 

If it's outdoors and looks like bad weather, my BA112 gets the call.

 

I've played my Squier Skull 'n Bones MB4 at the Ice Castle. Does that count as an outdoor gig? We were inside the castle.

 

The only bass I'd ever think of pulling out in the rain is one of these:

 

Been there, done that, got the (wet) t-shirt.

Some highlights- Mayfly season under the lights watching our female singers spitting bugs between verses.
Spending a whole day toweling off, draining out, and blow-drying an entire trailer's worth of gear.
A metal show on a boat in the rain, choppy Lake Michigan, open bar, lurching to and fro, barf-filled bathrooms.
1000% humidity soup on the banks of the Mississippi fighting tuning the entire show.
Plywood on the grass for a stage with our amps tripping the breakers at random on a generator that couldn't power a hamster wheel.

Yeah. Good times.

These days I play more upright and I bring the lesser one out in hazardous battle conditions. Outdoors? Never leave home without tarps and bungees, sunscreen, bug spray, and plenty of h2o.

 

Just played a local town "jubilee day" today where it rained off and on. We were tucked under a 15' by 15' canopy with open sides. Had my warick fna jazzman corvette and my markbass combo like i always use. Watched as a town official took my mic off of the stand and walked out into the rain with it. I play this gig every year and many timesvits been sunny and nice. Today was not, comes with the territory. I bought my gear to usebit so that's what i'll do. Thankfully the Warwick has proven to be solid even in different temps and humidity levels and the markbass is small enough to tuck way under the tent!

 

I won't say I hate outdoor gigs as they can be a blast, but it's a very rare outdoor gig that has the right combination of weather to make it truly enjoyable. It's either too hot or too cold and even a small amount of wind plays havoc with sound.

One we did last August (middle of winter here) up in Thredbo ski resort was great to start with all of us in t-shirts and jeans having a great time in the sun. Halfway through the second set the sun goes behind the mountain and the temp drops 15degC in about 20 minutes and dips into the negatives. Finished that set and put on just about every bit of clothing we brought with us plus fingerless gloves. The final set we could barely feel our fingers and the fire pits they lit had some of the smokiest crappy wood ever used. Lead singer was choking and coughing between verses and we were just happy to finish.

Once we got home all the instruments and PA gear stank of wood smoke and I was wishing that i'd taken my cheap Jag shortscale and Peavey amp. I spent the next day with a slightly damp cloth wiping over everything to try and get the worst of the smell out of it all.

Give me a nice comfortable indoor gig anytime.

 

Mine are always indoors at the church, not unlike my youth. So weather plays a small part in it. I bring out my authentic road-worn pbass if it's raining (have to carry the case to/from the parking lot in the rain), and when it's going to be crowded. One more ding will not be noticed as long as it's not on the playing surfaces of the neck.

We're crammed in a small space, and dinging is hard to avoid sometimes.

Otherwise, I bring my Music Man which is usually the girls choir practice at the less popular services, and it's not raining since there is few of us playing. Being out here in California, the weather usually cooperates but in the el nino/la nina year cycle. I think that's about a 5 to 7 year cycle.

Mine would be the worst one to chance exposure to rain due to the particle board. Cost-wise, and preference-wise, it would be the best one.

 

That's a great solution for dust! I bring a tarp to outdoor shows in case of rain, and I don't worry about mud too much. But dust is a concern for me - I always worry it's going to get inside my amp or bass.
I'll still worry about the bass but at least I can protect my amp now.

 

Yeah, it was a concern for me as well. I just slipped it into the pantyhose and cut 2 slits in the back for the power cable and the Speakon. And since that amps fan never seems to come on, it wasn't pulling any dust either. The bass will get dusty but if you wear an arm band, it will at least not grind the dust or dirt into your bass and scratch it up. But I usually use my one and only used bass for those type of gigs.