Ever afraid of forgetting your gear?

[Fynn]

Not quite sure if this is the correct forum for such a topic, but let's say I tried to find the correct one.


I probably fall into the category of people who get more anxious about little things than the average, but I've been wondering if others here can relate.

I've been playing gigs for a while now and have actively tried to keep my setup simple and compact. I bring my bass in a hardcase with the necessary cables and such, a pedalboard in a nice rugged flightcase, a monitor, a stand for my bass, a stand for my ipad and said ipad of course. Within the bass case are a couple of other helpful things like a screwdriver, spare batteries, spare strings and such.

So I know that I arrived with 6 things and that's what I'll have to take back home again. However, I just cannot shake the feeling that I will eventually just forget something. That goes up to the point where I sit in the car counting my 6 things over and over again.

It would be actually pretty difficult to forget something, because we have some guys who will take our PA system and bring that to a warehouse after each gig. So if I were to actually leave something behind, they would probably take it with them and tell me afterwards. Still, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Just imagining how I forget like a powercord, or even worse, something like my pedals.

Have you ever actually forgotten something at a venue and were unable to get it back?

 

[4SG]

Wrap colored electrical tape around your gear. Mics, Mic stands, case handles, instrument cables, extension cords, power strips, any/everything. Stages are dark. Everyone's accessories look the same. Just a few bands of tape to distinguish your biz and you'll be able to find your stuff. And, if you leave it behind, folks are too lazy to remove the tape so they can boost it. This cheap hack has worked for me for years.

 

[ELG60]

I use a number of multi-colored fluorescent wire ties at each end of my power, speaker, and instrument cables.

 

[bass12]

I’ve forgotten cables, my strap and my tuner at gigs. So far I’ve been able to get everything back except for a couple of instrument cables.

 

[joelns]

I actually have a checklist. It works.

 

[Michedelic]

“Idiot Check” has been an end of the night ritual for many a year, many a scenario. So far, the only ones found had been on the dance floor.

 

[Marko 1]

I actually have a checklist. It works.

A wise man said "the brain is for thinking, the pen for remembering".

I can't remember who this wise man was, I didn't write it down.

 

[Marko 1]

Try also being the PA guy...

gotta be organizeder than a muuug.

 

[Marko 1]

Is this about forgetting to bring something (make a list)

or leaving it at the gig (always a final walk-through)

I assumed it meant forgetting to bring something from home.

 

[ebo]

I forgot my mic stand on a recent gig. Close enough I went back and got it. Forgot my IPad once. Had to remember the words to songs, GASP! I finally made a checklist with everything I need on it but I forget where I put it.

 

[Bass4Brkfast]

I have a list taped to the inside of a gig bag pocket, and I also do the item count thing.
Remembering to pack 5 things and counting them is an easy trick to keep me from being too careless.
I check the list when I load up my car to go to a gig, and when I pack up and load the car again after the gig. It works.
I only ever lost one instrument cable, and I'm pretty sure someone took it by mistake.
I am always afraid I might break a string or a cable might give out, so I bring spare cables, di's and a backup bass.

 

[glocke1]

Not quite sure if this is the correct forum for such a topic, but let's say I tried to find the correct one.


I probably fall into the category of people who get more anxious about little things than the average, but I've been wondering if others here can relate.

I've been playing gigs for a while now and have actively tried to keep my setup simple and compact. I bring my bass in a hardcase with the necessary cables and such, a pedalboard in a nice rugged flightcase, a monitor, a stand for my bass, a stand for my ipad and said ipad of course. Within the bass case are a couple of other helpful things like a screwdriver, spare batteries, spare strings and such.

So I know that I arrived with 6 things and that's what I'll have to take back home again. However, I just cannot shake the feeling that I will eventually just forget something. That goes up to the point where I sit in the car counting my 6 things over and over again.

It would be actually pretty difficult to forget something, because we have some guys who will take our PA system and bring that to a warehouse after each gig. So if I were to actually leave something behind, they would probably take it with them and tell me afterwards. Still, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Just imagining how I forget like a powercord, or even worse, something like my pedals.

Have you ever actually forgotten something at a venue and were unable to get it back?

I've never forgotten anything of real value at a venue. I am pretty OCD about that. I've never forgotten anything going TO a gig either and am OCD enough that I will often pull over a few miles from my house and re-check everything, even opening up my case to be sure there is a bass in there.

The one thing I did leave at a venue was a tarp I had brought in case of rain. It did rain, and fortunately I was under cover of a pop-up tarp so loaned the tarp I brought to the guitar player so he could cover his pedal board.

I never got it back. I was in a hurry to get out of that place for several and reasons and forgot about it and That dude packed up all his stuff and just left it there.

While it wasn't an item of any real value, it still had cost me money.

 

[lbbc]

I own the PA, lights and bass gear...I load everything the night before (except my bass) and double check, the next day, before I leave for the gig. I've never forgotten anything in over 30 years (so far)!

 

[lbbc]

I also double check that everything is loaded at the end of a gig. Do a walk-through and thank the venue owner (or manager) for having us perform there.

 

[mdogs]

Only lost one thing in 40 years of gigging, a Boss TU-12H tuner. I left it at an audition and didn't realize it until the next day. It was an audition for a friend's band, so I called him up and asked him to retrieve it for me. He told me that he had been fired from the band, ostensibly for trying to make a power play within the band by trying to replace the bass player. So, no new band and one lost tuner. The tuner was probably 25 years old and due to be replaced anyway, so no big loss and the band dissolved not long after that.

 

[el murdoque]

I have a case with my stuff (Strap, cables, FastFret, tools, adapter pieces for any given combintation of XLR and 1/4", batteries, my IEM things etc. ) A case with my pedalboard and a case with my bass.

There is a certain sequence in which I pack and unpack those cases. That gives me a certain security.

 

[baileyboy]

Leaving behind gear is a terrible thought, but even worse are losing one's wallet or keys. I've never left behind gear, but having lost both wallet and keys on separate occasions, the ripple impact on one's life can be nightmarish.

 

[landrybass]

I’ve left a bass at one gig and got it back, but no I don’t really worry about leaving gear. I do worry about OTHER people taking my stands, mics, etc… cuz that does happen.

 

[badinage]

...There is a certain sequence in which I pack and unpack those cases...

I run through the signal chain for the gig I'm packing for, in order, in my mind: I have a bass, I have a strap, I have a cord and spare, I have (needed pedals)...

 

[shastaband]

A wise man said "the brain is for thinking, the pen for remembering".

I can't remember who this wise man was, I didn't write it down.

A similar saying I learned in grad school :

“The dullest pencil has a better memory than the sharpest mind.”