Ever afraid of forgetting your gear?

[Element Zero]

Make a list, check it twice, gonna put the people who steal from me under the ice…


In all seriousness, I make a list and check off everything. Also, I have a rather specific way I fit my gear into either of our vehicles. Overkill? Not in my mind.

 

[shastaband]

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.

View attachment 4783513

We did this for years in my band. Everybody had a different color. I’m still playing with the same guitar player, 45 years later, and we’re still using the tape colors we picked in 1977.

 

[Spidey2112]

The old saying goes, 'Don't sweat the small stuff.'

That's usually what I forget.

No sweat, though.

 

[Spidey2112]

Make a list, check it twice, gonna put the people who steal from me under the ice…

I'll remember this.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

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?

Just a cable or so

 

[mongo2]

I once couldn't find my bass in the car at the venue parking lot and I thought it might have been stolen while I brought the rest of my gear into the venue.

Turns out I forgot my bass.

It was close to start time and, even though I live only two miles from the venue, I didn't have time to go home and come back then finish setting up so I had to call my wife and ask her to bring to the venue. Thankfully she did me this huge favor. When she arrived I thanked here repeatedly, grabbed my bass from the car, ran in (taking it out of the bag as I ran) put it on, plugged in, did a quick tuning check and we started playing right on time. That was several years ago and she still asks me if I have my bass when I leave to play.

 

[socialleper]

Yes. I always do a sanity check before leaving. Sometimes when you are on autopilot you forget things.

 

[basslayer]

Aside from confusion regarding backline, I am pretty solid with my setup, but it's pretty systematized at this point; most gigs are bass and amp alone, and my solo stuff includes my pedalboard. I keep instrument and amp power cables in all my gig bags and my pedal board gig bag has the additional cabling that I need for the board's addition. Sometimes a music stand shows up, but I rarely play reading gigs, which helps, because I hate having to remember to carry another thing. Doing things line this give me a one trip load in/out.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

From a a guy that once drove 6 hours to a gig without his bass, I understand that feeling.

With most of my gigs, it involves a lot more than 6 items. Dual cab rigs and connectors, back up IEM system, tuner, extra strings, extra cords, in ear filters, ear buds, straps, stage apparel, recording equipment, towel, clean wrist bands, and tools. Most of my gigs require considerable travel so I have to pack at least an overnight bag or a suitcase.

I do have a rack setup, which helps and most of the other stuff is in a gig bag. But it’s a lot of crap to ride herd in.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Knock on wood, but I haven't forgotten anything yet. This is possibly where my OCD tendencies are a bonus. We each have a color of tape to mark our XLR's, things like that. For the PA and lights I have a "spot" where everything is packed and how it's packed. I always know where it is and it's with me when I leave home and when I return.

 

[edencab]

whenever I grab my gear for a jam I have everything and never forget anything, except I have a mental block on bringing my guitar stand...easily 8/10 times (guess I am thinking what stuff do I need to PLAY)

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

I forgot a yamaha trb1005 when I was younger

dads bass player ended up grabbing it for me lol

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

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?

Yes, I fear forgetting gear. I often bring a lot of crap besides bass stuff, such as merch, cameras and tripods, a cooler, so at the end of the night, it would be easy to forget something.

In the past I have forgotten a few minor things, like a one-spot power supply, and another time, an extension cord. Not the end of the world, but still sucks.

What I do now is, in addition to creating a "don't forget to bring to gig" text list on my phone, I also create a "don't forget to bring home from gig" text list. The latter is a little less detailed, for a variety of reasons.

For example, the "bring to gig" list might say "Sony Camera, Zoom Camera, SD cards, 2 tripods, 2 power supplies, camera bag," the "bring home from gig" list might just say "video stuff".

So far it's working. Fingers crossed

 

[RyanSaranich]

I fear this all the time. I really need to make a checklist, which would be the most useful. For now, I just bring as little as possible. Bass with strap, tuner, cable, head, cab.

 

[Spidey2112]

I'll remember this.

But I won't remember to snag my mic stand drink holder, from last Saturday's gig...

 

[Relsom]

First the nightmare thread by LBS-bass and now this. I'm not usually superstitious, but I'm sensing a rash of lost and forgotten gear about to befall our ranks. Beware everyone!

 

[Stewie]

I can’t find my socks

 

[jnuts1]

i switched cases once and forgot my strap. that sucked but that is the only thing i have ever forgotten. i was told to not bring an amp once and when i got there they said i needed one. luckily i was a block away from my house and had it in 5 minutes.

 

[two fingers]

In 35 years of doing this, and a few thousand gigs, it has happened once.

I was in a pro corporate/wedding band. We had a big box truck for our equipment. My gear stayed on the truck because we played so often it didn’t make sense to take any of it home. The last thing to go on the truck was always gig bags.

We played a wedding in Hatteras.... a little town at the farthest end of the Outer Banks of NC. While loading out, I leaned my bass against a light pole beside the truck. None if us noticed it and we all drove off without it.

The good news was that the janitor was kind enough to not only take it inside the venue, but find a way to contact the band. The bad news? The drive from Greenville to Hatteras is 4 1/2 hours. Yup, I had to go get my bass a couple of days later. The Outer Banks in most places is about 100-200 yards wide. There is one road (Highway 12) that goes right down the middle. During tourist season, there's always traffic down Highway 12. That day I left home at about 6:00 a.m. (after getting home a 2 a.m. from doing my weekly gig as the house bass player for an open mic blues jam) and returned home around 9:30 p.m. To make matters worse I got a speeding ticket on the way back.

That was almost 20 years ago. You better believe I haven't forgotten anything since. I'm the last guy out at every gig. I'm scouring the stage for freakin PICKS.

And, as stated above, all of my cables and stands have one strip of thin red electrical tape around them at one end....except DMX cables which have green tape to distinguish them from XLR on a dark stage.

 

[Shindig]

Forgot my bass many years ago, turned around on the way to the gig, and was a couple minutes late. We didn't have cel phones back then (and we lived in caves).
Now I pack my gear in the same exact way in my vehicle so I can see if something is missing.
After the gig, and my gear is packed, I always go back in and "look" to make sure I did not leave anything behind. We used to call it an "idiot check" back in the day.