So our band just got back from the Temecula Valley Bluegrass Festival, we played two sets on Sunday. I play banjo with our band (Sweet Tidings Gospel Jam) and our bass player prefers my Alcoa so we brought it for him to use. My wife and I are festival campers and I love jamming with this bass, so bringing it along is also what I wanted to do...
The bass performed wonderfully so I'm very glad it was along. However storing it in our 21 foot Class C RV is a challenge. This festival had rain, wind and a lot of mud, so I didn't want to leave the Alcoa outside much at all. Seems like one way or another we give up something important to carry and store this wonderful instrument.
A 21 foot Class C RV isn't big, but for two people who don't mind sharing the space it can work pretty nicely. The big advantages are that it's easy to drive around, it's easier on the gas, it costs less to purchase and it can qualify to camp in just about any camping space. It has all the facilities but just not much space. We do not have slide-outs, chosen intentionally that way for weight and maintenance reasons.
For traveling to this festival I had all the instruments on the over-cab section, which worked ok. With the 8" thick bed also in that compartment, the smaller instruments fit on the bed and the bass fits on the "floor" front of the bed, sort of locking everything else in place. That is the only way that the bass fits in this compartment as long as the bed is there.
Once we arrived at the festival, the smaller instruments went into the cab, no problem. But frequently during this stay when we had the bass in the rig, I had it either on the kitchen table or on the master (downstairs) bed, both which weren't convenient. I could put the bass upstairs, but only the one way, and doing so makes it impossible to get up into that bed. We don't often have guests stay with us, but we considered it for this trip and normally having the upstairs bed makes that possible to do, but not with the bass in that compartment.
Sooo, we're faced with a decision. I really want to bring the bass camping and to festivals because I love jamming with it and because it will be required for our bass player if our band is performing. But I'm pretty sure we're going to have to give up the upper bed in the RV to do so. Removing the upper bed will make it possible to store the bass (and any other desired instruments) upstairs out of the way in a variety of configurations, but it pretty well means no one can sleep there.
I have thought about standing the bass up in the cab area which is technically possible, but that means the smaller instruments need to go elsewhere and it also means that the "floor" around the bed has to be removed which reduces easy access and also reduces space in the upstairs bed area. And yes, the kitchen table can convert into a bed, but then there isn't a kitchen table to use, so I'd like to avoid that if possible.
I've talked about this in the past with other friends who play the bass and had similar problems. One has gone to an EUB, another has gone to a stick bass, both using amps or plugging into sound systems. Both sound great on stage but neither can be used easily for jamming. And honestly, I want to bring the Alcoa.
I think our only option is to remove the upstairs bed. Can anyone else think of an option I haven't considered?
The bass performed wonderfully so I'm very glad it was along. However storing it in our 21 foot Class C RV is a challenge. This festival had rain, wind and a lot of mud, so I didn't want to leave the Alcoa outside much at all. Seems like one way or another we give up something important to carry and store this wonderful instrument.
A 21 foot Class C RV isn't big, but for two people who don't mind sharing the space it can work pretty nicely. The big advantages are that it's easy to drive around, it's easier on the gas, it costs less to purchase and it can qualify to camp in just about any camping space. It has all the facilities but just not much space. We do not have slide-outs, chosen intentionally that way for weight and maintenance reasons.
For traveling to this festival I had all the instruments on the over-cab section, which worked ok. With the 8" thick bed also in that compartment, the smaller instruments fit on the bed and the bass fits on the "floor" front of the bed, sort of locking everything else in place. That is the only way that the bass fits in this compartment as long as the bed is there.
Once we arrived at the festival, the smaller instruments went into the cab, no problem. But frequently during this stay when we had the bass in the rig, I had it either on the kitchen table or on the master (downstairs) bed, both which weren't convenient. I could put the bass upstairs, but only the one way, and doing so makes it impossible to get up into that bed. We don't often have guests stay with us, but we considered it for this trip and normally having the upstairs bed makes that possible to do, but not with the bass in that compartment.
Sooo, we're faced with a decision. I really want to bring the bass camping and to festivals because I love jamming with it and because it will be required for our bass player if our band is performing. But I'm pretty sure we're going to have to give up the upper bed in the RV to do so. Removing the upper bed will make it possible to store the bass (and any other desired instruments) upstairs out of the way in a variety of configurations, but it pretty well means no one can sleep there.
I have thought about standing the bass up in the cab area which is technically possible, but that means the smaller instruments need to go elsewhere and it also means that the "floor" around the bed has to be removed which reduces easy access and also reduces space in the upstairs bed area. And yes, the kitchen table can convert into a bed, but then there isn't a kitchen table to use, so I'd like to avoid that if possible.
I've talked about this in the past with other friends who play the bass and had similar problems. One has gone to an EUB, another has gone to a stick bass, both using amps or plugging into sound systems. Both sound great on stage but neither can be used easily for jamming. And honestly, I want to bring the Alcoa.
I think our only option is to remove the upstairs bed. Can anyone else think of an option I haven't considered?
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