Has anyone's band played in a parade on a float?

[jefff100]

Thanks for your tips, its appreciated. I was thinking of the ratcheting tiedowns for amp cabinets & amp head(s).

Keyboard rests on a "Z" stand normally. I'm thinking that the keys will be the most problematic to secure.

Our "Float" will most likely be a roll off type tow truck with an aluminum bed. I don't think the owner will be too happy if we go drilling holes in his truck bed. I'm thinking perhaps build a sub-floor of 3/4" plywood, and then we can anchor / screw things to that; and the plywood could be clamped to the truck bed.

I was thinking of electrician's contuduit clamps to clamp the drum stand legs to the subfloor, but not sure how my drummer will feel about it. Maybe I could wrap the metal bits of the drum stand with thinn sheet rubber as a cushion.

 

[jeffgnr90]

I've always wanted to do this!

 

[bertbass666]

Did it once and loved it. Didn't enjoy being the target for all those thrown coins though.

 

[jaywa]

Not my band, but these guys did it.



BTW, if the bass player on this clip is a TalkBasser... many props, sir. You are more brave than I.

 

[mowburger]

The punk band I'm in: Elastik Waste Banned, played the Fall Fest parade in Sister Bay, Wi a cpl years back on our buddy's 32' Pontoon Boat/on trailer. Wild time, lotsa fun!

 

[Nephilymbass]

I played bass in the pit one year in marching band. I ran two peavey combos using this box my teacher got. It used a car battery and had regular outlets. He actually bought it it wasnt a homemade deal. Wouldn't run my current rig off it but to power a combo it was great. Would probably work fine with a lot of 410 rigs that use under 500w. Im actually on the look out for the exact same unit to use to play on the sidewalk downtown. Once a month we have an "arts" gathering the 4th Friday of every month. Everything from painters to musicians that range for violin to sax to acoustic guitar to bongos. It's a fun event and I really want to start jamming there with my 7 string.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

If it's feasible to run everything, or at least as much as possible, through the PA, go for it.

Figure out what you'll need for current. Add maybe 25 to 50% for a safety margin.

You'll probably want a "movie quiet" generator, which would be a lot less noisy than an industrial quiet one, and make sure it has good voltage regulation.

Before you plug anything in, check the voltage switch on the genny. You don't want 240V going into 120V gear.

Then start the generator and put a voltmeter on the output(s). With no load the voltage should be within about +5/-0% of the spec voltage.

Once you've checked all that, then you can proceed with hooking everything out. One advantage of genny power is that it's extremely clean.