Help me plan for winter gigs, taking public transit!

[Goldmember]

I have survived daily practice and weekend gigs in Zagreb, Croatia, with -20C the whole month of February. I took the tram at least 20km round trip, so no problem with break-happy bus drivers. The trick is to keep your amp in the practice room, wrap your bass in a thick army sleeping bag, and use a heavy duty pistol belt with sling. Of course, a proper gig bag would be more convenient.

 

[PostApocalypso]

P.S. Anyone here who's survived a Winnipeg winter? ;-) I hear the American mid-west is quite similar!

40 of them. Winnipeg is cold, but at least it's dry. Montreal is nicer temperature wise, but gets icy.

Don't overthink it and just accept that sometimes you're better off springing for a taxi than fighting icy sidewalks.

 

[Jefff]

I live in Chicago. My standard rig is a bass in a gig bag over one shoulder, and RB700 in a bag over the other, and two single 12's, one in each hand.

 

[beans-on-toast]

My bass is PU-finished, so am mostly concerned about truss-rod and tuning-related temperature issues changes. Should I be worried about more than this? The reason I say 10-15min for the gear to warm up is there were a couple of times when the band that was playing ahead of mine cancelled, and we got bumped up the list.

I find it best to store the instrument in the case. Leave it in the case to acclimatize to room temperature. It helps buffer dramatic temperature changes.

Otherwise, with the amp and cab do whatever you can. Get there as early as you can if the equipment is going to get extra cold one day.

 

[JDT36]

Hi - reviving this thread as I'm in a similar position, and need a good cab or combo for regular use on urban public transit. Light and small are key, decent volume for small gigs and tone are close seconds.

I'm eyeing the new trace elliot ELF 1x10 or 2x8. Any better ideas?

 

[erigod23]

Traynor Amps

 

[Paulabass]

P.S. Anyone here who's survived a Winnipeg winter? ;-) I hear the American mid-west is quite similar!

After two days drive from Toronto, we climbed out of our tour bus in Winnipeg, in November. There is nothing on earth that can prepare you for that. If there is a hell on Earth, it is surely in Winnipeg. Of course, it really didn't help that we were wearing leather and cowboy boots, and everyone around us was in a down parka.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Winnipeg's Portage and Main, fifty below.