Outdoor gig, 100 degrees. Should I be worried?

[drcool]

We have an upcoming gig outdoors and it is supposed to be around 100 degrees. As of now we will be right in the sun and there won't be much shade. Should we be worried about the heat effecting out gear? I am mostly concerened about the amps overheating. But would that much heat have an adverse effect on the guitars? I know the tuning might get kinda whacked out but that isn't hot enough to worry about guitars cracking or anything is it?

I am running an Ampeg SVT-2 Pro and the guitars have Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amps. We will also be running through a few of the Bose L1 PAs.

 

[standupright]

your gear should be fine. you on the other hand will be miserable.

 

[drcool]

hehe. Yeah, I am expecting to be sweating like a fat kid chasing the ice cream truck but that I can deal with. Just don't want to lose any gear or anything.

 

[LightGroove]

100 degrees dry or humid heat?

The temp will suck but humidity would be the killer..heat and moisture...meh

 

[drcool]

Nice dry heat. Not much humidity to speak of.

 

[Rick in Dixie]

I would carry a fan just to move some air around, I did an outdoor gig about a month ago in the late evening, the humidity was bad enough but condensation start accumulating about 9pm and keeping my Bass strings wiped down was a constant effort.

 

[DeluxeRed]

Be sure to let all of your axes acclimate to the heat before you play. Don't just pull them out of an airconditioned area and out into the heat.

And towels. Lots and lots of towels.

 

[JimmyM]

I live in Florida. I play outdoors all the time. Never lost a piece to intense heat, but I have nearly passed out dozens of times.

 

[georgestrings]

First off, get yourself some shade - even if it means renting/borrowing a couple of EZups to get under... 2nd, fans will be your friend - and lastly, bring some white towels - you may be able to drap them over amps to help, as long as you don't hinder any air movement needed, as designed by the manufacturers... The Hod Rods will probably be OK, but your 2 Pro may greatly benefit from having something white across the top of it, as opposed to having a black chassis or rack case in direct sunlight on a hot day - just don't block any air vents... Keep lots of water around for yourselves...



- georgestrings

 

[drcool]

Thanks for all the input. The gig went well and there were no adverse effects on the equipment. It was very hot but there was a couple nice breezes blowing through occasionally which helped greatly.

 

[John Bigboote]

Just played outside yesterday, it was 98+. Our gear held up fine (but it's been a while since my axes went that far out of tune). The missus (our keyboard player) nearly keeled over after the set-up, but we got her some shade and she made it just fine. But I hated the gig. We were hot, we played sloppy, people were unresponsive... I'd be happy never to play a gig like that again.

-jb

 

[jaywa]

98 degrees in Portland OR? That's crazy hot, especially for that part of the country.

I'm not a big fan of playing outside, but you can make some good money and get great exposure doing those summer festivals, block parties, street dances etc. And as long as the temps aren't too extreme either way I'm usually OK with it. Humidity is the worst... messes with my tuning and makes the strings all sticky.

 

[Billnc]

I live in Charlotte NC the home of high heat humidity and thunderstorms for your outdoor gigging pleasure, though JimmyM can probably win with the horror stories of FLA. I drink lots of water, try to keep my fingers from sticking together and have never had a gear malfunction, except one gig that was so humid that in the early evening dew started forming on everything.

 

[fokof]

Drink a lot of water.
Wear a cap.