I have played gigs where it was 105+ degrees outdoors ambient, which meant it was 110-125 on stage. Hydration, hydration, hydration. Keep drinking water. Bring a small towel to keep everything wiped down, including perspiration from getting in your eyes. Sunscreen. Then get out of the heat ASAP when done with the gig, determine if you are sunburned in any way; see if you need electrolytes if you are dehydrated, and rest, rest, rest to recover from the gig.
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Played outdoors today and it was 99 degrees!
- Thread starter Blankandson
- Start date
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
I just take it to the green room / backstage areas and put it on a stand. I'm going to warm up and give it a final tune before going back out, anyway. If you have multiples and you need them out on the stage, then just cover them with said towel (full size, and preferably a light color).
I always keep 2 white bath towels with my backup stuff. Have played often in hot direct sunlight, and as you know, dark colors do not reflect the sun's rays as well as light colors. Often, I have had to cover my monitor with a white towel on breaks, to keep it from overheating, even with its internal fan. I had a bass that was in the direct sun for a decent period of time, and the pickguard warped from the heat. Cover your bass with a white towel on breaks if you cant move it out of direct sunlight, Wear a hat, avoid "musician black" clothing for extreme hot days, try to find a little shade, drink lots of water, use your lightest colored bass, run a portable fan at yourself and gear, and recognize the signs of heatstroke.
Smooth_bass88
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Covering your bass between sets will protect from sun exposure, but the temperature shifts will make the tuning issues worse. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Probably still the right thing to do, but tune early and often.
Played yesterday and was exhausted after 30 minutes. Temp was 93, index was 101.
Man in heat ya gotta have shade .... building, trees, or a pop up canopy over the band ( said the old guy).
Plus, your own personal fan ... you know ... that type that blows. Towels and lots of water.
Without shade in that heat I'd be more worried about the amp shutting down. Shorts, sandals, and a wide brimmed hat. Fun!
Plus, your own personal fan ... you know ... that type that blows. Towels and lots of water.
Without shade in that heat I'd be more worried about the amp shutting down. Shorts, sandals, and a wide brimmed hat. Fun!
Yeah. Cover the instruments with those foil blankets Chuck McGill style. All of the guitars would look like aliens covered up after a UFO crash. A shady spot also works.
Liquid nitrogen cooled chambered bass. 12,000 USD on Ebay. Just don't drop it.
Liquid nitrogen cooled chambered bass. 12,000 USD on Ebay. Just don't drop it.
I've played in 110 before. Just check the truss rod afterwards. I've never had an issue. I know a few that have used moses graphite necks and had issues with those warping due to thermal issues.
Over the years I've played alot of outdoor gigs. The festival type shows usually provided some kind of cover while some of the corporate events you were lucky if they even had a hard surface to set up on.
( But at least they usually fed you some awesome Bar-b-que!)
This being Bakersfield, where we're known far and wide for 2 things. The Bakersfield sound, and the Bakersfield HEAT.
We've already had one day this year hit 108°.....
They call it a "dry" heat but,..come on....that's still stupid hot!
I don't know what that does to a bass but I know what it can do to your body so it can't be good. At those temperatures playing in the shade is miserable, but playing in direct sunshine is BRUTAL!!
Maybe your band should consider getting one of those big portable tent-shades that go up and take down easy.
Miserable is better than brutal..
( But at least they usually fed you some awesome Bar-b-que!)
This being Bakersfield, where we're known far and wide for 2 things. The Bakersfield sound, and the Bakersfield HEAT.
We've already had one day this year hit 108°.....
They call it a "dry" heat but,..come on....that's still stupid hot!
I don't know what that does to a bass but I know what it can do to your body so it can't be good. At those temperatures playing in the shade is miserable, but playing in direct sunshine is BRUTAL!!
Maybe your band should consider getting one of those big portable tent-shades that go up and take down easy.
Miserable is better than brutal..
For hot gigs, I've got a small cannon fan I have on stage blowing on me.
Letting it break-up the heat pocket around me seems to help.
That said in general, I don't take outdoor gigs that don't have some sort of shade option.
Letting it break-up the heat pocket around me seems to help.
That said in general, I don't take outdoor gigs that don't have some sort of shade option.
The OP reminds me of why I made one of the final changes that I did to my gear. It sounds like the OP is playing a real German Warwick - not an inexpensive instrument. I used to play a Canadian made Dingwall AB-2 5 string (also not an inexpensive instrument). I had a gig at a party in Dallas, TX during the Summer (probably around 100 and humid). We were playing in the direct sun on a deck next to a swimming pool that had fountains and people jumping in. We were delayed about 45 minutes and all of our gear was just sitting out there, then we played for about an hour. Luckily, none of us sustained any damage to our gear. Still, after that experience, I decided to only use less expensive gear when gigging, hence my Lakland Skyline 55-64.
I would highly suggest you re-tune before EVERY song, get a stopbox tuner so you can easily mute while you tune.
Having played several festival daytime slots i would recommended keeping your instrument and pedals OFF stage and out of the sunlight after sound check, at the very least cover them with a blanket. I had an incident where my pedal board was sitting in the sun for 30 min before we started, when we started playing my signal was cutting in and out, i had to trouble shoot my board while keeping the Bass lines rolling and it was very stressful. Fortunately the issue was at the beginning of my chain and i had a looper chain pedal so i was able to diagnose the compressor pedal failure without missing too many notes, It appears the heat caused the pedal to fail. Since then i have been very mindful of the gear prior to the set. The extreme heat or cold can ruin your gear, if you woudlnt sleep in that environment in the current conditions don't leave you gear there.
Having played several festival daytime slots i would recommended keeping your instrument and pedals OFF stage and out of the sunlight after sound check, at the very least cover them with a blanket. I had an incident where my pedal board was sitting in the sun for 30 min before we started, when we started playing my signal was cutting in and out, i had to trouble shoot my board while keeping the Bass lines rolling and it was very stressful. Fortunately the issue was at the beginning of my chain and i had a looper chain pedal so i was able to diagnose the compressor pedal failure without missing too many notes, It appears the heat caused the pedal to fail. Since then i have been very mindful of the gear prior to the set. The extreme heat or cold can ruin your gear, if you woudlnt sleep in that environment in the current conditions don't leave you gear there.
A few comments. First, yes it is an expensive instrument. I've checked it out twice yesterday and twice this morning. Seems fine. Holding in tune anyway.
A cannon fan sounds like something I need. If it can run off a battery of some type. Nearest plug yesterday (for personal use) was about 200 feet.
Good Bad and the Ugly kitty. I laughed at that for a good 2 or 3 minutes. Excellent job to whoever put that together if it wasn't you.
I used a $150 bass years ago in Florida for hot outdoor gigs. It began to change shape after a few months. Discovered it was cheap because it was particle board. Sold only by a big box online music retailer. Yeah, that's the one. For indoors only it's not too shabby. But a little fluctuation in the humidity and "too late Martha - there she goes again!"
Pedals. Yikes! They didn't fail and they did what they were designed for. BUT wow they were hot to the touch. Good advice. Thanks for all the above. I'm almost 72 and I'm still learning. Who would a' thunk?!
A cannon fan sounds like something I need. If it can run off a battery of some type. Nearest plug yesterday (for personal use) was about 200 feet.
Good Bad and the Ugly kitty. I laughed at that for a good 2 or 3 minutes. Excellent job to whoever put that together if it wasn't you.
I used a $150 bass years ago in Florida for hot outdoor gigs. It began to change shape after a few months. Discovered it was cheap because it was particle board. Sold only by a big box online music retailer. Yeah, that's the one. For indoors only it's not too shabby. But a little fluctuation in the humidity and "too late Martha - there she goes again!"
Pedals. Yikes! They didn't fail and they did what they were designed for. BUT wow they were hot to the touch. Good advice. Thanks for all the above. I'm almost 72 and I'm still learning. Who would a' thunk?!
