Tips for Being Organized and Prepared for Gigs

[jshinal]

What do you do to ensure all of your logistical needs are met in preparation for a show?

We have divided the load-in/out pretty well. Our singer is also the BL and he carries half the PA and lights in his truck. I'm usually the first to arrive, and I start running the power cables to the stage right away. BL is usually right after me and we place the big stuff and start the cabling. Our drummer carries (and operates) the PA rack, and the other members are self-reliant. We leave them space and they fill it. SO nice to work with experienced people who are chilled.

I reduce my setup time by literally bagging my cables in large Zip-Lok bags. Each bag has a few holes punched in it so it vents air and moisture, and one side of my gear crate has all my cables and spares neatly bagged. No tangles, no mess. Looks a bit silly but well worth it.

 

[StatesideRambler]

I reduce my setup time by literally bagging my cables in large Zip-Lok bags. Each bag has a few holes punched in it so it vents air and moisture, and one side of my gear crate has all my cables and spares neatly bagged. No tangles, no mess. Looks a bit silly but well worth it.

I’ve been Zip-lok bagging cables for years and not only for music. I have found myself warmed up and heading offstage to chill while others are puzzling over which cable in their tangle was the bad one at the last gig.

 

[StyleOverShow]

I use pretty much one or the other head and cabs depending on venue size. Have covers for cabs with my stage name on them and carry a long bike steel bike cable to loop through handles when I have to leave gear unattended. I usually won’t leave my axe, just sling it over my shoulder.

I keep everything else in its own place in a large waterproof backpack.
I pack in and out with the same gear in same place right down to music stand in side pocket.

Keep your stuff organized, clean, serviced and ready to go. BTW, I don’t carry spares, living life on the edge.

 

[PCR]

I raced motorcycle for ~10 yrs back in the day. During my racing tenure, I learned that the more organized your equipment is, the faster you can get everything setup, and the better prepared you will be for the un-expected (i.e. repairing after a crash).

I've taken the same mentality preparing for gigs. I keep separate bags or containers for every component.

• Amp Bag (old large laptop bag): Amp head and cord, speaker cables, pedals (and power), wireless tx/rx, spare instrument cords, spare strings and guitar tools.
• PA Bag (Lg Home Depot tool bag): Behringer XR18, two tablets, router, break music ipod, connection cables and power supplies, microphones and flashlight.
• PA Box: cables and power cords (12g bin): All my mic cables (labeled & indexed) individually coiled in individual baggies with lengths marked on bags. All IEC power cords wrapped and marked with lengths. All power strips w long cords. Gaffers tape.
• Lighting box (12g bin): DMX controller, all DMX cables (labeled & indexed) individually coiled in individual baggies with lengths marked on bags. Pouch for wireless DMX tx & rx. IEC power cords for light fixtures individually wrapped and marked with lengths.
• Spare Extension cords box (Small 4 gal): two outdoor extension cords (25ft, 50ft)

For every gig, I grab my Amp bag. If I need to bring the PA, I grab the PA Bag and PA Box. If I need to bring stage lights, I grab the Lighting box. And if we're playing outdoors I grab the extension cord box.

Most importantly, I keep an inventory of almost everything in each container. After each gig, I go through inventory each container that I use, re- wrap all the cables and organize them back in the boxes, and re-pack all the bags and bins ready for the next gig. I've gotten it down so that I can go through everything in about 45m to an hour depending on which bins we used. This gives me a chance to inspect every cable to make sure it's not damaged, and I know exactly how many of each length cable I have.

This system works for me. I can get our stage and PA w lights set up and ready to go in under an hour (I give ourselves 1.5 hrs). Load out is 30 mins (just dump everything in the boxes since I'm re-wrapping everything anyways).