Anyone who gigs on a regular basis will understand the importance of the logistics of getting your kit to and from destinations. As I see it a few main key points come up.
1) Amount of gear Vs Weight restrictions
2) Amount of gear without relying on 100% playback
3) Safe storage
Im always shocked to see "known" artists turn up at venues and pull ££££'s of gear out of ALDI plastic carrier bags , same artists also seem the ones to complain about the quality of PA system and sound man or lack of audio standards... then play, after the gig pack away their modular system in a bin liners for the long train ride home..
For many years I have had a trustworthy keybord case..Very heavy but solid.
Now upgraded to a peli case http://www.peliproducts.co.uk/
So what do you use?
Tips?
lee
I store pedals and little gear in a Diago hardbox ( http://www.diago.co.uk/pedalboards/diago-pedalboards.html ), great quality.
My Novation BSII is in his own Gig bag ( http://global.novationmusic.com/accessories/protect-your-gear# )
My Korg Microsampler in one Gator cases GK-2110 bag.
My computer and controllers in a Case Logic ZLC-216 bag.
I love my gear, i'm also shoked to see people store gear in a plastic bag or other shit, without any protection...
One thing that always bugged me ... acts who play in sprayed painted shit 1970 retro suitcases with care bear rainbow stickers on them.
I have always respected people who take pride in what they do and what they play. Somebody who enters a room with a ms20 in a custom case rather than a bin bag will always be a winner...
Quotesprayed painted shit 1970 retro suitcases with care bear rainbow stickers on them.
I have always respected people who take pride in what they do and what they play.
These are not mutually exclusive, they might just take pride in different things to you. I admire people with fancy gear and neat setups in cases, but noise needs mess too and for me there's a place for it as an antidote to any kind of musicianship/reasonable behaviour/professionalism. :D What gets me tho is the people with £££££ modulars going thru a behringer mixer on which they don't even know how to set the gain correctly.
Bought a nice case for a few rackmount units I have but never ended up using it because the thing weighed like 5 times as much as the contents and I switch my gear around too often to bother with fixed cased setups anyway.
I only use public transport so at best i use a suitcase with wheels, usually just keep it backpack-weight. My setup is mostly behringer pedals which I regularly feel the need to throw on the floor in the process of performing, so no point getting a fancy flightcase really. I built a nice little case for my Roland VT-3 out of an old electric drill box though since that's marginally expensive by my standards :3
had a trusty hard suitcase since 2009 that i picked up 2nd hand for 10e. paddings glued to the inner "walls" from an old printer box. they make a "pit" for wires & mics... then comes the DIY "hassleboard" (hässäkkälauta) with electronics fixed to it with velcro & screws. all this in protected by an old acoustic panel inside an old sheet to avoid the panel from turning to dust and destroying the mixer etc. this turns into a "sandwich" that dampens any impact from transport. now there's kinda room for another "layer" of stuff. then the rest of the acoustopanel inside the top of the suitcase. close it up and nothing shakes around.
i totally agree, why risk arriving at the gig and having your gear in pieces then whining? i've seen the plastic bags and sports bags with all just randomly tossed inside....
but i also agree that the messy chaos belongs to it. just try to keep it as minimal as possible??
i tried the hardcore flightcase in the beginning but man was it a nightmare to carry. still have it but i prefer this one. it has wheels and a handle. basically airport-friendly. loaded up it weighs round 20kg + then another 10-20 kg of junks to play, depending on the ride.
for touring or playin abroad i have to slim it down dramatically. gigs outside of finland don't see what could be done with racks, baskets, radiators, gongs....
one thing i find particularly stupid is having 1 power supply for each device. specially the "wall wart" models with annoying tiny wires coming to the device. man what a spaghetti!! pedals + some samplers can be driven with the classic 1-spot and a splitter cable, up to 5 devices from 1 powersource. players should do themselves a favor.
I used to go around with a massive green samsonite suitcase for pedals, cables, chains, etc. and mixer plus more delicate pieces in a rucksack.
Now I no longer play live but go every forthnight to local studio with a very big rucksack and a trolley, the same kind used by grannies for shopping.
Quote from: tiny_tove on June 10, 2015, 12:40:33 PM
Now I no longer play live but go every forthnight to local studio with a very big rucksack and a trolley, the same kind used by grannies for shopping.
We NEED a picture, you and your grannies' trolley! :D
will get it done next reharsal, I promise
I have about 5 different suitcases (some I ladded the insides with eggshell foam) that I use depending on what I need and am taking to a gig. Rarely more than 2 though... Cords and power supplies/strips in my messenger bag... This has worked for a long while, but I need to figure out some kind of worthwhile modular case without dropping hundreds on a boutique one. None of my gear is that huge, small synths and a sampler.
also recently looked for a safe storage place for gear. in a cramped apartment and sick of unpacking from milk crate every time to record sounds.
I found this from big US online store: SKB 3i-2015-7B Military Standard Waterproof Case Cubed Foam http://www.musiciansfriend.com//accessories/skb-3i-2015-7b-military-standard-waterproof-case/h72761000001000?src=3TEMORD
a bit pricey but looks like it would do the trick.
Question..
How many of you out there request to venue to provide a mixer or do you always take your own?
I have always brought my own but taking a heavy (but solid and reliable) mackie mixer adds extra weight on to my luggage.
Quote from: ironfistofthesun on June 13, 2015, 01:35:07 PM
Question..
How many of you out there request to venue to provide a mixer or do you always take your own?
I have always brought my own but taking a heavy (but solid and reliable) mackie mixer adds extra weight on to my luggage.
I've done that (request). Sometimes arrived to the place to find out they didn't get a mixer at all, so had to find one on the spot, and sometimes got something entirely different than the one I requested. But I'd recommend it anyway. I'd do it more often but atm my set has some rather sensitive internal feedback loops adjustments etc. and I'd rather use my own mixer which's behavior I know. If using the mixer for basic summing, volume adjusting, simple aux stuff etc. I see no problem.
Quote from: ironfistofthesun on June 13, 2015, 01:35:07 PM
Question..
How many of you out there request to venue to provide a mixer or do you always take your own?
I have always brought my own but taking a heavy (but solid and reliable) mackie mixer adds extra weight on to my luggage.
My suggestion is to specify which kind of mixer you want with the minimum requirements you need.
I did whenver I had to catch a flight but the result was not always the best...
I remember using a very good one at consumer electronics in Berlin, in Holland, etc., but had horrid experience in Madrid when I got a massive mixer but the technical guy was unable to make it work so I had to work basically with backing tracks only... In all pics I look as if I am very focused, while I am just trying to read properly what was going on on the display of the ipod I brought as backup. I am shortsighted and cannot see anything in darkness... the ipod was placed on the mixer itself since I had no other space, but I was basically doing karaoke.
Last gigs I always tried to move with my own mixer.
My mixer is as much an instrument as any other part of my gear, wouldn't really expect someone else to provide it. Wouldn't want to end up with some unknown quality or not enough channels/sends etc, or on the other hand would feel bad abusing someone else's overexpensive gear. :D Anyway i'm making electronic music here; i'd sooner leave everything BUT the mixer at home.
On the topic of borrowing and carrying things, i played a last minute set the other week where I was invited to fill in for a missing artist at a show I was already planning to attend, but was already out of the house with no time to go back and get any equipment so I just borrowed random minimal gear when i got there. It was an interesting and liberating way to perform, and great not to have to cart a tonne of stuff home afterwards :D might do that more often
i know that marhaug requested mixers already years ago, and it probably works for him, but i never liked the idea personally cos i grind the gains into the red and i dont wanna fry someone elses dildo.. besides many gigs have been in "non-venues" where on a good day there is a table
Rare occurrence last night, was able to borrow an original MS20 and an EDP Wasp from the venue for my set, never mind a mixer! :D
Last week I got to know this guy who builds modular cases by hacking electrician cases.
Despite being very nice - he brought the stuff at my place in order to save me 15 euro of delivery - cases are really nice, comfy, light, yet robust.
I got this version (84 hp), but I plan to get a second one soon, since they are very practical to transport
http://www.mercatinomusicale.com/mm/a_valigetta-modulare-eurorack-x-makenoise-doepfer-mfb-rails-tip-top_id3878676.html
Furthermore, Peppe shown me a new version of this:
http://www.mercatinomusicale.com/mm/a_mini-valigetta-custom-modulari-erorack-case-62hp-x-mfb-doepfer-modular_id4446824.html
The new version also includes two piezos that can be used as trigger-controllers, and is very useful if you need to carry essential modules for live sets, without moving the whole beast.
Planning to get another one soon...
This is mine:
https://wertham.wordpress.com/