Hauling equipment!! yeash its a pain

[Phil W]

http://usera.imagecave.com/feilik/29-04-06_1803.jpg

 

thread

 

 

Well that was my expensive but great quality solution. Cars in London go nowhere fast, cost a lot to run and clog up the streets so I wanted to be able to get to gigs by foot or by public transport. My amp fits in a shoulder bag and my cab fits in a wheeled trolley with spare cables, stands etc.

 

This works well for rehearsals and small to medium sized gigs. When travelling to out of town gigs with the main coverband, I make it to his house then we load up his old white transit van with PA, lights and gear and make it to the gigs.

[SteveC]

All my stuff fits in the back of my Blazer with room for my wife and baby and diaper bag and....

[TimR]

My Astra Estate runs on Diesel. 50 MPG. Its a manual. Decent suspension. I load it with 1x15 bass combo + mixer with 4 rack + 2 Peavey 15inch PA cabs and a load of lights. Few mic stands, cables, etc.

Basses can sit in the passenger seat or will fit in width-ways across back if I need to take a passenger.

 

Top speed is about 15mph in London, but that affects fuel consumption down to about 30mpg.

 

My drummer has a 2 door Seat that he has to take the heads off his bass drum to get it to fit in the back. But he can get it up to 16mph.

[JonathanD]

Originally posted by getz76:

Originally posted by dnkritr:

Originally posted by getz76:

If you have a PA with subs, why do you need a 4x10" and 2x10" with an 8-space rack?

Why are you trying to argue with me? Do you get some sort of satisfaction from it?

First question: Argue? I asked a question.

 

Second question: Yes.

Smartass

[JonathanD]

And im not loud enough till my leg hairs are holding on for dear life. You jazz/easy listening rock(anything with a piano, an organ is different though and may not fit in easy listneing) guys can probably get away with music being what people come to see, but for the music I play its about a show. Honestly, bands that mess up, drop tempo, and dont make changes together get a good response if they put on a good show.

------

Something else to remember, If you ahve the bass up loud enough for the first song, you can get all the restroom breaks over with real quick, although if you are close to the restroom you might want to turn down the bass a little for aeromatic reasons.

[The Bear Jew]

Lots of bands/musicians meet their traveling/transporting gear needs in different ways.

 

If I have to "go it alone," I use my car (a Subaru Legacy.) Believe it or not, I fit my 4x10, 1x15, 2-space rack-mounted head, two basses, my pedalboard and a guest in my ride if I have to go this way... and I could probably fit more if I wanted. It's not ideal, and I am pretty sure my car doesn't like this action, but it works.

 

However, for band excursions, we roll in the super-duper dope MAF van (pictured here.) http://static.flickr.com/44/152512530_a1a3e5fff9.jpg?v=0

 

One of my old bands (a trio) would often tour in a little Chrysler Town & Country minivan. That was a little tight, and we tended to look a little like soccer moms arriving at the gig, but it was a dependable ride.

 

I've seen bands tour in SUVs with trailers attached... one smallish band I knew toured in an old Ford Festiva. That was insanity.

 

Back in the day, I had a Ford Probe... that thing could fit (no lie): two people, a 4x10, 1x15, two guitars, a pedalboard and a full drumset. Sure, you couldn't see out the back window, but... you got there. Usually.

 

Believe it or not, my buddy's Ford Focus could hold a lot of gear as well.... when it ran.

[alexclaber]

Originally posted by dnkritr:

And im not loud enough till my leg hairs are holding on for dear life. You jazz/easy listening rock(anything with a piano, an organ is different though and may not fit in easy listneing) guys can probably get away with music being what people come to see, but for the music I play its about a show.

Since when did really loud = great show?

 

Maybe the alleged 'jazz/easy listening' players are rock/funk players that have learnt how to get the guitarist to turn down, and reaped the rewards?

 

Alex

 

P.S. And what about those little hairs in your inner ear? How do you think they're coping?

[Pernax]

The recent European tour featured both the worst and best forms of band transportation that I've ever had the pleasure/misfortune to travel in.

 

This was the car the band's record label sent to pick us (3 guys with bunch of instrument cases and other stuff) up from the airport. It was officially the worst car I saw on the whole trip, no lie. The busted exhaust just added to the insult, the thing sounded like a tractor.

 

http://www.helion.fi/stuff/ville/car.jpg

 

Fortunately we soon ditched the rotten thing and used a rental van to drive rest of the way to be united with the other bands, who had already started the tour a few weeks earlier. This was what was waiting for us, pure paradise:

 

http://www.helion.fi/stuff/ville/bus2.jpg

[TimR]

Alex, you are getting old.. Must be that marriage thing taking hold. I bet you're nearly 30.

 

We used to get all our gear Bass, Drums, PA, Keys, Guitar amps in a Talbot Horizon (small hatchback about the size of a fiesta). But we had to because I was the only one old enough to drive. 17 in the UK. They still let us play in the odd pub and drink though? Those were the days..

 

Tell that to the youngsters today and they won't believe you.

[alexclaber]

I used to transport all our gear to gigs (PA included) in a Vauxhall Nova saloon - took a few trips though!

 

Alex

 

P.S. Curmudgeon in training...

[getz out]

I have recently taken to bringing my Gallien-Krueger MB150E combo for gigs that have PA support. 100-watts, 12" speaker, 22 lbs. Allows the drummer and I to monitor me provide the rock.

[wade_g]

This reminds me of an old couple at my last church. When he was younger (they are in their 70s) he was a jazz/blues bassist for hire in the Memphis area. He had a sweet carved upright at the time, and drove a vw beetle convertible. Can you imagine him, his wife, and that upright riding around the streets of Memphis in that bug?

[picker]

Originally posted by wade_g:

This reminds me of an old couple at my last church. When he was younger (they are in their 70s) he was a jazz/blues bassist for hire in the Memphis area. He had a sweet carved upright at the time, and drove a vw beetle convertible. Can you imagine him, his wife, and that upright riding around the streets of Memphis in that bug?

I can't imagine them doing it anywhere else...

 

Well, maybe Nashville...

[TimR]

Interesting solution.

 

Although I think you'd need a big dynamo and trailer for your 8x10.

 

http://www.macband.nl/txtall/fotoszandvoort2006.htm

[JonathanD]

By show, I mean big looking equipment. If someone went to see queens of the stone age, tool, soundgarden, pink floyd, clutch, rush, or any other band playing in anything bigger than a bar that holds 400 people they would expect to see a full stage. Maybe I'm wrong here, but if I were to look on youtube im pretty sure I would see moer than a 115 or 210 in 95% of live shows that people liked enough to post. Ok maybe 85 because of jazz sets.

 

Alex, since when did one way become better than another. Im happy you play soft, I dont like it. Some people use coffee as a natural laxative, I use very loud bass frequencies. I dont think people hear only with there ears, and also, if you can get an experiment going, go to a dance club and turn down the music it becomes a sitting club most often. I like people to sweat and move when I play. It also helps if they are on copious amounts of drugs, but thats an unfair jumpstart.

-------------------------------------

As for the IHC and OHC of my cochlea are protected by gun range ear muffs or sonically balanced ear plugs. I can still hear from about 25 hz to 21,000 and I play loud all the time.

-----------------------

You are sounding like an old man, turn that down, you dont need it to be so loud

[butcherNburn]

Originally posted by TimR:

Interesting solution.

 

Although I think you'd need a big dynamo and trailer for your 8x10.

 

http://www.macband.nl/txtall/fotoszandvoort2006.htm

Practice must be hilarious.

[SteveC]

Originally posted by dnkritr:

And im not loud enough till my leg hairs are holding on for dear life. You jazz/easy listening rock(anything with a piano, an organ is different though and may not fit in easy listneing) guys can probably get away with music being what people come to see, but for the music I play its about a show.

That's quite a statement. I'll leave it at that.

[SteveC]

Originally posted by dnkritr:

By show, I mean big looking equipment. If someone went to see queens of the stone age, tool, soundgarden, pink floyd, clutch, rush, or any other band playing in anything bigger than a bar that holds 400 people they would expect to see a full stage.

Doesn't Geddy Lee tour with a washer, dryer and vending machine for backline?

[getz out]

By show, I mean big looking equipment. If someone went to see queens of the stone age, tool, soundgarden, pink floyd, clutch, rush, or any other band playing in anything bigger than a bar that holds 400 people they would expect to see a full stage.

Correlation is not causation.

 

Most audiences cannot distinguish a bass from a guitar, let alone a bass amplifier from a washing machine. And as SteveC mentioned, someone set out to prove such.

 

Often gear on stages for big venues is provided by the touring company for endorsement purposes or by the venue for the same reason. Often, the equipment is not even used for live sound. Take a look at The Grape Street Pub in Philadelphia. Large venue with a great backline of big gear. There is a reason... full endorsed and advertising everywhere for Ibanez, Gibson, Tama, Ampeg. Sam Ash also sponsors certain venues, and it is interesting that the bass rig is usually a large Hartke rig (distributed by Samson) and the mains, mics, and boards are always Samson.

[TimR]

This ones bigger now apparently, so you might get more gear in it?

 

[moot]

Know what I miss? the days of piling everything into a band members van and crowding in and driving to the gig.

I remember sitting or laying on top of speakers and amps due to being on the losing end of rock-paper-scissors for shotgun, loading everything just so it would fit, coming out to find the bald spare on the back had gone flat again, repacking at the end of the night and going to breakfast somewhere on the way back - fond memories all.

Now that my 3 piece is starting to gig and following each other all over the countryside is getting to be a pain, I bought this

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/Mattulator/outside.jpg

 

1967 Ford Econoline 9 window van. Schwing!

Now all I have to do is get it running, get it home and figure out how to get the drummers 857 pice kit into it with everything else.

[JonathanD]

Originally posted by mattulator:

Know what I miss? the days of piling everything into a band members van and crowding in and driving to the gig.

I remember sitting or laying on top of speakers and amps due to being on the losing end of rock-paper-scissors for shotgun, loading everything just so it would fit, coming out to find the bald spare on the back had gone flat again, repacking at the end of the night and going to breakfast somewhere on the way back - fond memories all.

Now that my 3 piece is starting to gig and following each other all over the countryside is getting to be a pain, I bought this

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/Mattulator/outside.jpg

 

1967 Ford Econoline 9 window van. Schwing!

Now all I have to do is get it running, get it home and figure out how to get the drummers 857 pice kit into it with everything else.

I remeber one time on the way to a gig in detroit with a punk band I was sitting/hunched on the speakers and at about 60MPH the guitarist (with a 1 foot mohawk) slams on the breaks to make a turn. I won the fight with the rear view mirror, but the dashboard kick my butt.

[wraub]

Originally posted by getz76:

By show, I mean big looking equipment. If someone went to see queens of the stone age, tool, soundgarden, pink floyd, clutch, rush, or any other band playing in anything bigger than a bar that holds 400 people they would expect to see a full stage.

Correlation is not causation.

Soul Coughing is sooooooooo cool.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[jeremy c]

I knew a keyboard player who died in a van like that when the load shifted and a cymbal caught him on the back of the neck.

[getz out]

Originally posted by wraub:

Originally posted by getz76:

Correlation is not causation.

Soul Coughing is sooooooooo cool.

Best. Band. Ever.

 

And you can have an entire conversation just quoting lyrics.

[Bottomgottem]

Originally posted by jeremy c:

I knew a keyboard player who died in a van like that when the load shifted and a cymbal caught him on the back of the neck.

Are you frickin' serious?!

[way2fat]

Originally posted by SteveC:

Originally posted by dnkritr:

By show, I mean big looking equipment. If someone went to see queens of the stone age, tool, soundgarden, pink floyd, clutch, rush, or any other band playing in anything bigger than a bar that holds 400 people they would expect to see a full stage.

Doesn't Geddy Lee tour with a washer, dryer and vending machine for backline?

No wonder I don't like their sound!

[JonathanD]

Originally posted by getz76:

Originally posted by wraub:

Originally posted by getz76:

Correlation is not causation.

Soul Coughing is sooooooooo cool.

Best. Band. Ever.

 

And you can have an entire conversation just quoting lyrics.

I will have to disagree on that one. They seem to be as deep as a mud hole.

"Yellow #5 yellow #5 yellow #5"

Ok they are alright on occasion, and when I was about 16 I really got into one of their albums. I cant think of any of there lyrics that are original.

Correlation does not imply causation is something EVERY psych class regurgitates in college.

[Luke73]

that have learnt how to get the guitarist to turn down

I'm still working on that one...

[thanny XIII]

Originally posted by Bumpcity:

of gear.

 

This 5x8 Uhaul trailer is 900 pounds empty, it only requires a class 1 tow hitch, and a tow vehicle with minimum curb weight of 2700 pounds. A Mazda 3 has a curb weight of nearly 3000 pounds and estimated 26 MPG (with manual transmission). A Mazda 3 is a pretty small car.

 

Originally posted by dnkritr:

I wonder why they dont make hybrids in 6 cylinder that can use the electric to keep speed at higher MPH/KPH and still ahve some power at the take off?

Because of physics.

you are my god bump! that is funny. dnkritr. Buy a 64 mustang with an eight cyl engine. ad hitch. it is neither cheap nor fuel effeciant but it is friggin' cool.