Gig Survival Kit

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 17 Oct 2009 6:45 pm

Joe,I think your on to something lately every place I play is dark onstage,I'm always fumbling for a small flash light.It would be great to open up my steel set and a light comes on like a refrigerator.

Larry Lorows · Post by **Larry Lorows** » 18 Oct 2009 3:21 am

I'm with you Jody, only I use a 38 special short barrel. Larry

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 18 Oct 2009 7:17 am

Same here Larry

Ronnie Boettcher · Post by **Ronnie Boettcher** » 18 Oct 2009 7:20 am

I like my friend, the government parkerized 45acp, with wadcutters. If your going to get into it, someone is going down with me. If you happen to use it, a spare barrel, is always good too. Can change it in less than a minute, and the lands, and grooves, will be different, when the spent bullet is under a microscope.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 18 Oct 2009 7:28 am

I had clips to hold my RedHawk under the lid of my pakaseat. Only carried to a couple of places though. The Bridge Tavern in Collinwood, Wright's Ballroom outside Akron. Those were the only two "dodgey" places.

Barry Hyman · Post by **Barry Hyman** » 18 Oct 2009 3:54 pm

Boy, you gun-toting pedal steel guitarists sure make me aware of all the sadness out there in the world. Up here in the north woods bears and moose are more numerous per square mile than pedal steel guitarists or thieves (fact as well as humor), and I never lock my car and don't even know how to lock my house. No gun in my survival kit. But if someone tried to steal my steel don't worry -- I would tear him to shreds with my non-violent vegetarian peacenik teeth and fingernails!

Bill Dobkins · Post by **Bill Dobkins** » 18 Oct 2009 6:08 pm

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 19 Oct 2009 8:16 am

I skip the pack a seat. they are too heavy and too expensive. I use a $30 folding keyboard seat to sit on and a $3 thrift store suitacse to haul my pedalboard cables and everything else.

One of my most important gig items is my "cheat sheet". It might be the setlist with keys and chord changes written next to the songs, or index cards placed between the strings in the keyhead with the same info.

I leave the weapons and booze at home. I aint gonna be shooting anyone so no point bringing a gun and they got enough booze at the places I play.

be nice to the soundguy, introduce yourself, and say thanks in advance for making us sound good, and then say it again after the show.

Bernie Straub · Post by **Bernie Straub** » 19 Oct 2009 11:18 am

I always have a few bar towels with me...it is hot and humid where I live. Great to wipe down the strings, too.

Tony Kotula · Post by **Tony Kotula** » 19 Oct 2009 9:32 pm

ALL OF THE ABOVE, YOU WILL FIND NECESSARY AS YOU GO ALONG. IT DOES'NT HURT TO HAVE 2 OF EVERYTHING. VOL.PEDAL STRINGS CAN BREAK. IF YOUR HANDY ENUFF AND CAN FOLLOW AN EASY PATTERN LIKE POSTED ON "SCOTTY'S MUSIC" WEBSITE. THERE'S A DIAGRAM THERE FROM GOODRICH ON HOW TO RESTRING YOUR VOLUME PEDAL. THAT IS OF COURSE YOU'RE USING ONE WITH A REG. POT IN IT. FOR EXTRA STRING, I CARRY A PKG. OF SNARE DRUM STRINGS. GET 'EM AT ANY DECENT MUSIC STORE. GUITAR CTR'S HAVE IT. THEY'RE STRONG AND THE CUT TO THE RIGHT LENGTH. ALSO.. GET YOURSELF A SOLDER KIT. BATTERY OPERATED WORK FINE. YOU'LL FIND THAT OVER THE YEARS WHAT YOU'LL NEED. ENJOY... THAT IDEA ABOUT THE LIGHT INSIDE THE SEAT LIKE REFRIDGERATOR IS RIGHT ON. MAYBE A COOLING UNIT TOO FOR THE VINO, WHISKEY AND BEER.
I AM FROM MOTOWN. AND THEY'RE RIGHT ABOUT PACKIN A LITTLE EXTRA TOO...

Tommy Bannister · Post by **Tommy Bannister** » 19 Oct 2009 11:38 pm

how about a good strong roadie or friend just to carry all your gear also to protect you, just a thought!

Adam Sorber · Post by **Adam Sorber** » 20 Oct 2009 6:49 am

I carry a spare key for my truck in my pack-a-seat in case I lose my keys!

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 17 Oct 2012 6:45 pm

Things that come to mind other than strings, picks, bars, cables, pedals, batteries:

A forklift for my D-10 and Vibrosonic. Clothes pins to hold music and set list from blowing off music stand when HVAC kicks on (happened last week to me, used a Snark tuner to hold it down!). Cloths pins this week

Headband LED flashlight.

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 17 Oct 2012 6:48 pm

john widgren wrote:Hemostats

JW

For whaaaat ??

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 17 Oct 2012 9:17 pm

All you need is a sign on your steel reminding you.
"The Steel Guitar Forum is for people posting opinions, help and advice, not to be mistaken for something that people should actually take, try or apply."
If you ignore the sign you will need to rent storage space and a UHAUL truck.

Dylan Schorer · Post by **Dylan Schorer** » 18 Oct 2012 1:09 am

I have spares for all the essentials in my pac-a-seat, but I also keep backup bag of critical items in the glove box of my car. This includes a bar, picks, strings, cables, amp tubes, tools, etc. Nothing worse than showing up for a gig and discovering that your bars or picks are MIA. There are many stories on this forum of people having play a show with batteries, flashlights, lighters, beer bottles, etc. in place of a bar.

A lost/forgotten/stolen bar is definitely the worst situation. You could painfully muddle through without picks or a volume pedal, or with a broken string, but without a bar, you’re dead in the water.

Dylan Schorer · Post by **Dylan Schorer** » 18 Oct 2012 1:22 am

Tony Kotula wrote:...VOL.PEDAL STRINGS CAN BREAK. IF YOUR HANDY ENUFF AND CAN FOLLOW AN EASY PATTERN LIKE POSTED ON "SCOTTY'S MUSIC" WEBSITE. THERE'S A DIAGRAM THERE FROM GOODRICH ON HOW TO RESTRING YOUR VOLUME PEDAL...

I envy you guys who can easily swap out a volume pedal string. I'm handy enough, but even staring at the diagram, I end up wrestling with the string forever. I break into a cold sweat any time I need to replace a pot just because of the thought of dealing with that stupid string.

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 18 Oct 2012 3:40 am

Anyone ever forget their guitar, or dare to admit it? I forgot my Tele, but it was a practice session..

Tony Williamson · Post by **Tony Williamson** » 18 Oct 2012 5:06 am

I've about run over my banjo and guitars before. Go to the back of the car to put them in and my kids make me go back to the house for something. Come back out and get in the drivers seat.I've actually had the car cranked fixing to back up with my instruments sitting in my driveway behind my car! !!

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 18 Oct 2012 5:46 am

Based on your signature line list, that Martin HD28 would be a disaster - ouch! We ran over a bike pump the other day - our sons are teenagers. The child distraction thing just grows in magnitude. Your kids must be older

John Owen · Post by **John Owen** » 18 Oct 2012 6:02 am

Carl Mesrobian wrote:Anyone ever forget their guitar, or dare to admit it? I forgot my Tele, but it was a practice session..

Never forgot my guitar but last weekend I forgot the mics (all of them). Fortunately the place was close enough to my house that the bass player was able to drive over and get them before we started. Forgot speaker stands a few months back too. I have a feeling that similar events are likely to become more frequent as the years march on....oh well...

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 18 Oct 2012 6:21 am

I carry an old rag for the steel......people are always asking

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 18 Oct 2012 7:07 am

I've had two occasions out of many gigs a year for 30 years whereby I needed and extra bar and picks.

I played a cruise on a ferry boat once and dropped my bar which proceed to roll to the edge of the boat and go overboard down to Davy Jones locker. Our roadie grabbed some chromed drum hardware and cut off a piece and stuffed with quarters to get me by.

One busy week I left my satchel containing picks and bar at the previous gig location. It was one of those many band jamborees and someone "helped" me pack up. Didn't notice till I got to the next gig many miles away - used the drum hardware and played bare fingered.

Call me an airhead but now I store an extra set of picks and bar in the pack-a-seat separately from the satchel.

Ditto on all the other stuff with the exception of the extra pedal. I'll repair it or play wihtout.

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 18 Oct 2012 7:16 am

Oh....forgot my Dobro once and it was the only instrument I was playing. Forgot I had taken it out of the trunk the night before. I was a very busy college kid at that point. Drove back 30mi to get it. Started a little late.

I ran over my Tele a few years back. I had left it in the middle of the garage between the two stalls. I assume one of my kids knocked it over into my stall. It was a bright day and opened the garage door with the automatic door opener remote. It was black dark in there. I drove up and felt a klunk. Luckily I only caught the corner of the case and broke it = guitar OK.

I've always been an airhead, and now I'm an older airhead.

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 18 Oct 2012 9:05 am

Larry Lorows wrote:I'm with you Jody, only I use a 38 special short barrel. Larry

I injure them with words

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