Beach Gig???

Steven Meister · Post by **Steven Meister** » 4 Jul 2016 10:00 am

My band booked a gig at the beach. We will be playing right next to the sand, and I'm afraid that all the sand and dust could damage my pedal steel? The band would be okay with me missing the gig, and as of now I'm leaning towards skipping the gig, but I thought I'd post this and see what the rest of you thought? I would get paid $100 plus tips. Thanks!

Steve

Scott Duckworth · Post by **Scott Duckworth** » 4 Jul 2016 10:17 am

I'd be worried more about the salt water spray...

It would be iffy with me...

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 4 Jul 2016 10:32 am

Too bad you don't have a second guitar for gigs like this. I used to have a Carter Starter that I only played on cold, damp, windy, sandy outdoor gigs.

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 4 Jul 2016 10:50 am

Possible sand in the changer. stevet

Larry Allen · Post by **Larry Allen** » 4 Jul 2016 10:58 am

Steven we have to play beach gigs all the time in Kauai....take some large garbage bags for the rain, a 3'x3'x1" piece of plywood for the steel...hopefully you can go into the PA and not haul an amp..Good luck! Larry

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 4 Jul 2016 11:16 am

Steven Meister wrote:Here's mine!

Is this the guitar you'd be using? No way I'd take that beauty anywhere near the beach or even outdoors. That's one of the downsides of owning a gorgeous inlaid lacquered guitar, but again, what good are they if you're afraid to take 'em out?

I guess that's why some of us keep a beater around for situations like this.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 4 Jul 2016 11:17 am

You worry too much. I would just go, play, and enjoy the gig! If there's no shaded area for the band, then cover your steel between sets with a white bath towel to keep off the sun (which is far more damaging).

Steven Meister · Post by **Steven Meister** » 4 Jul 2016 11:36 am

Jerry, I would not be taking my Fessy. I also have a Carter (not a Starter), that I'm considering taking, but it's a great guitar, and I would not want to damage it either.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 4 Jul 2016 12:16 pm

I didn't know if you had another guitar. Yeah, if the Carter is mica, for $100 I'd probably do it and just be careful to keep it out of harm's way best as possible....same as most other situations. Your deal though.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 4 Jul 2016 12:23 pm

This is why we need an extra steel for outdoor gigs. I wish Doug would make a 12 string encore.

The guys at ETS were planning to make a 12 string version when Larry died. If he had made them, I would have bought one.

Craig Baker · Post by **Craig Baker** » 4 Jul 2016 12:59 pm

Steve,
Regardless of what anyone says, it's not a question of "worry too much" with a steel guitar, it's a matter of protecting a precision music instrument.

This isn't a folding beach chair, and as you said: "it's a great guitar, and I would not want to damage it." You're dealing with bushings, bearings and pivot points, before you even consider the changer. What the sand doesn't compromise, the salt air will. . . with corrosion. Your strings, tuners, pickups and the output jack would all be a concern.

Of course it's your decision, but consider the investment you've made. You get paid for playing music, not for endangering your instrument.

Respectfully,
Craig Baker 706-485-8792

cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com

C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 4 Jul 2016 1:32 pm

Go to the beach, take the steel, bring towels. Check out the conditions.
If no, see the show, enjoy the beach. Happy Fourth.

Jim Fogarty · Post by **Jim Fogarty** » 4 Jul 2016 5:17 pm

As a pro gigging musician, I never understood the point of owning an instrument.....ANY instrument.....that you can't/won't take out and play. They're tools. Precision tools, for sure....but still....

Be careful......not afraid.

Allan Kirby · Post by **Allan Kirby** » 4 Jul 2016 5:39 pm

As mentioned by Doug, the concept of having a second guitar is not a bad idea. I have a few guitars but generally use my GFI S-10 for indoor gigs. However, like Doug, for outdoor gigs, which may have hot, sunny, dusty, windy, wet, damp, cool, or even snowy conditions, I use another guitar. It is an Emmons student GS-10 push/pull. It sounds great, I don't have a lot of money invested in it, I don't worry about the finish, and the mechanics clean up easily.

There have been Emmons GS-10s, and other well-made student steels, for sale on the forum for less than $1,000. Think about a good budget priced pedal-steel for outdoor gigs, beer-tent gigs, and private parties. I have used my old Emmons a few times this year and it still handles weather and dirt well.

Don't take your good guitar to the beach!

Joseph Napolitano · Post by **Joseph Napolitano** » 4 Jul 2016 6:32 pm

Jim Fogarty wrote:As a pro gigging musician, I never understood the point of owning an instrument.....ANY instrument.....that you can't/won't take out and play. They're tools. Precision tools, for sure....but still....

Be careful......not afraid.

The OP didn't say he can't/won't take his steel out to play. Sounds like he is in a band and plays regular gigs. He expressed IMHO a sensible concern for bringing his steel to a gig at the beach, right next to the sand. It was very windy here at the Jersey Shore today, and sand could have easily blown onto a steel set up near a beach, into the changer. I play a lot of Tiki Bar/Pier gigs. I always have a tarp ,at least in the car, and I wouldn't bring any of my steels near the sand .

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 4 Jul 2016 10:12 pm

I'll take instruments, pretty much anywhere to play. However, I do clean them up when I get'em back home. I get out the air compressor, blow out sand, dirt, and whatever else is stuck in the guitar. Wipe it down, get out the Q-Tips, go over everything, and re-oil as nessessary. I do carry 2pieces of plywood, cut to fit the steel and one for the seat, that way the guitar is not on the sand, grass, rough concrete, or an uneven surface. I connect the two pieces together with a set of hasps for small locks. Dale Watson once told Leo Fender that he didn't want to scratch up the nice guitars, Leo had given him. Leo told him, "Dale, it's a Hammer". Since I heard that, I've started using my '81 Gibson 335 that still looks brand new, to play a lot more gigs, and of course the Emmons LeGrande II is the only pedal steel I own, so it goes everywhere I play. I've played on the Cimmaron River here in Oklahoma and it's sandy shores didn't seem to hurt my equipment at all. Occasionally, I pull the chassis in all of my amps, vacuum them out, clean the tube sockets, and spray the pots. I think up keep is the key to a good instrument staying a good instrument.

Norbert Dengler · Post by **Norbert Dengler** » 5 Jul 2016 12:30 am

instruments are tools, meant to be played.
if you take care and have a solid bandstand you can play.

James Holland · Post by **James Holland** » 5 Jul 2016 1:24 am

IMO, a mid-Summer gig at a cabin in a hollow after a storm with high humidity at night is much worse, and I do those. One or two gigs like that every few years isn't going to do any perm damage. Just clean and oil it afterwards.

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 5 Jul 2016 4:19 am

I think about this every time I play at a fairgrounds. There is so much dust, from sand, at these places that the concern arises of what is getting into the under carriage. I've often thought of taking a piece of tyvek or heavy plastic, cutting holes for levers, pedals and legs and attaching it to the bottom of the guitar. Have never done it and have never had a problem with my guitar after one of these gigs. Just a thought.g

Ronnie Boettcher · Post by **Ronnie Boettcher** » 5 Jul 2016 5:11 am

If you like the $100, and don't mind playing outside, do your thing. Myself, I decline all outside gigs, or jams. That's just in my old age now. If you go take plywood, and towels, and maybe a soft bench brush. When you get home blow the steel off with a compressor. You'll do fine.

Steve Lipsey · Post by **Steve Lipsey** » 5 Jul 2016 12:34 pm

These are the ones that I bring a lap steel to...or a dobro...or a banjo, instead of the pedal steel...use it as a chance to stretch out on a safer instrument without quite so man moving parts...and then if becomes fun, not worry...

Will Hart · Post by **Will Hart** » 5 Jul 2016 12:39 pm

I've done quite a few beach jobs over the years and I hate them. If the wind is blowing at all the sand gets into every nook of the guitar, amps, and other equipment.

If your up on a stage it's not as bad but the salt air is still very hard on the under carriage and the polished trim. Just the air here has a very high salt content that keeps me busy rubbing the aluminum even in the house.

But it's the price you pay for living in paradise.

I also have a carbon fiber Millie which is about as good as you can get for this environment. Billy Knowles took my Emmons apart and replaced everything he could with stainless steel parts which made all the difference for that guitar. It is sweet

Good luck on your decision

Steven Meister · Post by **Steven Meister** » 5 Jul 2016 2:46 pm

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I've decided not to play the gig. After thinking it over, it's just not worth potentially damaging a nice pedal steel guitar over one gig. The gig is going to be in the late afternoon/early evening, and typically that's when the wind really kicks up, and starts blowing sand everywhere! If this were a steady re-occurring gig at the beach, then I may consider buying a beater/beach guitar. Thanks again for all the responses.

Steve

Emmett Roch · Post by **Emmett Roch** » 5 Jul 2016 8:28 pm

Once a month we go to Port Aransas, Texas and play on an open-air stage that is covered on top and 3 sides.

My guitar is a 17 year-old GFI that I have played in all kinds of weather conditions, and it has always come through for me. So, this is what works for me:

Whether the weather is hot or cold, if I'm not sitting at the guitar, it has a cover on it. (this is true of all outdoor gigs, including beach gigs)

I haven't encountered problems with actual sand, but by the end of a beach gig there is usually a light coat of very fine beach dust on the guitar.

Sometimes there will also be some mist or even droplets of water on it.

I constantly wipe the guitar down between songs with cloth towels (I bring spares, but some venues supply them) as often as I need to.

After every beach gig, I change strings (it WILL affect them in a bad way) and see if I need to oil anything.

Joseph Napolitano · Post by **Joseph Napolitano** » 5 Jul 2016 8:43 pm

I don't even want dust from my home getting into a changer, let alone sand/beach dust.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Beach Gig???

Beach Gig???

Take It.