Creative Equipment Storage

[Cat Burrito]

There are a few of us with a lot of gear and a lot of us with a fair bit more kit than me. I have a music room in the house but I'm struggling with where to store a flightcased head and cab. The music room is upstairs which is fine for carting basses up and downstairs at 2am after shows but the subject of my cab / head came up at home this week. Apparently putting the cab under the breakfast bar and just leaving the head on the side in the kitchen lacks a long term solution!

I wondered if others had the same problem? I was thinking of disguising the cab / head by throwing a cloth over them and having an occasional table. How do others get around extra kit that is too bulky to cart around the house? I don't really want to be storing a vintage tube amp in the garage.

[Happy Jack]

Not a complete answer, but I use [url="http://www.shedstore.co.uk/garden-storage/windsor-garden-storage/fully-opening-storage-box/windsor-fully-opening-plastic-box-5-by-3"]http://www.shedstore.co.uk/garden-storage/...stic-box-5-by-3[/url]

It lives in the corner of my garage right by the up-&-over door (I use my garage for motorbikes, not cars) and I keep all my bulky and reasonably hard-wearing kit in it.

So that's the full band PA (including 6U rack with amp, fx, etc.), part of the lighting rig, cables bag, etc. With all the bulky stuff stored in the garage and completely clear of dust & condensation, it's much easier to find homes for non-bulky stuff.

[icastle]

I have to lug all mine upstairs and store it in the music room (one of the few cat free rooms in the house).
I've got a 40'x20' brick built outhouse in the back garden which I'm planning on converting into a studio this coming summer.

[Lozz196]

I tend to keep my cab in the boot of my car. Everything else is kept in my spare room, but the cab is just too heavy to get in and out of the car on my own.

[flyfisher]

It's a law of the universe that one's 'stuff' always expands to exceed the storage space available.

Moving to a bigger house doesn't solve the problem, it just enables you to accumulate more stuff.

C'est la vie.

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1056236' date='Dec 12 2010, 05:31 PM']I don't really want to be storing a vintage tube amp in the garage.[/quote]
My amp head was kept in a damp leaky lock-up for 18 years & still works OK. Now it's kept in the garage in an insulated case & it's fine; in this really cold weather I've brought it in, but normally it's kept in the garage.

[Mr. Foxen]

Live in the House of Bass.

Actually, it is fairly competative for space. I've actually secretly got an amp sized cardboard box reserving a space for when I have another amp turn up.

[bassace]

I've constructed a large cupboard/wardrobe out of OSB at the back of my garage. It can take two double basses, stacks of cabs and heads. The tight door ensures that climatic nasties (cold, damp etc) don't get in. And it's very convenient to load the gear into the car.

Edited December 13, 2010 by bassace

[mrtcat]

I'm 34 yrs old and still keep our band's entire PA system, lighting rig and my bass cab in my parents garage which has been part converted so is warm, dry and secure. I get the feeling I'm pushing it a bit tho as they've recently started talking about moving away from the area.

[ahpook]

all stuffed in the spare room (which is also my 'studio room')

it's occasionally a point of friction between me and girlfren - "you've got a whole room for all your stuff', but it's got to live somewhere...all her snowboarding kit lives in the loft, which is fine for boards and cold-weather clothing, but not so good for basses !

i just keep the spare room as well-packed as possible. it can still be turned into a spare room with a pull-down bed in 30 mins or so.

Edited December 13, 2010 by ahpook

[dbass]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1056666' date='Dec 12 2010, 09:59 PM']It's a law of the universe that one's 'stuff' always expands to exceed the storage space available.

Moving to a bigger house doesn't solve the problem, it just enables you to accumulate more stuff.

C'est la vie.[/quote]


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac"]George Carlin STUFF[/url]

[JimmySims]

I've been using those Shurgard and Access self storage places for years. They're usually temperature controlled, or at least indoors so they don't fluctuate too much. 24hr access and security is a plus. If you find a good one you might get a plug socket and a few quiet evenings in the week when no-one is around to disturb you playing for an hour or two.

One I had a couple of years ago had a window that overlooked a motorway, so I'd sit there with my 1966 portaflex (oh yes!) and practice with a view

Jimmy Sims

[lojo]

We sometimes get involved with creative storage solutions, but its difficult to comment without seeing the area and equipment in question

Some strange things we have done include, a pulley system that stores daily used push bikes against the ceiling in a stairwell to parts of staircases that lift up to reveal storage space underneath

[icastle]

[quote name='lojo' post='1057454' date='Dec 13 2010, 04:11 PM']Some strange things we have done include, a pulley system that stores daily used push bikes against the ceiling in a stairwell to parts of staircases that lift up to reveal storage space underneath[/quote]

I love the staircase idea - very smart solution!

[Cat Burrito]

I appreciate the replies to my OP;

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1056657' date='Dec 12 2010, 09:55 PM']I tend to keep my cab in the boot of my car.[/quote]
I've done that too but I keep work items in the boot normally so not an option. Plus I'd like to avoid the head going outside if possible.

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1056876' date='Dec 13 2010, 01:28 AM']My amp head was kept in a damp leaky lock-up for 18 years & still works OK. Now it's kept in the garage in an insulated case & it's fine; in this really cold weather I've brought it in, but normally it's kept in the garage.[/quote]
The garage is an option for the cab & both are flightcased but it's a vintage head which needs real TLC and therefore not something I want in my old garage.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1056877' date='Dec 13 2010, 01:33 AM']Live in the House of Bass.[/quote]
In my mind, I already do!

[quote name='mrtcat' post='1056996' date='Dec 13 2010, 10:04 AM']I'm 34 yrs old and still keep our band's entire PA system, lighting rig and my bass cab in my parents garage which has been part converted so is warm, dry and secure. I get the feeling I'm pushing it a bit tho as they've recently started talking about moving away from the area.[/quote]
A former singer I worked with did this too. My parents are thirty miles away so sadly not really an option for me

[quote name='lojo' post='1057454' date='Dec 13 2010, 04:11 PM']We sometimes get involved with creative storage solutions, but its difficult to comment without seeing the area and equipment in question[/quote]
It's really just a cab and a head - everything else is fine. Ignoring the bass, I've attached a photo of the offending gear

[Cat Burrito]

I appreciate the replies to my OP;

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1056657' date='Dec 12 2010, 09:55 PM']I tend to keep my cab in the boot of my car.[/quote]
I've done that too but I keep work items in the boot normally so not an option. Plus I'd like to avoid the head going outside if possible.

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1056876' date='Dec 13 2010, 01:28 AM']My amp head was kept in a damp leaky lock-up for 18 years & still works OK. Now it's kept in the garage in an insulated case & it's fine; in this really cold weather I've brought it in, but normally it's kept in the garage.[/quote]
The garage is an option for the cab & both are flightcased but it's a vintage head which needs real TLC and therefore not something I want in my old garage.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1056877' date='Dec 13 2010, 01:33 AM']Live in the House of Bass.[/quote]
In my mind, I already do!

[quote name='mrtcat' post='1056996' date='Dec 13 2010, 10:04 AM']I'm 34 yrs old and still keep our band's entire PA system, lighting rig and my bass cab in my parents garage which has been part converted so is warm, dry and secure. I get the feeling I'm pushing it a bit tho as they've recently started talking about moving away from the area.[/quote]
A former singer I worked with did this too. My parents are thirty miles away so sadly not really an option for me

[quote name='lojo' post='1057454' date='Dec 13 2010, 04:11 PM']We sometimes get involved with creative storage solutions, but its difficult to comment without seeing the area and equipment in question[/quote]
It's really just a cab and a head - everything else is fine. Ignoring the bass, I've attached a photo of the offending gear

[lemmywinks]

Having a ton of bass gear really started to get on my nerves so i've been slowly downsizing.

My gig rig (a Schroeder 1212r and LMII) lives at my parents' house as i'm not using it at the moment, even when i do have it at home it's such a small compact rig that it's easy to stick under the stairs
My Hartke A70 is at my keys player's house so my only rig here is a Superfly and a tiny EA 110 cab - the missus has makeup cases bigger than that!

I just have a spare 1x10 homebuild cab to sell and then that's it, absolutely minimum gear!

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1057557' date='Dec 13 2010, 05:37 PM']Having a ton of bass gear really started to get on my nerves so i've been slowly downsizing.[/quote]
I hear you! Me too & I've really downsized this year - over half of it is gone. There is room in my music room but that's upstairs and the point of the thread is more about my laziness carting heavy gear upstairs as opposed to being about having excess kit. At the moment the big cloth over the amp is looking favourite.

[BIG.J]

I have a small 1m x 1m SQ lockup with these = [url="http://www.bigstorage.info/"]http://www.bigstorage.info/[/url]

Not cheap though.. Might rent a garage cheaper.

[Happy Jack]

Burrito, that's one serious mother of a flightcase you have the head in. Genuine question - why are you concerned about leaving that in your garage?

If you were touring with that flightcase, it would be travelling in the cargo hold of a 747 at 35,000 feet. I suspect your garage is a less intimidating environment. In the days when I had a lot of vintage valve amps (Selmer, Dynacord, WEM, etc.) they all lived in my unheated garage and were absolutely fine.

The only time it's an issue (IMHO) is when they're moved from hot --> cold or from cold --> hot and condensation results. Inside a flightcase like yours, temperature and humidity change so slowly and gently that it's hard to see how your kit will suffer. If you're worried about the valves being wrecked by sub-zero temperatures, just buy an old-fashioned greenhouse heater.

I'd be willing to bet that you do more damage when you leave the flightcase in the van while you're gigging, and then put a hot valve amp into a freezing flightcase at the end of the gig.