Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

How do you transport your gear?


citymariner
 Share

Recommended Posts

Ok I'll get the obvious out of the way:

car
carry on foot
van
tour bus
roadie


I have relatively little gear on here compared to some, however, I do have:

Bass guitar in hard case
Ashdown combo
Ashdown ext. cab
effects pedalboard
alu briefcase with cables etc. in.


What I'm really asking for is how do you get your equipment as easily as possible to your venue from your mode of transport?

The reason I ask is because I'm considering building a trolley system to sit everything thing on

OR

getting some flight case style wheels to fit on the bottom of my combo (then stick the combo on top when transporting)?

Whatcha's all think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the mo I have relatively little kit for gigging -

Bass in hardcase
Bass in softcase
Ashdown 2x10 combo
Briefcase for cables etc
Bass stand

I cart it about in my car, amp, cables and stand in the boot (minus parcelshelf) and basses on back seat (am looking at getting a bigger car to fit it all in the boot!) I can get it into and out of a venue in two trips to the car!

I am hoping to get an extension cab, another bass and possibly a pedalboard, but we will see, and see how it fits....!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have two rigs. The main method is small head / cab in padded covers with a hard cased bass and a spares bag in a car. However there have been a couple of London gigs where I have taken the train. I also have a flight cased rig that only goes out in a van when we hire one to go away. It's also worth mentioning I can get my upright bass in the car but with very little room for anything else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bass in hard case
Ashdown Amp head in flight case (not a rack case though)
Ashdown 115 cab
Ashdown 210 cab
Aluminium 'Photographic' case with leads, tuner, wireless, spares, & other stuff

I can get all this easily in my estate car.
Sometimes I'll only use one cab.
Sometimes I'll use my Ampeg combo instead of the Ashdown rig

Plus, we tend to share out bits of the PA system:

2x Mackie SRM450s
1x Mackie SWA1501 sub
Soundcraft 12-ch Mixer in flightcase
2x speaker stands in carry-case
Yamaha StagePAS 300 mixer/amp (for monitors)
2x Yamaha passive monitors
Small flightcase full of speaker cables, plug blocks, tools, gaffa tape, etc
Wheelie Peli-case (1630?) full of PA signal cables and assorted adapters
Aluminium 'Photographic' case for 10m snake
Wooden cable drum for 30m snake

My bass gear is not really a problem. A full PA set-up is a right b*gg*r. Fortunately, there have only been a few occasions we've needed to use it all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've ended up getting a bigger car recently too SPHDS. Gone from a fiesta to a focus - with me gigging more, travelling a lot watching football and camping the summer it didn't require to much thinking.

I'm thinking more from when you arrive to a venue to getting it setup.

some gigs have quite a distance from parking to venue as well!

I've ended up getting some heavy duty casters for my ashdown mag300 210.

So,
Journey 1:
My ext. sits on top of the combo and then pedal board on top.
Journey 2:
Bass in hardcase and alu briefcase with cables/tools etc.

Those wheels have cut it down considerably!

Oh and I attach a bungee cable from the combo grab handle on one side and loop it through my ext cab and over to the otherside just in case i hit a bump.

--

3 out of 5 have estates and with my Focus we should get everything in:

Light rigs
light stands x2
Mixer
power amp
snake
cables
wedge monitors x2
PA subs x2
PA mids/tweets x2
PA poles

I feel more sorry for the drummer with his rack...

Edited by citymariner
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most I've ever achieved is my 4x10 cab and Acoustic head, Mesa Boogie DC5 Combo, 2 cable boxes, various stands, a pair of EV SX100+ speakers, Flightcased Mackie 1604 mixer, 4 unit rack case for the poweramps and EV controller, mic flightcase, 4 monitors, 2 guitars and 2 basses in hard cases and then me and the drummer in to a Vauxhall Agila. Pretty interesting journey that one was. Take everything SLOWLY :)

Edited by goblin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Crumbs Goblin, are you sure you couldn't have got a couple of Marshall Stacks in there too! That is quite an achievement, was there actually any ground clearence under the car at all! First trip to band practice in my new car tomorrow (I think) so we will see how things go in this set of wheels!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:) I got a bit of drum kit in there too actually :) I've got most of that into a VW Polo too but without a passenger :lol: Ground clearance was a bit of an issue, and rear visibility was van driver trick - drive on mirrors. Luckily at the moment I don't have to carry everyone's gear around anymore as I left that band, so all I'm carrying now is 2 pretty compact cabs and a trace 250 head. Oh and 2 basses :D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My band once got all 4 members, 2 1x15 PA cabs, PA head, Mics and stands, Peavey Guitar Combo, Marshall Guitar Combo, Line 6 Bass Combo, 2 guitars, Bass, Drum Kit (2 rack toms, floor tom, snare, kick, cymbals and hardware) and our guitarists mum (who was driving) into a Ford Galaxy. That was a tight fit. Nowadays we split it between 2 cars and we have some more speaker cabs for the PA.

Liam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I carry my Bergantino 4x10,Genz Benz Neo Pak,Bass in gigbag,2 aluminium cases,Gramma Pad,guitar stand,music stand,suitbag and fan in my Citroen Berlingo. There's tons of room in it-plenty to add my Upright or a PA or a drumkit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last gig I did my dad was playing as well, so we ended up taking his Merc. Trace 1x15 and 250 head in the boot, radio mic flight case and small amp in the boot too, clipped one of the seats out and the EUB, Fretless Warwick and Martin Acoustic in hard cases went lengthways up the car, and then 3 of us, along with a shovel and bucket of grit to get us through the snow :)

Tried getting it all in the Polo to head home afterwards, and couldn't take any passengers. Oops :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I drive a 1.9 Doblo.

Trip 1 - Cab, Rackbag
Trip 2 - Pedalboard 1, Pedalboard 2
Trip 3 - Guitar amp, Pedalboard 3
Trip 4 - Guitar, Bass, Bass amp
Trip 5 - Cables, Cab stand, Keyboard stand, keyboard

That's all my gear! Playing midi/guitar/bass in a DnB project gear heavy! It winds me up when I'm the first to show and no-one will help!

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I have a bass in hardcase and an amp in a bag which is one walking trip. Then a cab with wheels which is the second.

I run a pa/soundsystem with speakers that wiegh 3 times as much as my bass cab and don't have wheels. And the whole thing takes around 10 trips to get out of the van. So when i have to carry my bass setup to a gig it's a refreshing treat! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did buy a car big enough to carry my kit, but as my kit has evolved my car isnt big enough anymore.

4x10 now goes in the boot, along with lead bag and guitar stand, then the bass in hardcase goes on one back seat and the rack box goes on the other side. It was all good when I didnt have a rack amp and a soft case, it all fit in the boot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the new car I am now able to get the complete rig in the boot - albeit only if both basses are in soft cases, but it is an improvement over having to remove parcel shelves, carefully position amps into boots so you are able to close it, wedge basses in back seats to stop them moving about and put cable cases in foot wells!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends on the band and the gig but:

Skoda Roomster
Electric bass in gig bag
EUB in gig bag
Mesa Walkabout Combo in cover
Mike stand
One bag mains extensions, mains leads, gaffa, bass stand, screwdrivers etc
one bag instrument cables, tuner, mike, strings, preamp, etc.

and still plenty of room to give other people a lift.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...