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What's in Your Toolkit?


Norris
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[quote name='TankJon' post='1175070' date='Mar 24 2011, 06:59 PM']Why on earth would anyone need IPA and all the network cable tools and tester for gigging?

...assuming of course its your gig tool kit and not for work :)[/quote]

I only have one electronics type toolkit - I always know where my tools are then.

Mind you, Line 6 and ENGL both use RJ45 plugs to connect footswitches to their amps so there is a tenuous association there... :)

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[quote name='TimR' post='1174990' date='Mar 24 2011, 05:53 PM']When you start out playing gigs you take hardly anything. The amount of stuff you take gradually increases as the gigs get more important and you get paranoid about; what if this happens, what if that happens. Then as the years go by you realise, if you have good gear, stuff just works like it should and you cut right back down to bare essentials.[/quote]
Well I'm certainly not paranoid, I've been playing for 20+ years, and I have bloody good gear. Doesn't stop me from taking a pretty comprehensive toolkit with me (although like Mr. castle, all my tools are in one place so some of them are just along for the ride really :)).
And most of my band have been glad of it at one time or another... if I had a quid for every time I've heard [i]"Rich, have you got your allen keys/tiny screwdrivers/superglue/flux capacitor with you..?"[/i]. Especially guitarist John, on whose creaking old amp we performed major surgery during the support band's set at one major gig... :)

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[quote name='Rich' post='1175611' date='Mar 25 2011, 09:21 AM']Well I'm certainly not paranoid, I've been playing for 20+ years, and I have bloody good gear. Doesn't stop me from taking a pretty comprehensive toolkit with me (although like Mr. castle, all my tools are in one place so some of them are just along for the ride really :)).
And most of my band have been glad of it at one time or another... if I had a quid for every time I've heard [i]"Rich, have you got your allen keys/tiny screwdrivers/superglue/flux capacitor with you..?"[/i]. Especially guitarist John, on whose creaking old amp we performed major surgery during the support band's set at one major gig... :)[/quote]

I've found that too... the rest of the band mock me for turning up with my case of bits, then as soon as their crappy gear breaks down who do they turn to?

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[quote name='icastle' post='1174677' date='Mar 24 2011, 02:16 PM']Oh lordy, I'm gonna regret this... :)

Allen keys (hex)
Allen keys (torx)
Soldering Iron
Two gauges of solder
Desolder tool (various)
Tip cleaner
HRC Fuses
FB Fuses
SB Fuses
Wrist strap and isolation box
DVM
Clamp Meter
Fluke Net analysis meter
RJ45 tester
Cable tester
Screwdrivers (flat)
Screwdrivers (torx)
Screwdrivers (posi)
Screwdrivers (phillips)
Cutters (various)
Pliers (various)
Mole grips (various)
Adjustable spanners (various)
Small spanners
Socket set
Trimtools
XLRs (M & F)
Speakons (M & F)
Jack plugs and sockets (6.25 & 3.5mm)
Wire strippers (pistol grip and rotational)
Scissors
Steel rule
Stanley knife
Various craft knives
Superglue
WD40
Blutak
Switch cleaner
Isopropyl Alcohol
Thread lock
Solder paste
Crimptool (standard terminals)
Crimptool (RJ45)
Crimptool (RJ11)
Punch tool (Krone)
Punch tool (110)
Punch tool (433A)
Assorted crimp assemblies
16A commandos (M & F)
Mains plugs and trailing sockets.
Files
Batteries
Torch
Insulating tape
Gaffa Tape
Self amalgamating tape
Masking tape
Various lumps of cable
Various pens
Various nuts, bolts and washers
Various electronic components

It all fits in one tool box that needs both hands to lift.[/quote]

Id love to see what the Ateam could make with that lot

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[quote name='Rich' post='1175611' date='Mar 25 2011, 09:21 AM']Well I'm certainly not paranoid, I've been playing for 20+ years, and I have bloody good gear. Doesn't stop me from taking a pretty comprehensive toolkit with me (although like Mr. castle, all my tools are in one place so some of them are just along for the ride really :P).
And most of my band have been glad of it at one time or another... if I had a quid for every time I've heard [i]"Rich, have you got your allen keys/tiny screwdrivers/superglue/flux capacitor with you..?"[/i]. Especially guitarist John, on whose creaking old amp we performed major surgery during the support band's set at one major gig... :)[/quote]

At a festival last year we fixed their totally dead beer chiller/pump for them when they were struggling to find an engineer to come out.

We did it purely because we wanted it working (an outdoor festival without beer? :) ).
When we got paid for the gig we got an unexpected £100 on top of our normal fee with 'Cheers Guys' written on a beer mat. :lol:

Couldn't have done that with a swiss army knife and a roll of gaffa tape. :D

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I have an old computer bag which always contains:

Spares:
Strings,
battery
instrument cable (jack to jack)
speaker cable (jack & speakon)
13A - IEC
Spare PSU for my multi FX
Spare knobs, screws & castors

Tools & bits:
pliers,
multitool,
multimeter
hex keys & allen keys
screwdriver - 2 x flat, Philips #1, Philips #2
"bass multitool" which came free with a magazine subscription
pretty much all audio cable adapters!
DI box
fuses (all kinds)
towel
soldering iron & associated gubbins
pens & paper (set lists!)
picks
drum key
XLR3 cable
RCD
13A 4-way
13A extension (roll up type)
book of blank sheet music

If anything gets taken out, it gets replaced immediately so I know i've got a gig-get-out-of-jail bag all in one.

Also, more importantly, in my Tool-rack, which i take on tour with me i have:
Aria sinsonido bass
Spare strings
Korg pandora
line 6 GX
USB cable
USB footswitch (so i can change pages on my laptop whilst reading music without having to take my hands off my bass)
book of sheet music & pencil
spare battery
Folder of all (usable!) scales & arps & exercises - this is pretty full!

and my latest touring purchase:

Alesis Q49 Midi-USB controller, so i can practice my piano / general musicianship as well as my bass playing whilst I'm on tour/

All of which fits inside the Sinsonido case, which in turns fits into the door of my well and truly pimped touring tool rack and hooks up to the speaker system installed into it too.
This is what happens when you have time on your hands during production rehearsals.

Edited by bluesparky
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[quote name='Clarky72' post='1175644' date='Mar 25 2011, 09:46 AM']I've found that too... the rest of the band mock me for turning up with my case of bits, then as soon as their crappy gear breaks down who do they turn to?[/quote]

They need to feel the pain before they'll buy decent gear. While they know you are able to fix their old gear nothing will change. Either that or service their amp [b]before[/b] you get to the gig.

Trust me.

My toolkit stays in the car, I don't take it backstage with me, I have enough things to worry about without having my professional work gear getting nicked. It has similar stuff in it to Ian's. I've never needed it for my own gear and the most work I've done at a gig has been rewiring 4 dodgy mains plugs on a keyboard players rig. I'm just not going to sit down and resolder jack plugs at a gig, fault find an amp or lend my socket set to the drummer to rebuild his kit.

Edited by TimR
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