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Stupid equipment mistakes!!!


barneyg42
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Post number 2 in this for me and my second stupid mistake this year!

Over the last week I've re built my pedal board. Part of this rebuild involved a minor re-wire of my loop pedal.

Having not had chance to test everything up on completion;I turned up at rehearsal last night, plugged in and switched on, levels set, start playing a song and when I stamp on the loop to bring in a healthy does of face melting fuzz: I get silence!

It would seem my loop pedal is now a true bypass kill switch!

That'll teach me to not test everything.

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We were having a gig some 300km from home so we had to leave quite early to get there in time. The band had packed the van and we were only waiting for the guitarist to show up with his gear so we could leave for the venue. But time went on and no guitarplayer. He didn't answer his phone so we eventually drove by his house. Of course he was fast asleep. We woke him up and more or less screamed at him "HURRY! We have to leave! NOW!"
This must have caused him to panic, newly awaken as he was. Because he grabbed his guitarcase and ran down to the van and of we went. Only to arrive at the venue without the guitar, he only had his case with him...

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[quote name='Dave_the_bass' timestamp='1421401061' post='2660705']
Post number 2 in this for me and my second stupid mistake this year!

Over the last week I've re built my pedal board. Part of this rebuild involved a minor re-wire of my loop pedal.

Having not had chance to test everything up on completion;I turned up at rehearsal last night, plugged in and switched on, levels set, start playing a song and when I stamp on the loop to bring in a healthy does of face melting fuzz: I get silence!

It would seem my loop pedal is now a true bypass kill switch!

That'll teach me to not test everything.
[/quote]

Update:

Finally had an opportunity to investigate the problem. Turns out that, upon re assembly, I had managed to put the return jack socket tip solder lug in contact with the pedal case. So when I stood on the switch the signal was routed straight to ground.

All fixed now. B)

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On the original topic - drove to a gig and found that the silver aluminium case I'd brought was the one with Mrs Zero's wireless mic in it, not the one with my bass amp in. "I'll use the Crate Powerblock that I leave in the car for emergencies" I thought. Then I found that I didn't have a jack to speakon lead, which was the only way I could connect amp to cab...

On a completely unrelated occasion, after a break, we did the first number and I got a message from the guitarist's wife in the audience that she couldn't hear the vocals. I'd taken the mains down and left the foldback on, so I hadn't realised.

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[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1421623466' post='2663471']
Yes. I'm 57 and I have both a Zoom B3 and a Zoom MS60-B. They're very good.
[/quote]

Cool,

I just looked at some of the YOUTUBE demos on the MS60-B.

I like what I see and am considering buying one and adding it to my board. I'm not sure that I will use it. There are 1-2 effects I might use from time to time.The delays sound good. Some of the effects might have better tracking in the lower registers than my pedals. My MXR Bass Octave has to be used up in 12th and 13th frets. It turns to mud in frets 1-10.

This, BTW is not what I would consider a traditional Multi Effects unit, it's more like a pedal as far as I am concerned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceZl6tpMpy0

Blue

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[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1421623925' post='2663474']
On the original topic - drove to a gig and found that the silver aluminium case I'd brought was the one with Mrs Zero's wireless mic in it, not the one with my bass amp in.[/quote]

I was in a band years ago where a few of us had similar cases like that and were always getting them mixed up at the end of the night. I put my initials on mine with black insulation tape. I thought it would peel off in a few months but 8 years later its still on there. People think I'm being a bit of a poser when I turn up to gigs with 'monogrammed' case but it came about from a very practical situation.

Edited by KevB
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A few moments before we were about to hit the first note in a packed St Patrick's Day gig, my keyboard player pulled tight on a lead on the windowsill behind my amp, flipping over a full pint of water right into the back of my bass amp head's vent openings.

After a few minutes of very annoyed shaking of the thing and dabbing it with a towel, it miraculously sounded fine - and has done ever since.

The same keyboard player gets bonus points tho - for the time his keyboard x-frame stand just gave up the ghost mid-gig as he was about to launch into a heroic keyboard solo. Instead there was just the loudest bang ever and the poor chap sitting there, hands outstretched in mid air, looking utterly gutted, and this pile of leads and gear on the floor below him.

He did get a special mention from the singer at the end of the song tho! Good lad :)

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A strange thing happened when playing at a local festival last summer: we were the first band on, and were all tuning up when we noticed the lead guitarist was having problems - he couldn't get his amp on. He had power as his effects were live. Switching on the power, nothing happened. The sound tech came on stage and hadn't clue what the problem was, other than changing the mains lead.
Then someone noticed there was a keylock on the amp, like bicycle lock. The sound tech said he wondered why he had been given a cycle key!
I still don't understand why an amp is fitted with key lock to keep it switched off.
(Caused much mirth at the time..)

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[quote name='NHM' timestamp='1421785017' post='2665047']...
I still don't understand why an amp is fitted with key lock to keep it switched off.
(Caused much mirth at the time..)
[/quote]

It's to stop numpties turning the amp on (or off...). The person with the key is [i]supposed [/i]to know when and how it can be turned on (or off...). Note the 'supposed'. :mellow:[size=4] [/size]

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  • 4 weeks later...

So our first song in the set is Unchain My Heart by Joe Cocker, features a keyboard and vocal intro followed by a nice little slap bass section leading into the main song. Having had a little play with my effects pedal in the afternoon I realised when I'd set up there was a bit of difference in volume on various effect I'd set up when plugged into the amp as opposed to listening with the headphones. So I do a little fiddling and leave it on the lovely slightly chorused slap setting ready for the first number. So our girlie singer is sitting on my stool by my rig sorting out the setlist whilst I'm relaxing in the knowledge that all is well with the world. Cue start of the gig and the keys player makes a bit of a hash of the intro, we laugh it off as the new jazz offering, get to the end of it and I flick my LEDs on and strike the slap pose ready to assault the gathered masses with my superior slappery!!! What actually comes out is a very weak feeble meeee meeee meeee sound akin to the crazy frog!!!!! Looks at my pedal and its on J something as opposed to A2 which is the super slippy slappy sound I'd set up!!! I realise that when above mentioned singist was sitting on my stool her enormous size 5s had stomped through my pedal presets!!! Last week it was me, same scenario, lights on, no bloody sound! Forgot to turn my radio link on!!! We all had a good laugh about it but when it's that first song and you're trying to make an impact it can fall a bit flat!!! Think I'll take a music stand next week with instructions on how to play a gig!!!

Edited by barneyg42
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I turned up to a local (fortunately only 2 miles away) gig and put my cab on the pavement beside the car. I was surprised to see one of our cats run across the pavement! She'd climbed into the cab via the port and gone to sleep.

We've had keyboard players turn up without their leads case, drummers forget their cymbals, bring the wrong stands and turn up without a stool, guitarists . . . . well our current guitarist and band leader has the nickname of Mr Pastry (look him up on youtube). Should tell you all you need to know about him!

Me? As Barney did, I have forgotten to plug in both cabs. Also I've left the PA amp, tuner, strap and charts at home. Several times I've had to stop on the road to see if there actually was a bass in the case I packed.

These days I can't remember much, so I count all the items (7) into the car and back out again. I did once leave my bass behind at a gig. They still tease me about that one.

Edited by chris_b
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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1421645681' post='2663520']

I just looked at some of the YOUTUBE demos on the MS60-B.

---x---

This, BTW is not what I would consider a traditional Multi Effects unit, it's more like a pedal as far as I am
[/quote]

It's a multi-fx, but in a pedal-sized box.

A lot of folks are initially put off using this type of unit when they hear the presets, IME. They mainly seem designed to showcase the most extreme capabilities of the various effects, rather than to be usable. But once you go beyond that, and tweak the various parameters to suit your own sound goals - just like you would with individual pedals - the results can be very good indeed.

I've used a Zoom B9 gigging for a few years now, and more recently a B3, neither of which are just bedroom toys IMO.

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Been playing for close to 35 years. Last weekend , first song , started playing crazy little thing called love and realised I was in standard tuning whilst everyone else was in E flat. I'm the singer so I had to mumble away and pray for a speedy death !
Everyone danced !!!'

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Once forgot my strap. But what made it worse was that I didn't know the songs and I didn't have a music stand. We were a sort of mid concert interval thing for an orchestra, so there were plenty of music stands around and not being used while we played, but no one would lend me one. I ended up leaning back against a table, looking over my shoulder at the music on the table. Fortunately it was only for half a dozen songs.

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I'm not known for silly equipment moments as I'm the one that's always got my gear in order and ready to go at a moments notice. Except last Christmas that is. I was doing a large function, around 900 people. The drummer counts us in for the big entrance and I hit the bass. And nothing. The band are all looking round at me wondering what's going on, and I'm looking down at my pedals - it's the tuner, and it's engaged. I'm a tw*t. I turn the tuner off but still no bass. Then the drummer is grinning at me as he's spotted that my lead is hanging off my strap but not plugged in to my bass. I'm a bigger tw*t. So, tuner on again, lead in, tuner off..... still no bass. Now I'm concerned, the beginnings of a mild panic. I'm looking all over my board wondering if anything is out of place but it's fine. Then I check my amp. Ah ha! It's turned off. I'm a fecking huge tw*t. And as it's a valve head I had to wait 30m seconds for it to fire up. The whole band wet themselves laughing and continued to rip me to pieces for the rest of the night and beyond. Fair play to them as wouldn't show mercy to a bandmate if it happened to them....

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