lojo Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 as title suggests Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 i would guess there are going to be many occasions where it is logistically and financially prudent to hire and compromise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) Yes they do, although I suspect it depends on what level of pro/touring player. It probably explains why boutique gear is rarely seen on stages. Edited February 7, 2016 by Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Hughes Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Rarely have I had the luxury of actually getting the gear I requested. It's more often than not whatever the hire company for the whole production has at hand. Unless it's Japan - then you're in gear heaven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirky Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Its interesting reading Mike Watt's various tour blogs (see [url="http://mikewatt.com"]here[/url], scroll down to the tour diaries) - as Gareth says ,when in Europe he's often very much at the mercy of what's been hired for a tour...even when touring the Stooges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Unless it's a totally unique requirement bands won't fly with gear. And probably won't even then. Bringing your own is expensive, complicated and full of potential problems that could kill the gig. Just try getting several tons of gear through customs in some pretty flaky countries. Some international tours have a budget for bribing local officials. If you arrive with broken gear it's up to you to fix it. You might only be in that country for 18 hours. It's just not feasible or cost effective. If they are on an international tour the promoter will locally hire in the gear to the spec provided by the band. If you can drive between gigs the gear will be hired for that phase of the tour and trucked. The tour manager will be responsible for arranging that the promoter gets the right gear to the right place. Sometimes the musician will ask for something that can't be sourced and will have to come up with an alternative. Bass players are the easiest to sort out. That's why you will see Ampeg SVT's on 90% of touring stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 What Chris said. It's expensive stuff to move internationally. Players who have endorsement deals will often have gear supplied in country through the dealer network. When Vic Wooten was in the UK a couple of years ago, Hartke dropped off a nice fresh rig for him and it travelled with the rest of the backline that was supplied by a local hire company. Band were just carrying guitars, pedals, cymbals. Just the bits you can throw in an overhead locker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1454845206' post='2973391'] Unless it's a totally unique requirement bands won't fly with gear. And probably won't even then. Bringing your own is expensive, complicated and full of potential problems that could kill the gig. Just try getting several tons of gear through customs in some pretty flaky countries. Some international tours have a budget for bribing local officials. If you arrive with broken gear it's up to you to fix it. You might only be in that country for 18 hours. It's just not feasible or cost effective. If they are on an international tour the promoter will locally hire in the gear to the spec provided by the band. If you can drive between gigs the gear will be hired for that phase of the tour and trucked. The tour manager will be responsible for arranging that the promoter gets the right gear to the right place. Sometimes the musician will ask for something that can't be sourced and will have to come up with an alternative. Bass players are the easiest to sort out. That's why you will see Ampeg SVT's on 90% of touring stages. [/quote] A friend was trucking for a major International act. They had something like 40 plus trucks to go around Europe and further East and certain borders they required nigh on $50,000 US so get across and they did this 3 times for that leg of the tour. When I asked what would happen if they didn't pay... they said they literally didn't move... and for a show that size, it was cheaper to pay those fees rather than lose any time. It wasn't feasible not to. Local venues will hire in kit as I've rented my rig and 'tech'd' it. I prefer it that way as I get to see how it is used. Edited February 7, 2016 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 My mate used to tour extensively as a guitarist, he always laughed and said "irrespective of what was required inevitably he would turn up at the venue to find a half knackered Fender Twin was sitting there," he was concerned at one point the same amp was stalking him around the world, he built his sound round his pedal board which he could easily ship, so all he needed was an amp with a decent clean sound...something a half knackered Fender Twin seemed able to deliver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Another anecdote but a friend techs for Cradle of Filth. A few years ago he said it was fingers crossed every country as you see what dual rectifier is provided. I told him I thought they were pretty much bullet proof (apparently a requirement playing some venues in South America!) but he said by the time you factor in valve life, temperatures, quality of flight case and age you've got no idea. So he bought a kemper, hires it to them and the sound is the same from São Paulo to Siberia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 (edited) I have been inside this place [url="http://www.ststouring.co.uk/"]http://www.[b]ststouring[/b].co.uk[/url]/ (behind the Apollo in Manchester) to pick up a hired Marshall guitar stack and they have everything for hire. Amps, cabs of evey description, drums. PA and lighting. I was astonished at the size of the place and the labels on the guitar cases. People hire for live shows / tours and videos. Edited February 8, 2016 by 12stringbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I know Steve Swallow carries an amp but hires cabs. I think that is one practice. Most people who play at my venue bring their own but I guess it depends on distance, the nature of the gear etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Guitarist in my function band tours with Tony Hadley and also plays in the house band for the rewind festivals. He never ever takes an amp as it's always hired in. When he joined us he had to buy an amp as he didn't actually own one so spent £80 on ebay for a fender combo with not a valve in sight. He has a Line 6 multi effects unit and that's what travels with him and he sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 [quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1454869434' post='2973764'] Another anecdote but a friend techs for Cradle of Filth. A few years ago he said it was fingers crossed every country as you see what dual rectifier is provided. I told him I thought they were pretty much bullet proof (apparently a requirement playing some venues in South America!) but he said by the time you factor in valve life, temperatures, quality of flight case and age you've got no idea. So he bought a kemper, hires it to them and the sound is the same from São Paulo to Siberia. [/quote] I well imagine that Kemper and Fractal have been so popular with touring musicians because the units can fit in a suitcase. It might not be quite as good as the perfect "real" amp, but it's probably a lot better than a knackered version. A mate of mine has swapped his enormo-rack for the Axe-Fx and a Matrix power amp. He tours all over the world and as long as he asks in advance it's easy to find a Marshall 4x12 locally. He's got a pair of the preamps so he has a back up, and the transport costs are tiny compared to what there were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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