Live guys: What's in your gig bag?

[thenewyear]

I'm not a live guy but I do do a lot of remotes and to me you sound pretty well prepared.

If you are going to do gigs in clubs with the system already set-up then you should be fine. However if you are going to have to rig up systems from a combination of in-house, band and hired-in kit I'd add a whole slew of adaptors (XLR gender changers, XLR - jack, XLR - TT, 20dB inline pads, right angled connector - straight, ground lift, RFI filters etc) to cover your back. I have a box full of this stuff and I have never had an interfacing/connectivity issue I have not been able to solve.

A few spare universal mic clips would be good too.

[Mike Brown]

Make sure all your stuff is labeled as well!

Throw a flashlight in there as well... I like the iNova stuff www.inovalight.com/

[ogamik]

To Croatia!!!

Patience, calm, a good PA, and a 110v-230v transformer...

Good Luck

[t_chance]

A soldering iron and lead free solder. A 25 watt with adapters for power. I'm not sure one of those butane flamers would be a good idea to take. Have fun

[nathanvacha]

yeah i was gonna say the soldering iron as well. no sense having spare cable ends if you can't use them, or just to repair broken cables.

also you have some great tools there, but i'd say the list of hand tools is slightly slim. Pliers, wire cutters, a really good knife or two. even allen keys should be in there. throw in a bag of zip-ties too. heck, i mean i didn't catch where you're from, but if i were touring in another country than my own i'd bring along a few glow-sticks as well. sounds cheesy maybe, but i can't say for sure that i know where to find batteries everywhere, and plus they can be useful if you need a small lightsource for extended periods of time.

[bishopthomas]

An MP3 player or portable CD player will provide walk-in music while keeping you sane when on the road. Along those same lines, I like to take movies and TV series to watch on my laptop while traveling and sometimes between soundcheck and show.

[Jim vanBergen]

gaff tape
electrical tape
board tape
flashlight

transformers (IL-19, IL-99, Jensens)
lots of spare batteries
Whirlwind QBox

and since you're going to Croatia, find something you can bring as a present to the sound guys you interface with. When I was in Moscow before the wall came down, they were envious of my PZM mics, jeans, and cigarettes. I'd bring something like a Sound Plug (sound-plug.com) which is a cool little line level checker.

Hope this helps!

Jim

[Remoteness]

Check out post #s 4 & 13 in this thread...
Five components to a successful location recording & much more (The Beginners Guide)

[rmx16]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

gaff tape
electrical tape
board tape
flashlight

transformers (IL-19, IL-99, Jensens)
lots of spare batteries
Whirlwind QBox

and since you're going to Croatia, find something you can bring as a present to the sound guys you interface with. When I was in Moscow before the wall came down, they were envious of my PZM mics, jeans, and cigarettes. I'd bring something like a Sound Plug (sound-plug.com) which is a cool little line level checker.

Hope this helps!

Jim

Can't forget this

[johnecon2001]

Totally right about the flashlight and the soldering iron! I can't believe I didn't list those.
I've got a 3 watt LED from Phoebus Tactical. And of course a Weller WP25.

I like vanBergen's idea of bringing gifts along as well. I've got a MBP that I'm bringing with for tunes (my iPods and such tend to get stolen more times than not).

[just.sounds]

I would never leave without my Weller , my Leatherman And my 4060's

[Remoteness]

There are excellent suggestions addressed for sure.

I know this may sound strange, but you should consider bringing a roll of TP...
Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

[johnecon2001]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

There are excellent suggestions addressed for sure.

I know this may sound strange, but you should consider bringing a roll of TP...
Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

lol, I'll keep that in mind. Croatia is a fairly nice country to be in though, and I don't believe the venues are in the "slum" areas.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by johnecon2001

lol, I'll keep that in mind. Croatia is a fairly nice country to be in though, and I don't believe the venues are in the "slum" areas.

Yes, but you never know...

I've been to some (nice) modern cities and they still can run out at the wrong time.

[Remoteness]

Ear protection when you're not mixing...

You have to take care of your money makers!

[just.sounds]

Originally Posted by johnecon2001

Getting ready to take a tour to Croatia. It won't be my first time overseas running Live.. but it's always nice to see what other people take with them for those "just in case" situations.

I'll have the following:

Sperry DSA-500 clamp meter
Fluke 117 DMM
Superlux Avlex Pink Stick
misc screw drivers
Gloves
Klein wire strippers
Ground lifts
Sony MDR-7506's
Board tape
Gaff tape (black, pink, yellow)
Sharpies
Cable tester (CT100)
dB Gun
Husky Torx screwdriver
USB/firewire cables
Blank CD's
Spare mic/line cable
spare Male/female XLR ends

Train you're innocent face to convince that you are not making bombs :-)

[ho-fi]

- reference cd
- Gaffa
- some cables (xlr, firewire, usb...)
- Adaptors
- leatherman and flashlight
- really nice compressor (perfect size to put in the bag)
- candy bar
- laundered t-shirt for after the show

[tchristen]

I agree with what everyone else said. Don't forget your drum key!

[XLR2XLR]

Camping chair - weighs nothing but worth it's weight in gold

Food + Water

Pads

Safety chains or at least lots of reuseable cable ties.

[Studiodawg]

I do a lot of stereo location recordings, so I tend to bring a stereo microphone "just in case"...

[nedorama]

Add to the list:

extra mic clips (in case people aren't taking them off stands with mics)
zip ties, big and small
Emergen-C water packets
Mini surge protector for laptop in hotel
ebtech hum eliminator

[marty lester]

Originally Posted by nedorama

Add to the list:

extra mic clips (in case people aren't taking them off stands with mics)
zip ties, big and small
Emergen-C water packets
Mini surge protector for laptop in hotel
ebtech hum eliminator

not sure if this was mentioned above, but i'm finally breaking down and buying
a pair of work-gloves. i usually end up bleeding at some point every gig...but this last one during SxSW i nailed the tip of my thumb. try not re-hitting that spot! so i'm going
to finally wise up and buy some work gloves for loading/unloading my rig.

and related to that...band-aids!

marty.

[Remoteness]

We have all sizes of "Ringers Gloves" at the shop.

We sell them (at our cost) to our crew and associates when necessary.

As we all know, it's important to protect yourself when on location.

[johnecon2001]

I've got a good set of gloves from when I used to be a roady. Invaluable purchase if you ask me.

[Harley-OIART]

-Phonic Audio PAA3
-Macbook w/ iTunes (BG Music + Reference CDs) + Smaart 6
-Pink Stick
-Good stock of random cables and adapters
-Spare Batteries ( [4]AA, [4]AAA, [2]9V)
-My standard tool bag (Screwdrivers, Tweaking Wands, knifes, Gaff Tape, Board Tape, PVC Tape, Sharpies, Sharpies, Sharpies, Pliers of several types, Side Cutters, Wire Strippers, Solder, Soldering Iron (weller), Quality Multimeter, Cheap 6 dollar outlet tester, a flask (jk), LED Flashlight (bulb won't break)
-Shure e5's
-SM-58 w/ Switch
-some video adapters (vga female to female, bnc adapters, etc etc)
-USB Key
-Laser Pointer (For pointing at things in the lighting rig)

That should get me through a typical show

[dirkjan]

About that flashlight...

Three months ago I bought a new flashlight because I wanted a led type. Found the P2D premium Q5 from Fenixlight. Small, lightweight (can hold it in my mouth => both hands free for cable handling at the back of a rack!), unbelievable light output which can be switched up in four steps, battery life up to 30 hrs, etc.

It's even able to send out SOS light signals, in case you get lost in Croatia....

[bishopthomas]

Those look like some pretty cool flashlights. I have the standard Maglite LED but really want a push button on/off (which it looks like the Fenix has). Does it come with a belt attachment or something? My pockets fill up quickly anyway and it looks like that tiny thing would get lost instantly.

[Jim vanBergen]

I always carry two or three lights to every gig; I have found a headlamp (like the ones sold in camping stores & companies like REI) to be invaluable. They allow you to illuminate based on the swivel of your head, and with free hands. I have two, and the LED unit is simply amazing.

I buy mine from my favorite supplier (EMS and REI) but a good comparison is here: http://www.brightguy.com/headlamps.php

JvB

[LX3]

My favourite is the Inova X1. LED, small, nice even lighting without too big a hotspot, very solidly built (better than Maglite IMO) and runs off a single AA, so no problem finding spares.

I only wish it didn't roll so easy...