Lugging Gear

[Pearly Gator]

Each weekend that my team leads worship, I pack a huge gig bag of pedals, cables and spares. With a guitar and amp, it's a lot to haul back and forth to church. (We have three weekend services.) Does you church have lockers or a secure room for gear? Do they provide gear or "roadies" for you?

PG

[stephen]

I lug my guitar and amp from home to church, but an area is available!

[reverbbb]

I just leave my amp there all the time since I own several :oops: .

I put all my pedals on a pedalboard with a cover. I leave that there all the time as well. I will close it up and move it out of the way to lower the temptation of toying with it by others. But I don't care too much if some uses them, as long as they don't break anything or change my presets.

[ptrallan01]

Our bass player/drummer helps lug the gear when we go somewhere but we leave a guitar amp and a keyboard amp for the keyboard and the bass in the church all the time. Don't use pedals just guitar and amp.

We had been using the keyboard amp, which is actually a portable 5 channel PA system to plug all the guitars(2 plus a bass) and the keyboard and then running that to our PA to balance it with the mikes. I stopped bringing my Cyber Deluxe to church. It didn't last long because our keyboard player had some issues so now I'm back to using a guitar amp. (Music Man 1X12 50 RD) sounds awesome for most of what we do but tonight our choir director was looking for another sound and asked me to change my sound to one of the others like, you know the one I like. Well, I had to let her know that this amp could only give us one sound. She was like oh, :( ! So I guess she'll forgive me for spending the $500 for a guitar amp :D after all what wife doesn't want her husband to sound good?

So now it will be back to lugging amps if she wants the sound versatility that the cyber provides. And our bass player will have to help.

Peter

[kewlpack]

I was lugging big amps every few days and always on Sundays (for the JaM [Jesus And Me] P/W).

After throwing my back out a few times in the last two weeks, I said to myself, "Self! Don't be stupid - get some lighter gear!"

Enter Blues Junior (thanks to a very generous brother in the church who sold it for a good price). Light, all tube tone, and back pain free! I'll get some JJ Teslas for it this week (gonna go with a full set of Pre and Power tubes) to brighten it up. Eventually I might put in a Jensen speaker (like the one that was in your vintage BJr. Rev) - mainly because it has some really good presence.

I'm with Rev on happy handlers... don't monkey with the dials and don't overwrite presets (which isn't all that easy to accidentally do on my pedal board). I'm more worried about the 10 year old visitors who don't know their boundaries - you know, the ones who think a guitar makes a great hammer!

:lol:

~A~

[tom grossheider]

I always try to be a "one-tripper", that is, if I can't carry it in one trip then it doesn't get taken along. Drums, keys and bass amp are all already in place, when I play guitar I have to bring all my own stuff. We have a room where I could lock it up but I no longer do that. I am enjoying playing bass more now because there is a LOT less great to haul around!

[LesStrat]

+1 on the one-tripper.

I carry my guitar, POD Floorboard bag, and a (camera) gig bag. Stereo signal out of the Nitefly.
Electric-->Dynacomp-->POD-->Behringer MX602A mixer.
Acoustic-->DOD FE65 Chorus-->Aphex Acoustic Xciter--> mixer

Mono out from the mixer into a direct box.

Our church has a good monitor system with a separate monitor mixer. Not to mention a fantastic sound tech (the wife of one of our guitarists).

[Crunchyriff]

Ima 1.5 tripper...I can carry the rack, combo, controller, and toolbox on my dolley; I just go back for my guitars on the second trip(minimum of 2 every Sunday)

that's not really considered a full 2nd trip, is it?? :P

[sflem1039]

I leave my amp (Mesa Boogie .50 cal +) at the church all the time. I carry the guitar (Les Paul Standard) and my effects (POD XT with gig bag) with me to Church and home. I play every Sunday morning.

My wife carrys my Bible and other stuff for me until I get my guitar setup and plugged in.

[kewlpack]

Well I have (as many of you know) changed out my gear a few times since the Blonde Blues Jr (see above).

Now I am about as portable as I can get... 1 trip to get it all done.

Right hand: Gigbag (either guitar), Case w/ Boss GT and cables in it.
Left hand: Stage 1000

That's it. SWEET!

Now if only I could get the same sound pressure levels as an 8x12 stack from a pocket sized speaker! :dunno

[MrMike]

Church is gravy for me, since they have an amp there (a Johnson Marquis- an early modeling amp that suits the purpose) and the other guitar player leaves his axe there for me to use. It's a Fender Buddy Guy Strat, plus he has an original TS-808. It gets the job done quite nicely.

Gigs are a completely different story, especially since I just updated my gear. The first trip gets guitars (usually 2 or 3), then the next gets my floorboard and my tool box, which contains cables, extension cords, strings, tools, connectors, adapters, and any other miscellaneous goodies that may be needed to cure whatever emergencies may pop up. The next trip gets my amp head, and the final trip gets the 4x12 cabinet, which I hope to soon replace with a 2x12.

I forgot to mention stands and stuff. I carry my own small boom stand to mic my amp, plus guitar stands.

[Wally]

One trip, unless I take more than 1 guitar. I have a "tool bag" that I carry my cords, amp pedal and music in, plus my 30 lb Deluxe 90 amp and a guitar. I can strap the guitar on my back and carry the amp in one hand and the bag in the other.... or if the guitar is in a hard case, guitar and bag in one hand, amp in the other. The only effects I use are built into the amp :lol:

[Teleguy]

One hand: guitar.
Other hand: amp.

Been doin' it that way since bar band days in crummy neighborhoods.


In the days of outdoor concerts and jail concerts with big amps (Ampegs), I had a tailgate lift and a hand truck, but that was twenty years ago!

[Ascension]

I play in two Churches on Sunday and I have been leaving a rig at the Morning Church but still bring a Min of 2 guitars (ALLWAYS have a back up guitar if using a floating trem ALLWAYS) and my equiptment bag with spare batteries ,pre and power tubes ,fuses ,a spare tuner ,my delay chorus and wah pedals,2 spare sets of strings ,a power strip ,spare power chord for the amp, a 3 way guitar stand ,mic boom or desk top stand and backup cables :dunno (BE PREPAIRED or :banghead !!).Depending on the size of the venue and the set of material we are planning I will bring an amp ranging from my 1/12 Clubmaster combo up to my MTS half stack.I usually gig three to five times weekly on average.

[rkymtnhi]

I used to use a radio flyer wagon--the one I grew up with--to get my stuff in and out of church. I need to find another one--the original got lost while I was attending seminary. It usually takes me 4 to 5 trips (plus the assistance of an elevator) to get my gear into and out of the church I'm playing. Keeping the stuff there is not an option--the church meets in a (live) theater. The cool things is that the sets are always changing behind us, and the place just oozes with vibe. Sometimes we're leading worship in front of Roman arches, sometimes it's an English garden--I just can't wait till we're singing praise songs in front of Dracula's castle!

[beatlenut]

1 trip, but 2 roadies (my daughters). One girl carries my bag with my AG Stomp.

The other daughter carries: Vox Tonelab SE, bag with mic stand, guitar stand, DI, leather duffle with music, cables, mics

I carry: 1 acoustic, 1 electric

[lockingnut]

We do one service Saturday evenings then 3 on Sunday mornings. I usually leave my amp and board there overnight then haul it home Sunday afternoon. I don't leave the guitar there. But with those, a controller board and equipment case it's not too bad. Luckily the amp's on wheels, I can stack stuff up and push everything in one trip from the truck.

[prscustom24]

Inevitably, anything stored there becomes available for community usage, and I'm too particular about my stuff, so it wouldn't be left there in any event.

A RockNRoller cart makes it a one-trip affair.

[Teleguy]

Inevitably, anything stored there becomes available for community usage, and I'm too particular about my stuff, so it wouldn't be left there in any event...

I hear that 100%!
Sad to say, not everybody at most churches come with the same values about stuff that don't belong to them! :jao:

[MrMike]

I always found that the youth band was particularly "gifted" at borrowing stuff.

[SAguitar]

Acquistion is a spiritual gift granted to the young!

Like Crunchy, I'm a 1 1/2 tripper. The first trip in is with my hand truck, two cases full of wires, cables, spare everything, my amp of choice, and a case with my Boss GT-6 floorboard. Second trip is usually for two guitars (spare everything), and my briefcase with my Bible and my music binder.

We have a large storage area to lock everything up in if we need to, and sometimes we have to clear the stage, since we loan the room to a middle school next door for their concerts and major productions. That's been a win-win deal, since it gives us an in-road to a school! Imagine that, a Church buddyin' up with a School! They let us use some of their modular classrooms on the weekend for classes, and they let us use their parking lot for overflow parking. Plus, we have the benefit of an ongoing relationship with them. Several families have started attending, and undergone huge spiritual turnarounds due to this little link.

I leave one guitar amp at church for several of our younger players who don't own their own amps, or the one they do have is not up to our caliber. That amp is a Fender Stage 100 DSP. I also leave my entire bass rig there all the time, and 3 out of 4 of our bassists like to use it, rather than lugging their own in. That setup is an Eden World Tour 800 head in a small rack case coupled to a Hartke 2x10 cabinet, and if we need it (!!!???), my 2x15 Harke cab is in the back room.

We have put our main keyboard on a platform with some wheels under it, so it can be wheeled off the stage fairly easily down a wheelchair access ramp. Likewise, we did the same thing for the drum kit, except that it is two platforms that bolt together. All ya gotta do is unbolt it, and push it down the ramp. We often have to clear the stage, not only for the school, but for some of our larger drama productions, and all their rehearsals.

Lord, I love this ministry! Thank You! :cool:

[seagullplayer]

I play acoustic most of the time. So it's music and teaching material in one arm and Guitar in the other. I normally leave a backup guitar at Church all week in a closet or the Pastor's office.

When I work with the little kids (preschool-1st grade), I try to use my Ovation. The kids really like to touch and feel the guitar and I don't mind with the Ovation. That thing is built like a tank. I could beat a kid to death with it, then play it at the funeral, though I've never played at a funeral...

[Teleguy]

...I could beat a kid to death with it, then play it at the funeral, though I've never played at a funeral...


Seems the least you could do!

I've never beat a kid to death with a guitar (but I think I'd FAX in the dirge)! :nevem:

[kewlpack]

Doh! :roll:

[prscustom24]

though I've never played at a funeral...

I don't mean to be a wet blanket on this thread, but I can't really put to words what it feels like to be requested to play the funeral of someone who "loved your music when he / she was alive." You'll be asked to play favorite songs that inspired them in worship, and it's all very humbling. . .

[seagullplayer]

though I've never played at a funeral...

I don't mean to be a wet blanket on this thread, but I can't really put to words what it feels like to be requested to play the funeral of someone who "loved your music when he / she was alive." You'll be asked to play favorite songs that inspired them in worship, and it's all very humbling. . .

I'm sure it would be. I have been asked to speak at several funeral's but never play.

But I think the point I was tring to make, was that I bring a guitar with me when I'm playing with the kids, that I don't mind them handling. And that is not likely to get broken...

A few people had mentioned getting things "lifted", around our Church it is much more likely one of the kids will "play" with something that's not a toy. I like to have a guitar on hand they are allowed to touch.

Sorry if you took my attempt at humor the wrong way.

[prscustom24]

Your humor _is_ funny, I should have been more clear that I was just offering up a sidebar. Prob'ly should have kept it for some other thread, sorry.

[seagullplayer]

:cool: here.

It would be a good topic to start. I'm sure alot of us could use some insite into how you even select what to play. Or how you hold yourself together. I've had that problem when speaking.

Sorry all, please continue with the regular program...