Gig Bag Survival Kit

thegummy

What are some useful / essential things you like to take with you to a gig?

Not necessarily that will fit in the pouch of a "gig bag" but that might be brought along in a separate backpack.

By all means mention obvious basics.

MLten80

johnies, rizla, spare high E string. done

Jetfire

For gigging:

Business cards
Paper
Tape (duct tape and lots of it)
Cable ties
Pencil and sharpie (buy the proper ones)
Screw drivers (all sizes and proper ones, not the combi tools)
Pliers
Hammer
Scissors
Truss rod adjuster for all your gigging guitars
Spare cables (guitar and xlr)
Jack converter (big to little and little to big)
Strings (full set x 2) and string winder 
Lemon oil and cloth
Batteries (square 9v, aa and aaa)
Microphone
Lead for plugging phone into your pa desk

Ive have had use for ALL of these in some way shape or form

Jetfire

As well as:

A capo
Pics
Ear plugs (sealed bags for punters because at weddings they always stick the old folk right up front) 
Asprin (or whatever you normally use)
Various lenght kettle leads
Extension cables and sockets 

meltedbuzzbox

Cocaine
String vest
Bog roll

mudslide73

Spare strings (and cutters, winder, Polytune clip), spare leads, picks. Screwdrivers. Spare mains leads, amp fuses and valves. SM57 and spare clip/washers. Mesa Boogie V Twin pre amp.

Roland

Jetfire said:

For gigging:

Business cards
Paper
Tape (duct tape and lots of it)
Cable ties
Pencil and sharpie (buy the proper ones)
Screw drivers (all sizes and proper ones, not the combi tools)
Pliers
Hammer
Scissors
Truss rod adjuster for all your gigging guitars
Spare cables (guitar and xlr)
Jack converter (big to little and little to big)
Strings (full set x 2) and string winder 
Lemon oil and cloth
Batteries (square 9v, aa and aaa)
Microphone
Lead for plugging phone into your pa desk

Ive have had use for ALL of these in some way shape or form

Apart from hammer, truss rod tool, and lemon oil I carry all of these. I’d also add nail clippers and file, and a plastic fork in case the local take away doesn’t provide them. Lastly, a bag of stick-on hooks for when you want to run pa cables along a beam, and don’t want to ruin the paint work with gaffer tape.

thegummy

Jetfire said:

For gigging:

Business cards
Paper
Tape (duct tape and lots of it)
Cable ties
Pencil and sharpie (buy the proper ones)
Screw drivers (all sizes and proper ones, not the combi tools)
Pliers
Hammer
Scissors
Truss rod adjuster for all your gigging guitars
Spare cables (guitar and xlr)
Jack converter (big to little and little to big)
Strings (full set x 2) and string winder 
Lemon oil and cloth
Batteries (square 9v, aa and aaa)
Microphone
Lead for plugging phone into your pa desk

Ive have had use for ALL of these in some way shape or form

That's a great list, thanks very much!

May I ask a couple of why's? - the hammer? the lemon oil?

Lestratcaster

Spare strings
At least 4 sets of cables
String winder/cutter
Screwdrivers (cross and flat head)
Spare batteries 9v and AAA etc
Guitar polish/cleaner
WD-40
Servisol contact cleaner
Gaffer tape
Spanners (for tightening input jacks/pedal inputs)
Cloth
Spare speaker cable (if you use a head and cab)

Basically 2 of everything cos one WILL fail at one point and NEVER lend anything out to anyone!

thegummy

Lestratcaster said:

At least 4 sets of cables

That's interesting, one of the reasons for starting the thread is that I tend to keep tons of cables in my bag and was wondering if I was going overboard.

JMP220478

add these to above
spare preamp tubes - particularly if you're not carrying spare amp or into pa substitute 
phone / tablet charger ..
torch 
batteries or spare fx pedal power supply - one spot or equivalent n modify stomp boxes in use to suit 
spare strap .. 
lipsalve, 4b pencil or nut lube .. :-) 
phone - obvious but we've all been calling the bass player etc with 5 mins to go ! 
powerstrip with decent protection / isolation ... 
mini guitar stand 
allen keys for those with floyds or other difficult bridges 
beer tokens .. 
spare car key or electronic finder 
crib sheet for that hastily learned new song that we must simply play tonight cos its someones birthday / vocalists new  squeezes favourite ... 
donor card - you never know ?? 
spare T shirt 
microfibre towel  

skullfunkerry

Wow, you guys are more prepared than I ever was! My gigging kit was Fast Fret, cables (I took 6 but only needed 4), a Leatherman-alike multi-tool & a spare set of strings 

TimmyO

This thread makes me happy. 
When you hear the opposite "...why would I need a spare guitar?..." it makes my teeth itch! 

Grocer_Jack

I try and travel light but....
2nd guitar always. 
2nd amp if we're the only band. 
A couple of spare guitar cables
Spare one spot power adaptor*
Spare daisy chain 
9V Battery
Gaffer tape
Strings, mini screwdrivers, picks, spare strap that live in guitar cases
White Insulating tape**

*always carry one after I dropped one on a wooden stage and a pin sheared off. Thankfully it was after the gig!

**this is for cutting out little 'fret marker squares' that I tape to the back of the neck. Only used for vintage-style tiny dot fret markers on my Tele and Jag. I learned the hard way the first time I gigged my vintage Jag - faded clay dots go invisible under stage lights! 

Jetfire

In reference to the hammer, you never know when something needs percussive maintaining i.e pa stand, drummers stuck stand, repairing part of the decor...! 

And lemon oil as the back up guitar doesnt get the love it deserves and goes abit dry ...

skullfunkerry

TimmyO said:

This thread makes me happy. 
When you hear the opposite "...why would I need a spare guitar?..." it makes my teeth itch! 

Ah yeah, I always took a spare guitar as well  

p90fool

I travel heavy, as I also run the PA as well as play guitar. I can cope with any single item in the entire chain breaking and for most things even a couple of failures. 

I don't repair amps or guitars on stage, I bring backups.

That's for weekend gigging, touring is a different matter!

jonnygreentrees

Jetfire said:

For gigging:

Tape (duct tape and lots of it)
Cable ties
Pliers
Hammer


Ive have had use for ALL of these in some way shape or form

Are you a serial killer?

Mark1960

Most of the above plus 13 / 5 / 3 amp fuses. I also keep those little bags of moisture absorbers in my guitar cases - stops the strings going rusty so quickly.

steer

Spare lead
Spare patch lead
Spare set of strings
Small guitar stand
Spare 9v power supply
A few spare plectrums

That's about it. 

ESBlonde

I've been PA provider and carried everything and the kitchen sink in the past, usually I save someone elses arse but the show goes on. Nowadays I am just the jobbing guitar player so I minimise the carriage of clutter. Anything in the 'chain' can fail but you can still make a noise without much of it. So critical and likely items like spare strings, fuses (mains and internals), one of each type of cable (jack/mains/XLR - too long is better than too short) batteries, a daisy chain 9v power supply, one of each valve if you use them and a multitool.

You should have a phone with torch and tuner app.

Most importantly when in a moment of quite contemplation, think about how you would 'fix' or work around all the typical scenarios you might encounter. This prepares the mind for when something actually happens and you swiftly act and get going again.

Also everytime you encounter a problem review what you carry in light of would it help to carry something else. All our needs vary so take what you can and what you really need.