Pint on pedalboard

thomasross20 · May 2015

Playing last night, there was a group right next to me and midway through our set somebody spilled a pint right next to my expensive pedalboard!! Some of it got on it - wasn't impressed. Then during the break I carried my guitar with me to sit with a friend and some *nob hit it with his foot as he walked past. No damage but it highlighted the fact that nobody gives a sh!t regarding your gear at these places (I knew that anyway, but yuo know what I'm saying)!!

John_P · May 2015

Sorry to hear that - these things take some of the fun out of gigging - hope you still had a good night though.

It's part of the routine with pub gigs - some venues you have plenty of space and can "fence" off your area with the monitors and stands and sometimes you have the crowd right on top of you. I'm sure people will chip in with their solutions to the latter - take cheaper gear that it doesn't matter about knocks and spills, take smaller boards etc or just get skilled at pushing people back with whatever means necessary.

I like the rough and tumble of crowded gigs but there are some venues I turn down as it's just not worth the hassle of risking gear - usually those venues don't pay enough either so it's not hard.

thomasross20 · May 2015

We got a pay rise - £30 each lol.

Yeah I know what you're saying!

Next time I'll make sure to insist that I'm further away from crowds (I was right next to a table full of people drinking)

ICBM · May 2015

You're just going to have to accept that at any gig where there is no proper stage and the crowd are in the same space. Even with a proper stage you'll often get people putting drinks on the front edge, and sometimes spilt.

*Most* pedals are fairly drink-proof, at least from the top. Even if liquid does get inside it's unlikely to do damage since the voltages are generally not high enough to cause arcing, but you may want to wash them out with clean water before they dry and any sugars crystallise out, and I wouldn't be quite so confident about some digital pedals.

Most punters have no idea how expensive any of the gear is either, they think a guitar costs the same as a Strat copy from Argos. You just have to either accept wear and tear or take more thorough measures to prevent it.

EricTheWeary · May 2015

One of the reasons I'm thinking of buying a Pedaltrain ( whenever the new bloody models come out) is that the beer would run through rather than swill around like on my Diago. Not experimented by pouring beer over it yet though.

Danny1969 · May 2015

Clingfilm over the pedal board might work ?

Not nessaary in my neck of the woods but some of you gig in Scotland

EricTheWeary · May 2015

Danny1969 said:

Clingfilm over the pedal board might work ?

Not nessaary in my neck of the woods but some of you gig in Scotland

Oooh, trying to rack my brains now. One of the PG rig run downs someone cling films their board, for outdoor gigs rather than beer though. Who was it...

Tom_g · May 2015

Yep we've had similar situations. Somebody spilt a pint over John_a's mixing desk during our break, last week the guy we were playing the party for knocked over robs bass (he just walked off like it didn't matter) and last night I had to push guys away who were up dancing. Luckily nothing has been damaged so far but it could turn out to be a very expensive gig if it does.

EricTheWeary · May 2015

Naa; may have been plastic sheeting but it was on one of them.

vasselmeyer · May 2015

I always try and hide my pedalboard behind a floor monitor and a mic stand so they are fenced off from punters. If the space at the gig permits then I also try and keep some space behind my amp so that I can put my guitar stands there so they're protected when not in use. I don't subscribe to the notion of not gigging gear just because it's expensive. I don't record, only gig, so all my stuff gets used. That's what insurance is for. However, I generally know all the places we gig beforehand so if we end up gigging in an unknown venue with a really rough reputation then I might end up taking my cheaper stuff on a first outing.

Paul_C · May 2015

I was once asked to quote on a repair for insurance where a drunk wedding guest had stumbled into a mike stand which fell over and put the microphone through the front of a Lowden acoustic.

:-O

Danny1969 · May 2015

Paul_C said:

I was once asked to quote on a repair for insurance where a drunk wedding guest had stumbled into a mike stand which fell over and put the microphone through the front of a Lowden acoustic.

:-O

We use some pretty expensive gear in one of the bands I play in but the only damage suffered so far was when someone was uncoiling a mic lead and it flicked out and made a hole right in the front of a 4K 12 string Taylor acoustic, That guitar now has a small bird motif to fill in the hole

vasselmeyer · May 2015

Accidents like the one @Danny1969 mentioned are sometimes even more annoying than punter damage. I've seen a dropped cymbal scrape edge-first right down the face of a vary expansive Yamaha acoustic. I thought the owner of the guitar was actually going to puke, he was so gutted. The same guy also had to have a repair on his ES175 when the bottom strap button gave way and put the cable and the jack socket right through into the body.

randomhandclaps · May 2015

I've had worse things happen to my pedalboard when we were signed up to do a tour of UK retirement homes.

MikkiMcMurderer · May 2015

Stupidly drunk punters are the bane of our band's life.

Just last week I had a some fucking berk, who was smashed from the start of the wedding, who during the last set stood in front of me, back to me, opened his arms wide and flung his head back singing and he lost his balance and fell backwards right on to my pedal board. Full on his back with his legs in the air.

I wanted to kick him in the head etc but I just took the guitar off, signalled to the guys to cut it and we packed up immediately.

Luckily no damage done to the gear but ruins your experience.

jd0272 · May 2015

I just step in front of my board if need be until 'they/he/she gets the message and either fucks off, or creates the required space.

benvall · May 2015

I had some prick drop sambuca on a line 6 xt live about 4 years ago. The switches got all sticky, but after a good clean it worked ok.

Someone suggested wrapping the pedalboard in cling film if you know it will be a crazy gig.

I play a few places when space is tight and things get out of hand. In that case I don't use a pedalboard set the drive channel and use the guitars volume.

Handsome_Chris · May 2015

And these are all reasons I went rack. Even before the AF2 I had pedals in the rack. I had a cheap MIDI controller on the floor to switch 'em though.

SquireJapan · June 2015

Someone once spilt beer all over my Boss GT5 (back when they where current ...)

All the switches got sticky and the rotary knob got stuck. Thankfully no long term damage though - strip down and a good clean later all was well

(...and that was just me ... fnar fnar)

citizen68 · June 2015

Did a two piece gig last night as a dep - venue is usually ok but last night it was mayhem partly due to an aprés wedding party combined with a bank holiday in the ROI (I'm in NI close to border).

Idiots up dancing with glasses of drink - needless to say it wasn't long before one was dropped & my board got a bit of a splash but was thankfully ok.

We halted the gig & asked people not to dance with drinks in hand or we'd quit altogether - next time I'll be just taking the Tele & going straight into my Champ - only needed the board for a bit of delay!

firepaulmusic · June 2015

I've found that small kids at weddings are a bloody pain with gear. We've had a couple of experiences where little Johnny strays into our gear and picks up my Tom Anderson or the bass players brand new Status. Dad gets up and wrestles it off him knocking it in the process!

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