Playing in the rain...
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That sounds like a nightmare. Hope your gear is ok. Can you use something to soak up the moisture overnight maybe?
We played a gig in the summer which was in a farmer's field. The ground was this very fine dusty earth. I tried keeping stuff covered and off the ground but the stuff got everywhere. I had to clean every lead and hoover all the equipment and clean it off the next day. Nothing seemed to get actually damaged though which was surprising.
We played a gig in the summer which was in a farmer's field. The ground was this very fine dusty earth. I tried keeping stuff covered and off the ground but the stuff got everywhere. I had to clean every lead and hoover all the equipment and clean it off the next day. Nothing seemed to get actually damaged though which was surprising.
Next time I'm taking some cling film to wrap over my pedalboard, it should work...I think...
Screw that. Next time specify in your contract that the Mayor or whoever is switching the lights on has to stand next to you for the whole set with a big golf umbrella and a towel just in case.Moltisanti said:Next time I'm taking some cling film to wrap over my pedalboard, it should work...I think...
Rainwater is not electrically conductive.Moltisanti said:
All my stuff was soaked when i got home, i have no idea how my pedals and HX stomp stayed alive and working through it all...
(Or not unless you live in a very severe acid rain environment.)
Really? I never knew that , I thought all water was...
Pure distilled water is actually not conductive - it requires dissolved ions to be so. Rainwater is pretty pure - although it does absorb carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide from the atmosphere, so you can't guarantee it - but at the low voltages in a pedal circuit it's not that likely to cause trouble. I wouldn't try it with a valve amp or mains voltage though!Moltisanti said:Really? I never knew that , I thought all water was...
Ah wow, that's interesting!
I once came back after soundcheck to find my board in a puddle (under a hole in the roof I hadn't spotted...). Only the Whammy seemed affected though, and it was dodgy beforehand anyway, always wondered how the rest survived!
ICBM said:Pure distilled water is actually not conductive - it requires dissolved ions to be so. Rainwater is pretty pure - although it does absorb carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide from the atmosphere, so you can't guarantee it - but at the low voltages in a pedal circuit it's not that likely to cause trouble. I wouldn't try it with a valve amp or mains voltage though!Moltisanti said:Really? I never knew that , I thought all water was...
I once came back after soundcheck to find my board in a puddle (under a hole in the roof I hadn't spotted...). Only the Whammy seemed affected though, and it was dodgy beforehand anyway, always wondered how the rest survived!
I played in a marquee once at the bottom of a field. We were on a raised stage. It pissed down the entire day. During one song the other guitarist gestured me to look behind the stage, and there, in the channel between the stage and the marquee wall, was a river, and all our extension cables were 1 foot under. We shat ourselves and got the drummer to reach in and unplug everything.
it was always going to be the drummer that got sent to do that job!
Yeah. Expendable/collateral damage.Moltisanti said:it was always going to be the drummer that got sent to do that job!
Yeah. Expendable/collateral damage.Moltisanti said:it was always going to be the drummer that got sent to do that job!
No, just hard to kill with electricity. If it does, you reverse the current and they’ll be fine.Yeah. Expendable/collateral damage.
In 2018 we were finishing a festival run with a double header - first an early slot on the main stage at a big festival in Plymouth and then a late slot at Cardiff Pride. Just outside Plymouth we got a call from the Cardiff organisers saying they were having to pull the main stage and move everybody inside so wouldn't be able to accommodate a full band. Bit of a blow, but at least we'd be back home earlier than planned.
At the festival site we turned up to find torrential rain, an empty arena, and the crew tearing down the rigging because the winds were so vicious. Stage manager said "Oh, you can still play but you can't use any electric amps or monitoring. If you have an acoustic we'll set up a marquee onstage and you can play under there." Thought he was taking the mick, but he was deadly serious
I looked at the waterfalls pouring out of the stage rigging and asked if he would ever put one of his own acts on in those conditions? "Not a chance, but I've been told to let you know that you can still play if you want". I'm assuming the reason was that if they pulled our set they would still have to pay us, but if we pulled then they didn't.
The other bands were offered the same opportunity - the one before us declined, a few others due after played including Gomez:
In the end we told them to shove it but after 5 hours drive were determined to make the best of a bad day, so took the van into the high street outside the festival and asked round every bar on the street until one of them had a PA and would let us set up. Tweeted the location out and then filled the place with 100 very damp and enthusiastic fans until it steamed. Great moment. The festival didn't invite us back again.
At the festival site we turned up to find torrential rain, an empty arena, and the crew tearing down the rigging because the winds were so vicious. Stage manager said "Oh, you can still play but you can't use any electric amps or monitoring. If you have an acoustic we'll set up a marquee onstage and you can play under there." Thought he was taking the mick, but he was deadly serious
I looked at the waterfalls pouring out of the stage rigging and asked if he would ever put one of his own acts on in those conditions? "Not a chance, but I've been told to let you know that you can still play if you want". I'm assuming the reason was that if they pulled our set they would still have to pay us, but if we pulled then they didn't.
The other bands were offered the same opportunity - the one before us declined, a few others due after played including Gomez:
In the end we told them to shove it but after 5 hours drive were determined to make the best of a bad day, so took the van into the high street outside the festival and asked round every bar on the street until one of them had a PA and would let us set up. Tweeted the location out and then filled the place with 100 very damp and enthusiastic fans until it steamed. Great moment. The festival didn't invite us back again.
Haha great story!
Not vertical rain onto the covered roof of the stage, horizontal drizzle right into my guitar, board and face!
i've never played a wet fretboard before, it was interesting to say the least. All my stuff was soaked when i got home, i have no idea how my pedals and HX stomp stayed alive and working through it all...
anyone else had any similar experiences ?