Tips for hauling gear

[rb1591]

Well, the end of my 40+ year gigging career may very well come down to the difficulty of hauling gear ... as I get older, it gets heavier. Short of investing in a Bose L1 or similar, I'd appreciate any tips, insights, advice on making the process of carting gear as easy as possible. How do you guys do it?

BTW, I have a trio that plays both acoustically and uses MIDI tracks. I play acoustic, electric and, if the gig requires, bring an 88 key digital piano. There's also another keyboardist as well as singer who plays percussion. We all sing, so there are limits to paring down the equipment. We generally play to audiences of 100-300 at private parties, small wedding receptions, etc. To give you an idea of the amount of gear we haul, it all fits in the back of my Jeep Cherokee.

Any bits and pieces of advice are appreciated.

rb

[Dadzmad]

I'm not as hale and limber as I use to be. When I have to haul around my Excelsior amp, over 40 lb with the 15" Eminence I use a small hand truck. It's a single handle model with fat inflatable tires and is intended for hauling 2 or 3 five gallon buckets around a job site. I believe its a Milwaukee. It has a much deeper tongue than a heaver hand truck that is intended for appliances etc. The fat tires go through doors and thresholds ok. I also use it around the house and yard to save my back hauling heavier stuff that is tough for me to bend down and lift.

[coconuts]

If you can get your gear in that vehicle, then you probably don't have enough gear to justify these ideas. but the problem is that lifting and then extending is the best way to hurt your back. It doesn't even have to be that heavy to get your back tweaked. I won't haul heavy gear in an SUV type vehicle.

I ended up getting an enclosed utility trailer that has a ramp and can lock if I need the security. I also lock the trailer to the truck. You don't want to know how much gear I sometimes haul. Keyboards and the racks, amps and speakers make it a job getting to a gig. The Marshall stack is long gone! There are a number of very good handcarts out there that can handle a few steps and straps your gear in place. Now I move equipment without lifting it...much! Usually when you get to the gig someone can give you a hand if you need it. The next option is to find a van. But you still have to lift. Most have a much lower height to load than any suv vehicle or pickup truck. An old UHaul Van Truck with the ramp is another good option. Hauling gear definitely is another problem that gets worse with getting older. Moving to a tiny 15 lb amp and just playing guitar really helps. Of course if you can afford roadies, that is the best solution.

[rb1591]

Thanks, guys. Glad to know there there are others out there facing the same problem. I want to keep playing, but I can see that changes in this area are going to be necessary and that probably means spending some money.

Coconuts says, “I won't haul heavy gear in an SUV type vehicle.” Good common sense insight. As you say, the idea is to move gear without lifting, and SUVs work against that. I have one particular huge Peavey power amp that sounds great, but I'll bet it weighs over 60 pounds.

BTW, I recently borrowed a Bose L1 for a recent gig. That certainly was a game changer, if you have another $3,000 to invest in gear. At this point I'm having a hard time justifying that with the reality that I'm likely within a few years of the end of gigging anyway. And, on the other hand, I imagine I could get a nice trailer for that much money and I wouldn't have to unload once I got back home.

I recently went the Bose route. Love it. Any gigs that require more than it can deliver will probably be gigs with contract sound. If you don't want to go Bose, I can only suggest good hand trucks and no gigs involving stairs.

[RockerDuck]

Being 60 and played a little longer than you, I invest in lighter equipment and compact too. I also went the Bose route. I have a fold up hand truck. I even bought a lighter guitar case.

[perttime]

As proposed, definitely something with wheels for moving around heavy items. And correct techniques for times when you really need to lift something.

What are you using for electric guitar amplification? There are small(ish) stompbox style preamps that you can DI into your PA. You might feel the difference from traditional amps but the audience won't hear it, if you choose and adjust well.
Tech 21 and Hughes&Kettner come to my mind first.
edit: and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxU7L_UMSxQ

[martingitdave]

Go the Bose route. Just plan to sell it at the end for 50% of what you paid. Then you're looking at $1500 investment for 3 years. $500 per year, could be manageable? Could it not also extend your career a bit?

[rb1591]

Your comments are so helpful, particularly in getting perspective on the possibility of going the Bose route. Sonically, I really like it, and Martingitdave's comments about seeing it as an investment certainly makes sense. In fact 50% resale after three or so years, seems completely possible judging from ebay and reverb.com used prices. And certainly it would extend my career … no doubt about that. Just a matter of parting with the cash.

Pertime, I've used a POD into the PA for several years, but was less than satisfied. Now, I'm micing a late 1960s Fender Champ driven with a stripped down pedal board. Can get much smaller than that, however I would like to hear the Tech 21 or H&K.

Concerning larger gigs that the Bose might not cover … first, they would be few and far between. Second, I could always keep my current system and run an output from the Bose. BTW, for over 25 years I've used a pair of Bose 802s and a small pair of JBL powered subs.

RogerDuck, doing the math … I'm 64 and have been gigging since age 15. I guess it's closer to 50 years. Time flies when you're having fun and indeed it has been!

I haven't used it yet, but I have purchased one of those folding carts by Ultimate Stands. I know there are more expensive models out there, but this one was only $59 at Walmart of all places. Will use it for a couple of upcoming wedding receptions later this month.

[dcopper]

I had the original BOSE L1 B1 that had a large heavy base. Initially it was great and better than dragging around two speaker cabs, monitors, stands, powered mixer and cables. The BOSE got to be too heavy and the heavy base was daunting to haul in and out of a car. I sold that and bought a Fishman SoloAmp 220 (SA 220). That was far better but probably would not work for all that you need.
I had to send the BOSE back to the factory for refurbishing - it died on me. I then had to send the FISHMAN back as well. It developed tremendous static problems and they had to replace several boards.

For what you have, I would suggest two powered cabs like the QSC K8 or K10 cabs and a mixer. You could add a small powered monitor as well. The QSC powered cabs are easily carried and very light with tons of power and projection. To me 1 single K8 with a mixer sounded FAR better then either the BOSE or the SA220. The dispersion pattern is excellent.

Currently, I play through either an AER Compact 60/3 and/or a Fishman Loudbox Performer doing solo acoustic guitar and vocals. I can add the K8s if I need more coverage. All of them are light, portable and NO back strain hauling them in and out of the car. I have been playing for over 40 years so I do not buy anything that cannot be carried in one hand. If I want to run any electric guitar I have a SansAmp guitar amp simulator that I can run direct to the board - no extra guitar amp to carry.

Hope this helps!
davidc

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

Being 60 and played a little longer than you, I invest in lighter equipment and compact too. I also went the Bose route. I have a fold up hand truck. I even bought a lighter guitar case.

Yup. A folding hand truck for sure. As for the case, my Taylor case is a tank and weighs about as much. So for most gigs I use a Taylor gig bag for the 714.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by rb1591

Pertime, I've used a POD into the PA for several years, but was less than satisfied. Now, I'm micing a late 1960s Fender Champ driven with a stripped down pedal board. Can get much smaller than that, however I would like to hear the Tech 21 or H&K.

A Champ isn't all that big and heavy, and every one that I've heard sounded good.

I think POD is a computer that processes your sound. There's a variety of small preamps with analog circuits, either tube or solidstate, and I think they may respond better than most computer-based devices. Depends on what you like and need.

Here's a few official websites:
http://hughes-and-kettner.com/products/tubetools/
http://amtelectronicsusa.com/productpagess11av2.html
http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/index.html
http://www.customtonesinc.com/

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by rb1591

Your comments are so helpful, particularly in getting perspective on the possibility of going the Bose route. Sonically, I really like it, and Martingitdave's comments about seeing it as an investment certainly makes sense. In fact 50% resale after three or so years, seems completely possible judging from ebay and reverb.com used prices. And certainly it would extend my career … no doubt about that. Just a matter of parting with the cash.

Thanks for the feedback! It's nice when other folks appreciate comments on the board. Giving some more thought to it, perhaps the used route might also be a good option for purchase. They seem to be built like tanks. In any case, I should hope that you find a way to keep gigging, if that's what you love to do. Letting silly speakers cut that short seems like a shame.

Best of luck!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by rb1591

…Any bits and pieces of advice are appreciated…

Hi rb…
At age 66 (2015), I understand.

The downsizing option (Bose, RCF Evox speakers etc, smaller PA rigs) is the one which my gigging partner and I have opted for. We both have 25 pound acoustic amps which serve us well for small gigs as amp and PA.

I also own a very light powered mixer with a pair of 12" two way cabinets and stands for PA work (50 pounds total). We often only use one cabinet flown above and behind us. It all easily fits on a single rolling cart.

We each carry a single gear bag and pack in only the essential gear which we can transport in my wife's Saturn trunk or back seat to a gig, and cart into the venue in one trip.

Hope you get your stuff figured out and squared away.

[ricdoug]

We use a couple of these in different sizes. The handles fold flat. We also include parking and accessibility in our riders, which we modify often for different gigs. A few years back we had a gig at Pipes Beach in Encinitas, California. Having not been to that beach before, we carted the gear (all battery powered) up and down a quarter mile paved ramp and hand carried the gear another quarter mile accross soft sand for two round trips. Lesson relearned:

http://www.harborfreight.com/24-in-x...uck-68894.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/19-in-x...uck-62211.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/19-in-x...uck-68895.html