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Amplifier accessories


Phil O'Keefe

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would have said spare tubes and spare fuses.

but lately i become lazy, i do not have 6v6 spare tubes and i leave the el84s at home aswell as the fuses...

 

but i be very careful in lugging my amp(s) around and its mostly my job and i don't let the others in the band touch them....

 

and on the other hand, currently its about only one to two gigs a year we currently able to do

so i'm the opposite of heavy gigging musician :)

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I don't gig any more as an electric guitar player, but I carried a spare amp.

 

The key to longevity of ones gear, it to carry it and more it yourself. Make as many trips as you need. I never trusted those plastic handles on amps. You also need to secure your gear down in the car. A quick stop or turn of the wheel can send a 50-60 lb amp flying across the inside of a car or van.

 

 

Avoid those "Oh S!@t" split seconds.

 

Oh don't forget to thank those that hold the club doors open for you too.

 

 

 

 

 

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I've used amp stands off and on. I like having the amp raised up off the floor, but wish the angle of tilt was adjustable. I have one of those folding amp stands, and even folded up they are fairly heavy and an awkward size and shape to move.

 

I've never bothered to carry spare tubes or fuses, but I don't get to gig that often either.

 

When I played bass I used one of those lightweight folding two wheel dollies ('Magnacart') to move the cab.

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i gigged once with an amp stand like deepend posted with a 1x12 combo on it...

maybe the stand was old or it was a problem of that model, cause it was hard to make it steady, even with the screw tight it was shaky as hell and stage floor itself was shaky...

 

normally at a gig i ask for an empty beer case (a standard sized plastic box which hold 20 0,5l beer bottles here in europe) and use this as amp stand

yes you cannot adjust it but it is steady. i used to put the amp on a chair because they had no empty beer cases, i always almost panic when i see the amp wiggle on it

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If I had covers I'd use them. Bout the only thing I dis do was put good wheels on all my cabs. They aren't exactly all terrain however so I bring a fold up aluminum Hand cart with Big Wheels so I can wheel the cab (or anything else) over rough terrain.

 

The one I have is good up to around 300lbs and has a long bed. Its similar to this except the handle also folds down so the entire cart is about 3'X3' when its collapsed. That way you can slide it in the back of a truck or car where ever you have some extra space (like that ever happens)

It sure makes it allot easier at a gig though.There's always door stops, sidewalks, even steps going into places. I can wheel right over those with little effort so long as the weight isn't too great. Of course I use it with PA cabs cases, heads and whatever else too.

 

 

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For small amps and gear I have a couple of those big Tupperware bins with the locking tops. I sandwiched a piece of plywood on the bottom of the bin on the inside. I then drilled holes through both pieces of wood and mounted wheels on the bins. I can stick anything in them from a small combo, heads or whatever and just wheel them into a gig. They double as an amp stand too. Makes packing up really fast. Just take the amp off it, remove the top, Stick the amp and cords inside and go. People cant believe how fast I can be packed up and loaded.

 

Another handy item is for cords. Nothing worse then trying to unravel cords that were coiled up around someone's elbow. I don't care if you have Velcro or latching hooks. When you try and unroll them you always have knots and its not good for the cords.

 

These are the $h:t to have. hold the black piece then just roll the cords up like spaghetti on a fork. You can get like a dozen 20" cables on a reel. Mic cords are even easier. You simply plug the end of one XLR into the next cord and keep reeling. Best part is the cables don't get twisted up. Once they're reeled up I just stick the whole thing in one of those plastic bins and wheel it out. Same for the long speaker cords.

best part, next gig, you just Plug one end into the mic, walk over to the Mixer as you're unreeling, then plug it into the mixer when you get to the union.

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You can have 5 mics wired and ready to go within 10 minutes tops. I dare anyone to try and beat these speed reels for breaking down or setting up. The only drawback is you have to put the cord you want to come off first, last when you're packing up. Otherwise you have to unreel the whole darn thing to get to it. (or just keep extra cords for rehearsal or practice and leave these for gigs only)

 

Of course these are all just tricks you come up with over time that make life easy. When you're a kid you have allot of energy and burning some off before a gig may actually beneficial in relaxing your performance. As you get older you think up easy ways of doing things so you have the energy to gig and break down and get home without having to spend a week recuperating.

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i gigged once with an amp stand like deepend posted with a 1x12 combo on it...

maybe the stand was old or it was a problem of that model, cause it was hard to make it steady, even with the screw tight it was shaky as hell and stage floor itself was shaky...

I use a stand like that with my own 1X12 combo and I've never had a problem like that. It sits on a hardwood floor. I have a fairly light amp (32 lbs./14.5kg) and if there were a problem it should be dancing an Irish jig. It's possible the stand you tried was bent or had one of the end cap "feet" missing and wouldn't sit level but that's all I can think of.

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What are some of your favorite amplifier accessories? Are there any essential items you take with you to every gig? Anything that makes your amp sound better' date=' or makes it easier to use?[/quote']

 

There are 2 essentials that I take with me that make my amps easier to use & sound better.

A roadie & a soundman.:D

 

(Sorry, it was just to hard to resist)

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Well, since I'm primarily a worship musician I can tell you those venues normally don't have beer cases sitting around. 16x16_man-wink.png

 

any other soda cases do fine aswell

 

i like beer cases, and if the case is not from my favorite brand it goes back, you know they are part of my sound and its essential that they match my preference in drinking, otherwise the amp will just sound dull and hollow :D

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Milk crates were always popular as makeshift stands. :)

 

I did an article on amp accessories, and most of the ones mentioned so far were things I already included in it. When the article goes live, I'll post a link to it in this thread... you might see a few things mentioned in it that you haven't considered or thought of before - and some of them are pretty cool! :)

 

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