It ticks me off..

[timme_v]

When bands you play with don't bring all their equipment.

 

Last week my band travelled over an hour after work on a friday night to play a show with a local band that lived around that area.. We were opening for them and apparently they were busy in the early evening so only we did a sound check.. Everything went well and the show was fun, after we played the guitarist came up to me and asked to borrow my pedal board, and went to our other guitarist and asked to use his amp.

 

I was looking at him thinking he was joking and I couldn't around afterwards, so I said no. Then he walked off to his band and intentionally spoke loud enough for me to hear saying "oh we can't play this song because the guy in the other band won't let me use his delay". They all just turned around and huffed and puffed as I walked out the door.

 

Luckily enough for them, our other guitarist was nice enough to let them borrow his amp.

 

I can understand borrowing equipment if something goes wrong with theirs, but I don't get why people would play a show if they aren't even ready for it.

 

 

tl;dr - Other guitarist asked to borrow my pedal board, i said no.. He got pissy.

[joeyowen]

i can sometimes excuse amps.

but if you have a song you really wanna play and it needs delay... errrm.... bring a {censored}ing delay pedal? they are hardly heavy.

 

amps i dont mind normally, but no way would i let anyone use my pedalboard

[Ambient Exposure]

i can sometimes excuse amps. but if you have a song you really wanna play and it needs delay... errrm.... bring a {censored}ing delay pedal? they are hardly heavy. amps i dont mind normally, but no way would i let anyone use my pedalboard

 

 

 

Exactly

[TomWales]

I'd never lend anything out, maybe if someone asks really nicely BEFOREHAND they could share my cab or something.

If you turn up to a gig without an amp that's your own problem.

[Army of Darkness]

Yea, {censored} people who bank on others to have what they should provide for themselves. If everybody had this attitude, no shows would ever be played. OP did the right thing to tell them to do one. They'll learn to not be lazy {censored}s in future.

[dZjupp]

i found the easiest way to avoid this is to have a very confusing pedalboard that makes the person feel weak and insignifigant to the world around him, they'll never ask if they have no clue what is on your board or how to use it. Also, if i don't know the person asking, no go.

i played a show once where the band we were playing with had a guitarist who a silver jubilee marshall head, the only problem was that he didn't have a cab. WTF?

i gave him a strange look and asked him some questions and let him use my cabinet, which he proceeded to dime....DIME his amp through, i was so pissed.

[melx]

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't give a {censored}..... the only stipulation myself and anyone else ever had was 'you break it, you pay for it' other than that I don't have any problem at all with lending anyone anything if it's going to make the gig better.

[goaway]

hmmm....well at least your own band brought their gear. i have played with too many people who just cant remember anything. one drummer forgot the clutch to his hi-hat.....the other drummer forgot his hi-hat completely...stand and all drum sticks are forgotten or broken too soon to get through a show. snare broken all the time cause he hits so effing hard and wont get it fixed...and one drummer forgot to get off work one saturday night so we had to cancel an hour before which made us look terrible....i have issues with some drummers haha

 

i keep a box full of cheap guitar cables for when the other guitarist inevitably forgets his cable....i keep a 1spot as well and usually end up having to unplug my guitar like 5 times so everyone can tune with my tuner.

[Taylor.]

Last week we played with a band (they opened) who only brought a guitar and a bass, and basically told us they were going to need to use all our equipment. I was a little bothered by it but I knew the guys pretty well so we said okay.

[timme_v]

Last week we played with a band (they opened) who only brought a guitar and a bass, and basically told us they were going to need to use all our equipment. I was a little bothered by it but I knew the guys pretty well so we said okay.

 

 

Probably worse if the other band are the ones opening for you..

 

I'd be pissed with that as well though. If I knew the guys, I'd like an email or something previously.

[Cirrus]

Hell yeah this is annoying!

Me and the other guys in our band have the same policy: if we're contacted in advance about shared backline then we're very accomodating: drumkit sharing, bass amp or whatever. But if you come up to us 5 mins before your set asking to use our amps or borrow a guitar strap or lead because you don't own one, then no. No you can't use our stuff.

We played a battle of the bands heat last friday; only one other band. They got in touch during the week saying they had a two hour drive so could we provide the drums and bass amp. Now for us it was an hours drive, and I'm not sure it's all that more difficult to drive with a drum kit in the back for 2 hours compared to one, it's the effort at either end that gets you. But we're such nice guys we said yeah no problem. But these guys turned up, didn't approach us and were surly when we tried to say hi and introduce ourselves. Their drummer started moving our drummers {censored} around without saying anything. That sort of attitude is annoying. They didn't say thanks afterward, and when it was announced we'd won the round, they just filed out the room and went home. Those are the kind of people you hope never to meet again.

I had someone ask to use my amp immediately before their set because theirs had broken a week earlier. They had a whole week to contact one of the other bands but didn't bother, so I said no.

TBH I bought my stuff so I could sound better than the other bands. I'm not a charity though I am generous to people who show foresight rather than idiots who turn up without the basic tools you NEED TO HAVE if you want to gig.

[RoboPimp]

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't give a {censored}..... the only stipulation myself and anyone else ever had was 'you break it, you pay for it' other than that I don't have any problem at all with lending anyone anything if it's going to make the gig better.

 

 

yeah, wouldn't bother me if it was a case where their {censored} blew up/broke or got stolen obviously it would be totally cool

 

but for someone who comes to a gig without their own pedals/guitars/amps etc. I'd probably still do it but might have to ask them what's up with that?

[six acre lake]

If you someone did not pre arrange to borrow some of my gear for a show then tough luck and eat a bowl of dick. Should have came prepared.. you know... with instruments, amps and effects and such.

[olgluefoot]

I have always asked for collateral. You want my half stack? I will take your guitar until you return it to me/your guitar will be mine of you {censored} something up.

[english_bob]

My old band had this happen a few times. On one occasion, the band we were supposed to be playing with did contact us beforehand to ask to borrow a load of gear from us.

Normally, I'd be like the rest of you guys and say yes, but we'd played on a bill with this band a few weeks earlier. We'd asked another friend of ours to provide PA for this gig (none in-house), which they'd done, for free, for all the bands, plus three guys to run it. This band had proceeded to kick their mic stands all over the stage and stamp on them.

So uh, can they borrow my gear? {censored} no. They were pissed, and they didn't play. I wept bitterly for their suffering.

[colorguard]

ughhhh it makes me mad too!!

occassionally touring bands from europe will come through town with nothing but their guitars and i feel like that is FINE because its expensive to travel with amps. but then local bands don't bring their equipment so when i let them borrow mine, MY GEAR GETS TWICE THE WEAR!

[Cirrus]

So uh, can they borrow my gear? {censored} no. They were pissed, and they didn't play. I wept bitterly for their suffering.

 

 

There's no better feeling than watching idiots gnash their teeth.

[Alt-me]

I hate that {censored}.

We played with a band last year who just turned up and said "we alright to use your amps, yeah?"... our other guitarist said "no, ask (me)"... me being a naive idiot and our bass player doing the same, we let them use our amps.

During their set one of them had his {censored}ing bottle of beer on top of my amp, I repeatedly asked them to move it, when they did the put it on the floor... all over the stage... big sticky puddle. They left us to clear up this {censored}, then we found out that they had snapped a cable off in the back of our bass head.

Arseholes.

Seriously, it's not worth helping people who won't help themselves. Sooner or later, they take the piss and you wonder why.

We now have a "no lending" policy.

[english_bob]

the only stipulation myself and anyone else ever had was 'you break it, you pay for it' other than that I don't have any problem.

Trouble is, in my experience the bands that turn up without their gear (if they even have any...) are the ones who display the sort of "give-a-{censored}" attitude or personal and financial disorganisation that's going to make it very unlikely that you will actually get a penny for any damage to your gear.

Ditto olgluefoot's "collateral" idea. Generalising, but the guitarist in that sort of band isn't going to turn up with a guitar you'd want to keep if he did break your amp. Besides, doesn't he need the guitar and the amp to play the gig? Or is that the point?

What it boils down to for me is that if you want to be a musician, you buy a {censored}ing instrument, and you bring it to your performances. If you can't be arsed to do that, stay in the audience. Too many people out there who want to be rock stars. This is just one way to weed out the twats. Do that and people might be a bit more keen to support grassroots live music.

/rant

[Alt-me]

+1 Bob

[Kung Fu Panda]

If anyone tried to ask me to use my {censored} I would say {censored} NO and if they didn't like it I would put them in a sleeper hold and wail on their face!

 

complaining about it on the interent is kindo f lame,. Just do it!

 

[TomWales]

Trouble is, in my experience the bands that turn up without their gear (if they even have any...) are the ones who display the sort of "give-a-{censored}" attitude or personal and financial disorganisation that's going to make it very unlikely that you will actually get a penny for any damage to your gear. Ditto olgluefoot's "collateral" idea. Generalising, but the guitarist in that sort of band isn't going to turn up with a guitar you'd want to keep if he did break your amp. Besides, doesn't he need the guitar and the amp to play the gig? Or is that the point?

Exactly why I never lend out anything.

[Strat87]

We only let people we know well use our gear. And its gonna sound like we're a bunch of dicks, but some of our friends have no way of repairing/ replacing our stuff so that's an automatic "no". I worked my ass off to afford the gear I've got, maybe they should try the same . I played a show where WE booked it and got them on the bill, they showed up with no amps demanding to use ours AND change their slot. To top it off the bass player needed a strap. WTF. And then they left before our set, classy move.

 

My drummer has been pretty lax about sharing his kit, and most of the bands we play with are the same. That's their deal, not mine. Usually at the show we play we bring an SVT for the bass rig for the night, someone else brings a kit, and unless something is worked out prior you bring at least a head if not a whole amp.

 

AND NOBODY USES MY BOARD

[Mind_Riot89]

I absolutely detest people who borrow gear. Unfortunately the only opportunities I ever seem to have to actually gig is at battle of the bands where this sort of {censored} goes on all the {censored}ing time. People make YOU feel guilty because you have worked hard to buy this gear and won't lend it to some talentless dick who'll play some generic/derivative indie music and win the whole {censored}ing competition. Bitter, perhaps. Killer tones? They all belong to me, NO ONE ELSE.

[english_bob]

My drummer has been pretty lax about sharing his kit, and most of the bands we play with are the same. That's their deal, not mine.

I think this sort of thing is more common among drummers- it's that much more of a pain in the ass to bring a whole kit to a gig and it takes forever to switch over full kits between bands. However, it should be a given that you arrange this beforehand, thank the guy who's letting you play his kit and treat it with respect. Show some manners, make your mother proud

Guitar rigs are different. You can get a reasonable sized combo amp, a guitar and a pedalboard in a modestly sized car (I know, I've done it) or a taxi, and it takes minutes to set up. No excuse. Sharing a 4x12" makes sense on some bills, but once again, arrange ahead of time, thank the guy that's doing you a favour and treat his gear like it was made of gold.

Straps? Strings? Leads? Picks? You don't have those? No gig for you