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Topic: When asked to play outside...what do you setup on? |
Dick Chapple Sr
From:
Hardin Montana, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 5:26 pm |
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Good evening all.
Well folks at 75 plus years old I am excited to say I am invited to play for a church camp meeting tomorrow night.
I am playing old cowboy music.
I do not see a platform of any kind to set up on. there is no sidewalk, it is just a rough lawn.
What is best to do? wWuld I set up on a sheet of plywood?
A rubber mat? what do you guys do?
Thanks much.
Dick  |
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Dick Chapple Sr
From:
Hardin Montana, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 5:30 pm Being asked.
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| I should have added that other than volunteering to play, actually being asked to play after being heard before is a real first. this is exciting, just working to make up for lost time. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 5:37 pm
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I would use a piece of plywood that's comfortably larger than the footprint of your steel. Forget the rubber mat; that's too flimsy for positive pedal action. Plus whatever your steel is on, your packaseat will also be on so, again, forget the mat. Gotta have a firm, solid, and even surface.
And congratulations on the gig! Enjoy it!
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Chuck Stowe
From:
Sycamore, Illinois, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 5:39 pm
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I've used a piece of plywood, it is one of the best of poor choices. Even then things tend to wobble. But it sure beat the time I set up on the ground and two of the legs on my seat sank four inches into the earth!
_________________
1980 Emmons PP D10, Hilton Pedal, Peavey Session 500 & Nashville 112 |
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Dick Chapple Sr
From:
Hardin Montana, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 5:49 pm Thanks
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Hah!! Yes, I can see sinking a real possibility, was it your hind legs that sank Chuck, that would make one feel like he's on a low rider. I figured probably a sheet of plywood. A 3 x 4 sheet would be just barely adequate.
Thanks much.
Dick |
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Curry Coster
From:
Glen Burnie, MD USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 6:46 pm
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You should also bring some small pieces of wood of differing thicknesses to shim any low spots under the plywood.......
Curry |
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Bill L. Wilson
From:
Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 7:10 pm Plywood Works for Me.
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| In a situation like that, I carry two pieces of plywood. One is cut just a bit bigger than my Emmons, and the other one is a bit bigger than my Pac-a-Seat. I connect them with small lock hasps and clips, so the wood doesn't move when sliding my seat back. I have a little Ford Transit Connect van, so the wood is easy to haul with my equipment. If you have a small car the plywood thing might not work. |
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 7:49 pm
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| One time in a pinch, I used the floor mats from our car. They worked, but, were too soft and flimsy. I now use the thick rubber bed mat from my truck. It very tough and stable and big enough to place my steel, seat and amp. Plus, it protects from the damp or wet ground. Plywood is another good choice to use. That's why I dislike outside gigs. |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 8:07 pm
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| Curry Coster wrote: |
You should also bring some small pieces of wood of differing thicknesses to shim any low spots under the plywood.......
Curry |
Yes, indeed! |
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Dick Chapple Sr
From:
Hardin Montana, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 9:16 pm plywood
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Thanks for the input guys.
Thankfully I do have a van, so plywood is not a problem to haul. I like the heavy rubber idea also.
Well by this time tomorrow night it'll all be over.
I hope that there will be more nice gigs to do.
Dick |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 9:35 pm
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Plywood better. Much more critical for seat than guitar.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Goux
From:
California, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2016 11:22 pm
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Wooden coasters. The kind you set drinks on. They support the legs of the steel, and your seat if necessary. They also stabilize the guitar from sinking into carpet or dirt when pressing on the pedals.
A plywood platform would be better, but with all the stuff I drag around, I don't want to carry anything heavy. The coasters are light and tuck into your bag.
These days, I'm surprised when I have a flat, solid place to set up the steel.
J |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 5:09 am
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I made a platform out of 2 2x2 pcs. of plywood hinged together so I can fold it up to transport. Unfold it with the hinges down and it locks straight across. It's large enough for the steel and seat.
Fortunately, I don't have to use it often.
Another concern is the volume pedal if you don't have a platform, particularly if it's an open pedal like an Emmons etc. It will hum like crazy if you don't insulate the electronics from the ground. Place something underneath it like cardboard, thin plywood etc. I designed a copper tape insulated aluminum plate for my Derby pedal just for this reason. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 7:06 am
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They make a folding plastic office chair pad.
That would be a lot easier to tote around than a sheet of plywood. |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 7:43 am
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| A 4x4 sheet of plywood, already cut, costs ballpark $22 at Home Depot or Lowes. Big enough to put everything on, small enough to carry without undue strain, sturdy enough to support and insulate. Altho I DO like Jerry's idea of the hinges. |
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John Swain
From:
Winchester, Va
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 10:14 am
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| After a bad outdoor experience sinking in soft sod, I made a 3/4 plywood cut 40x40". Radiused the corners, cut two hand holes, routed all edges will 3/8" round-over bit. It'll stand up behind the seat on most cars. As Jerry said, if you get a ground hum putting plastic bag under an open bottom(Emmons) pedal will help. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 1:10 pm Good Question............
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The Television band I played in for several years used to get a lot of one night stands.
It never failed, whenever we played a golf course setting, the groundskeeper would diligently water the site the night before so that at least an inch of water would be left standing. No.......no.
Same band, we played at Sakajawia Park in Longview Wash.
For at least two sets I kept getting this definite tingling in my hands and could have literally died. We were playing on a hundred year old badly decaying floating dock.....on the lake water.
Plain cement is equally hazardous for electrical shock.
BEWARE!  |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 2:43 pm
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When asked to play outside...I usually say, "Thanks, but no thanks."
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Robert Parent
From:
Gillette, WY
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 2:49 pm
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Don't forget to include a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) for your power source. No way I would ever play outside or a damp surface without one. Actually I won't play anyplace without one, very cheap insurance.
Robert |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 26 Aug 2016 5:30 pm
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| Robert Parent wrote: |
Don't forget to include a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) for your power source. No way I would ever play outside or a damp surface without one. Actually I won't play anyplace without one, very cheap insurance.
Robert |
...yep, good advice... particularly if you are playing and singing into a mic at the same time.  |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2016 9:40 am
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| Robert Parent wrote: |
Don't forget to include a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) for your power source. No way I would ever play outside or a damp surface without one. Actually I won't play anyplace without one, very cheap insurance.
Robert |
Do you use a regular residential Ground Fault Interrupter, or one of the multi-outlet "surge protectors" like you'd use for a computer? |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 28 Aug 2016 9:53 am
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A surge protector strip doesn't contain GFI.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 28 Aug 2016 10:21 am
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| Jim Cohen wrote: |
When asked to play outside, I usually head for the Lydian dominant mode...  |
Too funny! |
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Don R Brown
From:
Rochester, New York, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2016 10:46 am
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| Lane Gray wrote: |
| A surge protector strip doesn't contain GFI. |
Thanks Lane. Looks like a trip to the big orange store is in order.  |
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