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Topic: Setting up on a Gravel surface. |
Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Joe Krumel
From:
Hermitage, Tn.
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Posted 25 Jun 2022 4:47 pm |
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Necessity is the mother of .....you know the rest.  |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Dave Hopping
From:
Aurora, Colorado
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Posted 25 Jun 2022 5:46 pm
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Yup.
People who hire live bands need to be led by the nose relative to a proper playing surface. As does whomever books the gig.
One time the band was expected to set up in a horse stall, ankle deep in hay, and perhaps a road apple or two. I have carpeted sheets of plywood in my pickup bed so no problem except for getting the hay out next day. Here's a pic.
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 25 Jun 2022 6:27 pm
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One time at a house party we were asked to set up on a lawn that sloped downward. It was the only available place to set up, unfortunately. So I did a quick search around the grounds and I found a surfboard behind the garage. I used that to prop up the front legs of my pedal steel and we got through the gig fine. So now we check in advance about the playing surface at outdoor parties. Today's function was in a pavilion, so we assumed it would have a cement floor, but no, it was gravel. I always have 4 heavy duty mats in my car... but I need to get a couple more!
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 25 Jun 2022 9:00 pm
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When I played in Dick Rutan's Band, He got a birth day party gig in Pennsylvania. We had to set up in a lawn, And it rained a day or 2 before the party. I sat down on my seat it started tilting, Could not tune my guitar, The front legs went in ground and the pedals were on the ground. We searched in a building and found enough old metal pickle jar lids for my seat and guitar legs and I made it through the gig.
I had a 3/4" X 4' X 4' piece of plywood and a piece of carpet that rode to unknown gigs after that. Worked on grass, gravel and cold concrete. |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 26 Jun 2022 4:35 am
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You’re gonna need a bigger mat!
_________________
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Carl Williams
From:
Oklahoma
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Posted 26 Jun 2022 4:41 am OCD’ish
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Hey Doug,
Only a Steel player (We/Us) would #1 Think of using gloves and #2, place the gloves as you did 🤔😉👍. Thinkin’ under the box….🤔. |
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George McLellan
From:
Duluth, MN USA
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Posted 26 Jun 2022 6:19 am
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Those gloves sure came in “handy”.
Geo |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 26 Jun 2022 7:28 am
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I've taken to carrying these plastic flower pot coasters. For more serious issues such as setting up on a deep grassy lawn (for which these may/may not work), I keep a 40" 1x3 in the car. My concern is the front legs settling into the grass and the pedals bottoming out. Which is to say, this happened to me once and it sure as hell was not going to happen again.
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 26 Jun 2022 7:48 am
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This was once a table top that a winery we played at was discarding. They gave it to me. I keep it in my van for use when playing outdoors.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Daniel Baston
From:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 26 Jun 2022 12:04 pm
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| George McLellan wrote: |
Those gloves sure came in “handy”.
Geo |
Ha!
Some clever, useful ideas in this thread. A downhill playing surface, I would have thought that one at least would be obvious to the show organizers, but I guess not! |
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Mike Bacciarini
From:
Arizona
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Posted 27 Jun 2022 5:04 am
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I made this 4x4 3/4” ply with hinges and a “handle”. With hinges down it’s super solid. Painted it with non-skid “sand” paint. But I think Jon’s idea may be the simplest and most practical.
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MCI Arlington S-10 3+5, George L E-66, BJS & Emmons bars, Fender Stage Lead II 100W 1x12, Fender Satellite SFX, custom FX rack, 1983 Dobro 60D, Martin D16GT, Ibanez AS73, 1978 Rickenbacker 4000 custom.
Last edited by Mike Bacciarini on 27 Jun 2022 12:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 27 Jun 2022 5:58 am
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Many years ago when I did the three-month Summer gig in Medora, ND, we were sent out on a promo appearance. Doing these in the first weeks was part of the obligation to the show.
This was early-June. Weather in ND is hard to predict (we once had our June 3rd Opening Night canceled because it was snowing!) but, on this occasion, it was baking hot.
Our promo was set to happen in the parking lot of a big local Dickenson bank. We duly put our gear in place and all seemed well. The surface, though, was tarmac and maybe it had recently been laid. My steel was okay; it was my seat with my considerable weight on it. I couldn't figure out why my knee-levers were getting hard to reach until I saw that the legs of my Steeler's Choice had sunk three inches into the surface!
Someone found a board just big enough for my chair and all was well (IF you discount the ill-effects of direct sunlight and 90º on my tuning!)
Fortunately, we just performed a short excerpt from the show - 15 minutes later, it was over. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2022 7:47 am
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I've used those plastic office mats before, I even have a folding one.
Erv |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 27 Jun 2022 8:11 am
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| Quote: |
| ...the ill-effects of direct sunlight and 90º on my tuning! |
Speaking of heat... yesterday we played another an outdoor party (4 hours in 93° heat), not direct sunlight, but heat. By the last set, my 10th string (E9) was returning flat when releasing pedal A. So I tried tuning the string/pedal several times, but it was impossible to have both the raised pitch and the unraised pitch in tune. It was either one or the other, so I went with the raised pitch. Today, back at home, I set up the steel and that pedal raise tunes perfectly!  So the heat affected either the rods, the springs, or the string itself.
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
Last edited by Doug Beaumier on 27 Jun 2022 10:40 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Jack Stanton
From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
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Posted 27 Jun 2022 9:15 am
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Doug,
Should have brought the push pull! |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 27 Jun 2022 4:59 pm
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I use the rubber mat out of my trucks bed. Works great!
However, I've used the vehicles floor mats too.
Played last Saturday night and used the truck mat because the floor was gravel. |
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