May Issue - FOH Online

Brian: So, Ken, why is it that even when
we hire the best help we can find, they never
seem to be able to take the same care with
our gear that we do? I know most of this stuff
is built with the rigors of the road in mind, but
it’s still all got delicate little electronic circuit
boards inside.
Ken: I know exactly what you mean. I
have a guy who, for a while, would break a mic
clip minimum on every gig. And these are the
“unbreakable” ones! It’s like he has to meet
his breakage quota. He is also the type of
guy who can’t push a sub through a doorway
without smacking it on both sides. His asset
and his liability is pure brute force. You need
speakers stacked; he’s your man. You need a
knob sheared off; he’s your man.
Brian: Wow. I can’t say I have anyone
quite that bad recently. But goodness knows
I’m glad my stuff is in shock racks. Guys can’t
seem to get it through their skulls that this
stuff is still relatively fragile. “Set it down there”
doesn’t mean, “drop it where you’re standing.”
I don’t know how many times I have cringed
seeing others handle my gear… or other people’s
equipment for that matter.
Ken: Some of it is my fault. I have powered
wedges that weigh 75 pounds apiece and
don’t have cases or covers on them. I know
those are going to get chewed up a little.
We got some load-in help not too long ago
where a convention set-up person knocked
one off an amp rack. Is that his fault for not
paying attention, or mine for not having
them cased? Actually, I didn’t insist on using
my people for the long load-in push. Because
of the labor cost, the person paying the bill
34
The Anklebiters
MAY 2007
Keep It
Slam, bam,
thank you, man.
was more adamant about
using their people. It’s my
stuff; you’d think I’d know
better by now.
Brian: Well, I keep as much
of my stuff cased or covered
as I can. But at this stage of
the game, I can’t afford to
always buy a set of covers
each time I add a pair of
speaker cabinets to my arsenal.
At the moment, I have
about four padded speaker
covers to order, and I could
use another four trunks to
store wedges in. The gear
that protects the gear isn’t
cheap, either. And I have a
relatively large amount invested
in shock racks and the
like. I know of a few big touring
houses that don’t shock
rack their amps, and I’m
even picky about doing
that. Anything to protect
my gear from my friends,
you know?
Ken: Yeah, one of my
friends has a pretty good
sized regional company, and the case for one
of his big boy consoles costs more than the
desk I use the most. I love shock racks but use
them (can only afford them) on processing. I
use padded covers for speakers and find they
work pretty well. At least once a year, I have
seen a case roll off a truck or seen the resulting
catastrophe. The good news is the case
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By BrianCassell & KenRengering
usually keeps the broken scrap in one vicinity.
So far, I haven’t experienced this myself, knock
on 3 /8 or 1 /2 inch plywood.
Brian: The padded covers are definitely a
wonderful thing. There are some things, like
large P.A. cabinets that just wouldn’t make
sense inside of a road case anyways. I’ve been
fortunate to find most of my racks and road
cases on the used market. The amazing part is
that I have accumulated a set of amplifier and
outboard racks that are all the same make
and footprint. The only difference is that the
amp racks are shorter, and the effects racks
are taller.
Ken: It’s nice to have a couple of ampdepth,
matched-height racks that aren’t
too tall. I use these for my mixer stand,
and at 16 RUs, it brings the console up to
a comfortable level. Although I have noticed,
as I get fatter, having an amp rack
dissipate its heat at my crotch is not as
enjoyable as it once was. Also, with my
added fatness, my arms seem to be getting
shorter. Of course, the consoles are
not too deep, being on the smaller side
of the spectrum. I do think the being fat,
short-armed, with failing vision thing
brings a certain element of heightened
awareness to my mixing.
Brian: As long as we’re not “heightening
our awareness” via the use of mind-altering
substances, all is good. I think most of my
fatness is due to too much Guinness and
shepherd’s pie. And you can hardly consider
that mind-altering. Regardless, I tend to
use my 16 spacers for effects units and other
processing. I figure if I only have 10 or 12
spaces to play with, my amp racks can only
get so heavy. Even so, safe lifting technique
is still a necessity. I still prefer the technique
where I stand and say, “put it there,” while I
hope that I don’t have to cringe too much
when the help drops the thing.
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anklebiters@fohonline.com.
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