Lunch Report.....here it is...

[OrangeChannel]

Lunch was breakfast again....This time a Dunkin Donuts XL Coffee and a Wheat bagel with Facon, Feggs, and Cheese (cheese is the only real stuff there).

Musica en Rotation...Atomship, The new Datsuns record, DT's Cleaning Out the Closet FanClub CD, and Velvet Revolver.

Gear supremacy should be in check soon.

Todays lesson is about taking care of your stuff....how many of you guys do it? As in roadcasing a combo amp so it doesn' get damaged, mounting your pedals on a pedalboard with a case so they don't get wrecked....stuff like that. Protecting the investment as I like to call it.

Discuss...

 

[bing4sons]

Todays lesson is about taking care of your stuff....how many of you guys do it? As in roadcasing a combo amp so it doesn' get damaged, mounting your pedals on a pedalboard with a case so they don't get wrecked....stuff like that. Protecting the investment as I like to call it.

Discuss... [/B]

I have a Pedaltrain pedal board. It comes with it's own case (see 2nd post in the "Official" pics-o-my-guitar Thread).

I have a cover form my Fender HRD, but no road case. I just travel from home to church with it. My amp and pedal board fit just right next to each other in my truck, so they don't move around.

Of course I have a HSC for each of my guitars and I don't leave them in the heat for any period of time. I have a hydrometer in my Taylor case. I run a humidifier in my room during the winter and don't have to do anything during the summer. I also maintain my guitars very well.

 

[Jimi D]

I have a pedal board, but I got it because I'm lazy and didn't want to bother hooking up and disconnecting my pedals every time I used them, not because I wanted to protect the pedals themselves (although I suppose that is a nice side-effect ) I don't bother with casing my amps because I'm the only one that hauls them around, so if they get all banged up (and they do) I have no one to blame but myself... I try and take good care of my guitars - well, the necks anyway - but I'm not adverse to leaving them out on the stand in the house or practice space, and I wouldn't sell one dirt cheap because I dinged it with wire cutters when stringing it up (duh! ) Basically, I think of them all as tools, and like any good tool they're going to suffer some wear and tear, but that's cool; it just gives them more personality.

 

[bing4sons]

I have a pedal board, but I got it because I'm lazy and didn't want to bother hooking up and disconnecting my pedals every time I used them, not because I wanted to protect the pedals themselves (although I suppose that is a nice side-effect

Ditto. Along with a couple of other benefits I can think of.

 

[peter71]

I am terrible! I only use three pedals, so I just keep them in their boxes, and I have a paint box that I got in art school to hold my pics and tools and little stuff.

But my guitar has tons of beauty marks on it. It came with a few, but I have added my fair share of them. I am just clumsy and tend to run into things wiht my guitar on. It may also have been dropped once or twice (once by my wife, but I offered some weak "It's ok..." and just mild hold it against her). So overall, I try to be good, but I fail miserably...


Oh, and my old gig amp had a cracked casing complements of me. You know, some of those Rolands have wheels? They just fly off the stage if you accidentally kick them...

 

[pack-rat]

Omlette with jack cheese and rye bread and coffee.

Clean clean clean.

I take my stuff apart and clean the insides, kind of like a colonic for electronic gear.

Amp get's opened up around every 2 months or so and any dust that has accumulated gets removed.

Pots and switches on my gear including my guitars gets cleaned regularly.
I'm pretty anal when it comes to servicing my gear. I can't afford when things break. I don't have a humidifier or a dehumidifier though.
When i get my rig togeather though i am investing in a line conditioner. They are around $100.00 and are rack mount. They really clean up the electrical signal and prevent interference, and pops and surges that shorten electronic life of equipment. They really work !

Dust sends electronics to an early grave. Especialy in smoking environment.

If you have wheels on your gear, i prefer the ones that the wheels lock.

 

[peter71]

Pack-rat, I know that you say nice things like:

If you have wheels on your gear, i prefer the ones that the wheels lock.

But what you really mean is:

Sinner!

Thanks for the post about electronics. It is something that I never think about. I am kind of a destructo when it comes to gear. And cars. And anything that is electronic or that I touch.

Do you use anything in particular to clean your electronics or your amp? Thanks man!

Oh, and my lunch today was a conglomeration of processed crap (chips, cheese and crackers, yogurt, granola bar, etc...) washed down with water. For health reasons...

 

[pack-rat]

Sry if i have came accross as "holier than thou" with the wheels.
I should have said :
I don't have any wheels on my gear. I hate wheels. I don't have the "problem" of lugging gear around so I don't have wheels. If I did I would use cases with wheels that lock.

Open the equipment up. Don't be afraid just make sure it is unplugged. If it is dusty you can get compressed air in a can and blow out the dust. I have my vaccum on when i do this to catch the dust coming out. (Mine doesn't get that dirty but my computer does though.) I've done friends though who are smokers and it is unreal the amount of dust.
One had problems turning on and would shut down after awhile.
I opened it up and it was really dusty. After doing light maitenence it worked fine and never shut down after that. It was probably overheating because of the dust.
I wonder if some technicians charge more saying something is wrong when all it needed was a cleaning.
After you can use a product that is used to clean electrical contacts at Radio Shack.
If the case is still lightly dusty on the inside (sometimes small dust will stick to the case) I use a slightly damp cloth to wipe the case to get the dust off.

One more thing when changing vac tubes : USE GLOVES ! The oils on your finger will get on the tube if you don't, causing the tube to heat up on the outside unevenly and shortening the tube's life. I don't care if you want to flame me on this. I learned that from a Russian friend of my dad who is an electronics wizard. It was later confirmed when I was reading a Hi-fi magazine about tube amps and pre-amps.

 

[pack-rat]

Oh BTW I have America's Ventura Highway playing on my MP3
Really great arangement and production. Nice guitar riff and really simple, radio friendly song.

 

[koogie2k]

Lunch....today I had lunch with the Captain of the USS Kearsarge. I was getting them out of a bind and he was kind enough to offer me lunch at his galley.....dude eats pretty good I might add....Surf and Turf....all ya can eat....(for a skinny dude, I put a dent in his monthly allowance...hehehehehe)

Listening to.....The Police boxset...Me and OC were talking IM last night and it was brought up so I popped the disc in and realized I still love 'em....great band.

I am a clean freak myself. I always wipe down my guitars and what not. I like to put them in their case, sing to them, and give them a warm and fuzzy feeling if you will.

Pedal boards? Not me, I have a processor and that is it to go with my Marshall. I dust it off as needed. I make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies to keep the dust bunnies at bay.

I am not a gear techno guy by any means. In fact, OC has been helping me in that department. Once I get to rehab for my "guitar buying" addiction, I will be re-doing my effects with some help from OC......

 

[peter71]

Hey pack-rat, there was no intention of making you holier than anything. I just was trying to be funny.

I will try that else where...

Anyway, I had some good Microsoft Pizza for lunch today and am listening to Peter Gabriel and Rush exclusively for today.

Another thing I thought I would ask, as long as we are on the "caring for your eq" topic, How do you guys arrange your gear? I mean, in my old house (a rental) I made a book shelf that housed my amp and pedals. I added power strips to the inside of it and a spot for my fourtrack and had this fun little work station. All I had to do was plug in my guitar and flip one switch and it was all ready to go.

Of course for most of my life I was just an "Amp on the floor, Pedals strewn about" kind of guy. I have reverted back to that stage since my apartment is too small for any great storage apperatus like I had before...

 

[kbaim]

Lunch....today I had lunch with the Captain of the USS Kearsarge. I was getting them out of a bind and he was kind enough to offer me lunch at his galley

Koogie. Is that a destroyer or what?
Full steam ahead (as soon as I figure out this damn lick)

The only captain I've ever had a meal with was Captain Picard when I was watching Next Generation in syndication.

KEITH

 

[OrangeChannel]

http://picard.ytmnd.com/