[Harp-L] Gear Creep

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

I rarely bring an amp to a jam.  i have a Seydel hard case which  
holds a set  of 12 custom harps and 8 Suzuki Hammonds in the most  
used keys as spares. I always carry a spare set of harps. All are  
Richter tuned.  I play in 6 positions and don't use special tunings.   
In my case I also have a lo-z 545 Ultimate, a 25' XLR chord with an  
on/off switch on it and a rat tail IMT in case I need it. At a jam,   
I'll usually play just through the PA or maybe someone else's amp or  
maybe another harp player's rig.  I don't like using a bullet mic,  
but other than that, I'm not all that particular if it's just a jam.  
Just take my little Seydel case and I'm good to go. I prefer to  
travel light.

If I'm sitting in with a particular band I may or may not bring an  
amp or an amp and pedal board.  If I bring an amp I ALWAYS have a  
Furman 6 outlet surge block with me which also serves as an extension  
cord that's about 15' long.  EXTREMELY useful piece of gear that gets  
used A LOT.  If i have my Princeton Reverb RI or my Super Reverb RI  
it fits easily in the back of the amp.  My SWR Baby Baby Blue bass  
amp (which I love) has a sealed back.  So i had a padded Studio Slips  
custom cover made for it that has an exterior zippered pocket on it  
which is big enough to carry the surge block and the power cord for  
the amp.  I have 2 different pedal boards (one for the Fenders and a  
different one for the SWR).  They are both Pedaltrain boards (a Nano  
and a Mini) which have soft carrying cases.

Now, for an actual gig, I'll also carry what i call my paying gig bag  
which has spare cords, spare power supplies, extension cords, spare  
power cord, small tool kit and various other "just in case" items.

I have a little folding 4 wheel cart i keep in my trunk which I use  
to haul my amp and pedalboard (and gig bag  for an actual paying gig)  
if I bring them to a venue.  But if I'm just using the Princeton, and  
it's not a paying gig, the Princeton is so small that I may not use  
the little cart and will just carry the amp (with the Furman surge  
block in the back of it) and my little Seydel case.

Btw, the Seydel hard case (which isn't really all that hard) is a  
very compact and intelligently designed case that holds more than you  
think it could . Love it.

JP