Gig proofing my MFC-101 (and other gear)

[piofusco]

Played a bar in Athens this weekend and had too many "close encounters" with some rowdy fans. While I have musicians insurance which covers this sort of incident if my stuff is damaged or broken, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to make my FAS equipment more "gig-proof" (split drinks, falling mic stands, etc). Would prefer avoid filing a claim.

Thanks.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I'd say there's no real way to "protect" your MFC from stupid people spilling beer on it (unless you put foil around it, which looks ugly). The bad thing is: most likely, when this happens, the MFC will still function properly, so it's hard to actually file a claim. However, the stickyness will never really go away... If it's beer, open it up, clean it and maybe use some contact cleaner. If it's a cocktail or anything sugar-related, you are pretty much screwed.

When you are not playing, cover it up with a blanket. I recommend this for any gear. Also helps to keep the dust out.

 

[Roland]

My personal solution is to make the playing area visible. We run all the cables in front of the mic stands, taped down of course. I use red mic and monitor cables, rather than the normal black, which makes them more visible. If you use PARs as footlights it makes it even more visible.

I also chose to use an FCB1010 rather than an MFC so that I can afford to carry a spare.

 

[ta6rma]

A large clear ziploc bag or polythene sheet over the MFC will protect against beer spillage - I had a lucky escape recently

 

[dpeterson]

clear shower curtain, can make a bunch of them out of one, and pull down over... also never forget chicken cage wire worked for the blues brothers.

 

[ScottyB]

also never forget chicken cage wire worked for the blues brothers.

Thanks for this morning's chuckle Dave. :encouragement:

 

[Rich G.]

I've taken heavy duty plastic wrap and put it over the top of my midi controller before.

It's the stuff movers put down on carpet when bringing furniture in. It's about 2' wide and has a sticky backing. You can get a roll of it at Lowes.

It saved my controller many times from being doused with drinks when people trip on the front edge of the stage.

 

[barhrecords]

Plastic works great to protect the foot controller but I've only used it for inclement weather gigs not for beer spillage.

For impact damage you need handles or something higher than the footswitch on the sides and/or rear of the pedal board. That way falling objects that are bigger than the footswitch will hit the handles and not make full contact.

 

[piofusco]

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is exactly what I was looking for!