Live festival tip for the spring / summer festival season; MFC and midi controllers

Larry Mitchell

Larry Mitchell

Power User
I have played lots of out door stages at festivals and so many times it has rained. During this time of year i carry in my Rig bag 2 Ziploc LARGE (2 feet by 20 inch bags). Yes they make them that big and i got them at a Walmart for around 3 bucks for a pack of 4. If it rains I slip my midi controller (yes the MFC 101 Fits nicely) in it and close the bag except where the cables for midi/power come in. The mission engineering EP-1 will fit in there as well or you can get a smaller bag for expression pedals if you have a few. I carry a bag for my Ultra as well but I try to keep that far back on the stage usually in a covered area anyway. It helps get the my setup off the stage quickly after the performance. This will keep your gear dry, I would only put it in the bag if it started raining and take it out immediately after it stops. I am not sure electronics should be on and running while in a plastic bag. :) But it works.

Happy festivals!
 
Larry,

Great tip about outdoor shows and ziplock bags. I have used a drop painter's drop cloth with varying results over the years. (Rain, rain, go away....). Your method makes MUCH more sense.
 
Larry Mitchell said:
I have played lots of out door stages at festivals and so many times it has rained. During this time of year i carry in my Rig bag 2 Ziploc LARGE (2 feet by 20 inch bags). Yes they make them that big and i got them at a Walmart for around 3 bucks for a pack of 4. If it rains I slip my midi controller (yes the MFC 101 Fits nicely) in it and close the bag except where the cables for midi/power come in. The mission engineering EP-1 will fit in there as well or you can get a smaller bag for expression pedals if you have a few. I carry a bag for my Ultra as well but I try to keep that far back on the stage usually in a covered area anyway. It helps get the my setup off the stage quickly after the performance. This will keep your gear dry, I would only put it in the bag if it started raining and take it out immediately after it stops. I am not sure electronics should be on and running while in a plastic bag. :) But it works.

Happy festivals!
Click to expand...

A very useful tip for us here in the UK, where you can pretty much expect all four seasons in a single day!
 
As some who has provided the PA at more than one of these events, and BEEN RAINED OUT more than once - what is it that event organizers do NOT GET when standing on top of cables in a pool of water on the stage, and being told that we can't power up until its dry, 'cus water and electricity don't mix !!!
I put the "thin" style trash bags over all my stage monitors, and tarps over the amp racks, awnings/covers of the mixing consoles and a supply of plastic containers into which to put mics, DI boxes and other electrical components... I can re-pack properly when not is such a hurry :)

Last time I got rained out (it was fully overcast, but NO RAIN was forecast that day).. I slung EVERY cable (minus snakes) into the back of my truck when we left and dumped them onto towels on the back room floor when I got home. Turned up the ceiling fan full, and they had dried in the am...
 
That's a fabulous tip, Larry, thanks! This is the sort of thing this forum is great for. And it goes to show that sometimes simple things are the most helpful. Once you know about this tip, it becomes so obvious you wonder how you could have not known about it before!

As an aside, the Glad bags sound better than the Ziploc brand ;-)
 
Glad you guys like it. It has helped me quite a few times before I got my MFC. So it was good find bags that fit the MFC well.. Scott, I like the fact with the ziploc bag you can see through the bag and step on the right switch. :0) plus you can close them up a bit to stop rain from rolling in.

Yes s0c9, wet cables are no fun! Even with the bags, the midi cable still get wet and I can not put it in my gear bag. Not sure what to so about that. :0)
 
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