ShortScale.org

In London, maybe selling car, possibility of recording / gigging.

What does one do ? Goes to maplins to buy some wheels to carry his Classic 30 & pedal board around the busy streets of London... on tubes, buses etc

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=97489

Reduced from £35 to £19.99... can carry up to 80kg.

Other considerations have been Gator G112A amp case http://images.miretail.com/products/opt ... 279804.jpg and a general luggage case on wheels. In the end I thought this would be the best route mainly for it being so compact.

I will eventually find some foam to sit underneath to protect from bumps and knocks. The metal base itself covers the whole entire base of the amp and the whole thing is generally pretty easy to cart around. Well around my flat anyways.... Should save a few taxi fares. In practice it could be a bit of a mare.

Excuse the dust...

Why are you selling your car? I'd find it impossible to gig here without mine. Half the time we need to bring drums though. You'd take this on the tube (escalators) and on the bus home on a Friday or Saturday night after a gig? Brave or kerazzy.

I don't really warrant having a car in London anymore really. It isn't definite yet but at the moment I'm getting shafted both ways... and neither is cost effective. I'd probably be best of buying a travelcard and have freedom to roam whenever I likes... and I don't have a car for people to take a lend of !!! Like carrying the drummers kit etc etc.

How do you find it anyways ? Parking ? congestion charge etc etc ? isn't that a hassle in itself ?

Well I live in Muswell Hill, which doesn't have a tube station, so gigging without a car would start off with a bus journey, and playing somewhere like Brixton would take a 4 hour round trip and be incredibly exhausting. Getting home after the gig would be hell. I've only had to pay congestion charge once or twice (when playing in Brick Lane I think) because it's not in force after 6 and at weekends. There aren't that many venues within the congestion charge area. Parking never seems to be a major problem- unload outside the venue then park a couple of streets away. I did get one ticket in Camden a few years ago though, which was annoying.

Aye, I hear what you're saying... it's 50/50 for me in deciding what to do. What about the drink factor ?... argh. I hate it sometimes despite giving you a lot freedom, it can also be like owning a child. Or maybe I just think drinking is too important.

The one real gig I did down here was at the Borderline just off Charing Cross Road, so I guess I'm a little jaded by that.

Quite often, I'd much prefer to be the guy who blags a lift and not have a worry in the world... there so many around !!

I'm moving home soon anyways, so the trolley will out to good use regardless.

Woah, I really dig your case with the stickers, looks fab!
The trolley is nice too

kick ass ride

I have the exact same trolley

othomas2 wrote:Quite often, I'd much prefer to be the guy who blags a lift and not have a worry in the world... there so many around !!

I have become that man in Master Charger, and it is quite liberating. I used to be 'Fran's Taxi's' but i now only have a company van which im not allowed to use outside work.

the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

stewart wrote:the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

i thought i would only ever need my encore strat and my park amp. Happy days.

ohyeahfuzzbear wrote:

stewart wrote:the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

i thought i would only ever need my encore strat and my park amp. Happy days.

I only bring my guitar and my champ to gigs these days. It sounds great, is fairly loud, and I can always mic it up.

stewart wrote:the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

How much crap do you normally carry around? I've never really done many gigs as a guitarist, I've been playing bass live for years now and that's usually easy because there's almost always a bass amp at the venue, so it's just turn up, plug in and play.

ekwatts wrote:

stewart wrote:the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

How much crap do you normally carry around? I've never really done many gigs as a guitarist, I've been playing bass live for years now and that's usually easy because there's almost always a bass amp at the venue, so it's just turn up, plug in and play.

One of them bastards are you?

not as good as mine: 1# trolly £15.38

BacchusPaul wrote:

ekwatts wrote:

stewart wrote:the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

How much crap do you normally carry around? I've never really done many gigs as a guitarist, I've been playing bass live for years now and that's usually easy because there's almost always a bass amp at the venue, so it's just turn up, plug in and play.

One of them bastards are you?

I'd say I've gone over to the dark side, but I feel I should probably refer to it as the "easy" side, considering it is. In every sense.

Anyway, not that it matters now that the band is over, I'm definitely getting back into the guitar for good.

Fran wrote:

othomas2 wrote:Quite often, I'd much prefer to be the guy who blags a lift and not have a worry in the world... there so many around !!

I have become that man in Master Charger, and it is quite liberating. I used to be 'Fran's Taxi's' but i now only have a company van which im not allowed to use outside work.

Would be nice, then I could get a car that wasn't an estate/touring for once.

Russ CAUTIONHORSES had one of those from Maplins too; broke on the way to its first gig :/

ekwatts wrote:

stewart wrote:the trolley looks quite useful, but i'd need two of the fuckers to shift all my gear. annoying, because i took up guitar thinking all i'd need would be a yamaha pacifica and a pignose clipped to my belt... how wrong i was.

How much crap do you normally carry around? I've never really done many gigs as a guitarist, I've been playing bass live for years now and that's usually easy because there's almost always a bass amp at the venue, so it's just turn up, plug in and play.

2 amps, 2 guitars, pedal case. If i was pushed i could obviously do a gig with 1 guitar, my pedals and a house guitar amp but i prefer to use my own gear whenever possible. Makes soundchecking a breeze. I always take a backup guitar in case of string breakage.

Get some BUNGIE cords on that bad boy or you'll be in smashed tube city.