How do you cope with unexpected mishaps during performances?

E

Elias

New member
Hmmm...just wondering...what will you guys do when you run into problems during your gig...example. your guitar string snaps in the middle of a song. Continue till the end of the song and restring? Stop the whole song? Borrow another band's guitar?

Or let's say when one of the instruments got issue (eg. no sound), do you all stop the song or just continue first without that instrument?

Do you guys play some impromptu interlude stuff between songs while waiting for the affected instrument/amp gets fixed/changed?

Just curious as to how you guys cope with such problems...can learn from you guys as well ;)

Personally, I haven't had my strings snapped during a gig before :lol: But I've instances when my string slipped out of the nut, or sometimes when my pedals didn't work for short instances... My case is slightly problematic cos I'm a lefty and I can't borrow another guitarist's axe should I run into any major problem! :smt022
 
haha i guess it's applies for diff ppl...some ppl do not mind taking 2 guitars out. btw elias..how'd your string slip out...sounds scary enough!
personally i'm a lazy person so i'll bring 1 guitar tt's it. My last gig my multieffects would'nt turn it's flanger off...tt was meant for the solo onli...eventualy i played the whole song with it:)
 
Hahaha! Yeah, multi-effects easier to trouble-shoot and recover from mishaps compared to pedals ^^ I feel that as long as got sound come out, it's okay to use basic distortion to play thru the song...worst case is when the sound is cut off or cannot change to distortion mode...^^

As for my string slippage...I think it was due to my guitar being new at that time (I just ordered it and brought it to gig within the same week without really setting it up), and probably I changed the string gauge and the low E string sprang out of the nut after a few songs...and I couldn't get it back in! (it just sprang out whenever I pulled it back into the nut)...and my bassist actually forced the string back and applied lots of pressure on it (haha..sounds like some gunshot wound or something *lol*) and managed to get it stuck back into the nut for the rest of the gig...:lol:

I would've brought 2 guitars if I'd have a vehicle! Cos usually, my pedal case and guitar can already kill me with exhausion! :?
 
Having such hiccups can be one hell of a nerve-wreck. Sweating, pulsating...

I have seen something that blew me away. In one of Led Zeppelin's past shows, Jimmy Page pulled out a solo so intense he broke his "G" string. He flicked that limp string away and continued his solo on the other remaining strings, without any sign of distraught. He did it with such style...its quite a spectacle. But then one thing, breakage of a string on a fixed bridge Les Paul doesn't affect the tuning on the rest of the strings that much.

If it was a Floyd rose bridge..things may get wobbly, then its probably too hard to stay in control.
Through my own experience i have not destroyed any string during a gig so far, as i ensure my strings are at most 2 days old only before the gig. If you lubricate your bridge/nut before gigs...it would help tremendously on string life.

Effects wise, I did encounter problems...in the end it was the patch cables. I recommend George L's, non-soldering, superior sound transparency and probably will not die in a million years.
 
hmm..as for gigs the problems always come in the mics...all our amps..so far has never let us down..
sumtimes in gigs the mics suddenli go silent or the feedback is too high stuff like dat..abt string snapping..hmm..none so far(thank god)

abt people falling on us..alot..
haha cute when u see ppl surfing then suddenli kena sabo and gets thrown on stage..haha..
 
i've had the 'nut-slipping' problem too...and i eventually changed the guitar nut, coz it was kinda bad. (due to usage of zakk's boomers, den change to normal string...killer man..) string snap also have before, and i end up continuing to play on, though the tuning was a lil' out. more or less, you gotta look cool, and just carry on playing, unless its really horrible sounding.

worst of all, was that when i first changed to .10s, i did my own setup (which went VERY bad), and my gig was the next night. During one song, i ended up with downtuned low E,and A. sounded very horrific. Contemplated stopping, but ended up playing on, just strumming the treble strings, and asking my bassist to play louder. but it sounded very horrible when the solo came on...but you gotta live with it.

never had problems with my pedals, but once, my amp just went dead, in the middle of a song...i had to give it a kick before it became alive again...haha.....


over the past few years, lessons learnt :bring at least 2 guitars, bring extra sets of strings, a string winder, string cutter. =)

we live to learn!
 
Really interesting to hear about all the incidents that happened during gigs :lol:

I think an alternative to playing a solo with snapped string(s) is to switch back to playing rhythm or try some rhythm variations...unless you're really good that you can transpose in realtime or play some other scales in the same key without using that string! *lol*

Being the only guitarist in the band is also not a good thing when it comes to incidents like these...at least the music still sounds good for bands with 2 guitarists should anything happen to one of the guitars.

But I think the safest solution is to bring two guitars lah (which is impossible for me... :cry: )
 
I had a gig once when i forgot my notes for a solo ... i turned out to be improvising .. tt was halfway thru the solo. stay calm.
 
Code: 
 Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 2:43 pm    Post subject:  

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The audio lags though..never used to when I 1st made that clip but yeah... 

how about this: 
[url]http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0AHW79RUGB3QD2RQ9MXKER5598[/url]  
[/quote]
hilarious...haha
Click to expand...
 
my click (headphones) dropped in the middle of a song once, and the backing tracks all else went out. the band slipped into disarray.

lucky it was during soundcheck.


pure shite if it was the actual performace.
 
turbochicken said:
my click (headphones) dropped in the middle of a song once, and the backing tracks all else went out. the band slipped into disarray.

lucky it was during soundcheck.


pure shite if it was the actual performace.
Click to expand...

Yeah...that'd be disasterous if it's the actual performance. Your band plays with a sequencer/sampler/programmed loops alongside real drums?
 
I was playing acoustic rhythm for a songwritting competition for my friend once...and the admin was pretty screwed up...we were suppose to have a soundcheck...but somehow that never happened...

and when we went on and play...the bass was too loud and i couldnt hear myself.....In the end i have to bend down from time to time to the sound hole of the accoustic to hear my guitar...ahahhahaa...And we couldnt hear the keyboards as well...ahahhaa.. but somehow we got into the finals...hahah :lol:
 
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