Topic: Waterproofing Gear...

[~sin213~]

I went to an outdoor festival last night, it was supposed to rain, so I didn't take my gear cause I didn't know how I would keep it dry.  So here's the kicker...it didn't rain, but the venue was spraying water on the crowd with firehoses, so the water was coming in from the top, sideways, the left and the right...how would you be able to protect gear under those circumstances?  I was soaked within about 10 mins - it wasn't cool, but there really wasn't anywhere to go.  Umbrellas wouldn't work, unless you had them all around you...gear bags would work to a point but probably couldn't have kept out that amount of water...and what about your mics?  They can't be in the bag too...

Any tips or tricks of the trade would be very helpful.
Also, feel free to post about shows you've been too that you were under severe conditions and tell me how you tried to work with what you had.

Thanx in advance!

[BWolf]

connect all gear > start recorder > place in garbage bag > twist top and tuck under.

thats about all you can do for rain or bad conditions.

[boojum]

connect all gear > start recorder > place in garbage bag > twist top and tuck under.

thats about all you can do for rain or bad conditions.

. . . umbrella or cover over mics???

[landshark]

"it didn't rain, but the venue was spraying water on the crowd with firehoses"

Where the heck were you?  Waterworld? <grin>

Of course, it could be a new anti-taper technique....

Mike

[anodyne33]

You could pull a Jon Merin with your mics.

[~sin213~]

"it didn't rain, but the venue was spraying water on the crowd with firehoses"

Where the heck were you?  Waterworld? <grin>

Of course, it could be a new anti-taper technique....

Mike

I'm in AZ and it was Ozzfest, so it is pretty hot and the people are crazy.  It wasn't even that hot that day...
I was thinking the same thing as you, though, that it was a technique...not so much for tapers as there never seems to be more than 4-5 tapers at any show (usually less), but rather for discouraging moshing, joints and fires.  I don't smoke, but I also had the theory that they were soaking everyone's cigarettes and then selling packs for like $20 at the stands.

Luckily, I had left my gear at home and my cellphone in the car...other people weren't so lucky (with cellphones, not gear)

Thanx for all the suggestions so far!

I've heard of the condom trick, but have heard that it messes up the sound by making it too bass heavy.  Go for the ultra sensitive...for my pleasure, of course. 

[F.O.Bean]

You could pull a Jon Merin with your mics.

this DOES NOT work great at all. he did this last moedown and the tapes came out subpar......

get an umbrella with wind pockets so the wind can go THRU the umbrella somewhat instead of wind knocking it over

also, carry metal tent stakes to stake down your stand I have recorded in the worst conditions EVER and my gear has been BOEN DRY at the end of the night. I also carry 5-6 heavy duty garbage bags like moke suggested. I carry extras for circumstances like all good two weeks ago, where otehr tapers arent prepared and you can help them out

[junkbondking]

mtnsmith cairns have the waterproof pocket as well.

sombrero crew always rolls at red rocks with a plethora of garbage bags.

[BWolf]

connect all gear > start recorder > place in garbage bag > twist top and tuck under.

thats about all you can do for rain or bad conditions.

. . . umbrella or cover over mics???

yes, small clamp on umbrella, with wind pockets and made of light material so you can't hear the rain. 

i dont' like using condoms (if you do decide to go this route, make sure to get the unlibricated kind).  while this works, you have to add more gain because of the decrease in sound pressure to the mics.  with the gain up so high, its likely that the tape will not sound as good as it would have without them.

[db]

I went to an outdoor festival last night, it was supposed to rain, so I didn't take my gear cause I didn't know how I would keep it dry.  So here's the kicker...it didn't rain, but the venue was spraying water on the crowd with firehoses, so the water was coming in from the top, sideways, the left and the right...how would you be able to protect gear under those circumstances?  I was soaked within about 10 mins - it wasn't cool, but there really wasn't anywhere to go.  Umbrellas wouldn't work, unless you had them all around you...gear bags would work to a point but probably couldn't have kept out that amount of water...and what about your mics?  They can't be in the bag too...

Any tips or tricks of the trade would be very helpful.
Also, feel free to post about shows you've been too that you were under severe conditions and tell me how you tried to work with what you had.

Thanx in advance!

for this situation you shut down and cover everything with plastic to the point where no h2o gets in...then you sit back and enjoy the music. there's always another gig to record. 

would you really listen to a tape made from condom covered mics? ever? nah.

[Corbin]

yes, small clamp on umbrella, with wind pockets and made of light material so you can't hear the rain. 

I've never tried it but I read here that you can place a rag or cloth on top of your stand's umbrella to lessen the sound of the rain drops as well..

What are these wind pockets for the umbrella you're talking about?  So the umbrella doesn't catch the wind?  Is it a DIY jobbie?

[~sin213~]

yes, small clamp on umbrella, with wind pockets and made of light material so you can't hear the rain. 

I've never tried it but I read here that you can place a rag or cloth on top of your stand's umbrella to lessen the sound of the rain drops as well..

What are these wind pockets for the umbrella you're talking about?  So the umbrella doesn't catch the wind?  Is it a DIY jobbie?

Yeah, windpockets would be small openings in the umbrella to allow the wind to pass thru so your umbrella isn't pulled away by the wind.  I think you can get umbrellas like that, but would be easy to do yourself as well.

I bet cloth on the top of the umbrella would help with noise from the rain...

[travelinbeat]

another important thing to consider when waterproofing (which unfortunately I can't take credit for-- someone else mentioned it first on some other, similar thread), is to be sure that any / all wires dip low before plugging into any other electronics, this is to make sure that any water which is on the wire will drip off of the wire rather than being channeled directly into your other gear.

[Javier Cinakowski]

The condom trick if done properly works really well.  The ENG/broadcasting/movie people use this all the time.  The trick is getting rubber to stretch across the front of the cap real tight.  The best solution I have found is using really thin finger cots used in electronics labs.  These are the "old man" condoms found at Spensers at the mall.  These are so small that when stretched accross the cap they are extreamly thin and don't interfere with the frequency response or air pressure too much...  A dead rat will make your recordings sound much worse than a tightly stretched condom.   

my $0.02

[Nick's Picks]

rain = dont tape
thats my rule. 

there ain't anything out there I'd risk my gear for.