Topic: Taping from seat?

[chuckcage]

OK -- some stupid questions for all those who have dealt with "tape from your seat" policies...

Is this really reasonable to deal with?  I imagine trying to set up my stand in the area of one of those seats that makes airline coach look like a La-Z-Boy.  Aren't the people around you going to give you hell?

I'm not complaining -- just trying to get a grip on the best way to go about doing this, or trying to get a grip on whether it's something I'd enjoy/should bother with.

Chuck

[nickgregory]

just get there early....do not open the legs of your stand (this is the biggest error I see tapers section vets make).  Take the stand and duct tape it in between the seats, to the seat...just make it damn secure with duct tape.  Then as people walk up and sit in the their seats, it always goes a long way to offer them a copy of the show...that will usually calm down the masses a bit.  

As much of a pain as taping from your seat seems to be...the FOB tapes that result rock....

[Brian]

i know of some peeps who duct tape their stand with the legs unopened to their chair with gear bag in the seat. that usually leaves ample space to walk past, however i've never tried it, only seen it done on a few occasions.

Brian

EDIT: whoops, you beat me to it Nick by a hair of a second. sorry for the double response

[nickgregory]

that is another good point...just put the gear bag in the seat to keep it from getting soaked by the inevitable ground spillage....

[joeshambro]

Also, if you can find them, those really string plastic ties aren't that bad an idea either... I've used them in seats that duct taping was little hard to accomplish...

That being said duct tape works just fine, but gaffer's tape (it's expensive, sometimes you can get it on sale on GC or other places) is really secure and also comes off a lot easier than duct tape.  The expense + difficulty to find make gaf tape a little impractical, but if you can swing it, it works great.

[MattD]

The only downside to gaffer's tape is it doesn't hold well in humidity. I'd recommend it indoors, but not outdoors, at least here in the humid east.

[creekfreak]

duct tape....a tapers best friend

[teamakg]

gotcha all beat.  best thing ever to use.  bungee cords.  my stand have never been more sturdy.  you can get them cheap at pretty much any store.  they're also alot quicker on and off.  and your stand isn't covered with tape glue when you're done.

[zhianosatch]

duct tape....a tapers best friend

everyone's best friend!

[Willie T.]

I use zip ties/ and or duct tape to secure my stand to the seat.  Zip ties are the best though.

[Nick Culbreth]

make sure you put the seats down before you tape it in place - the space between seats in some venues isn't wide enough to allow for the seat to move up and down.

[John R]

gaff for sure.  if you're taping from your seat, you're probably indoors.

jr

[nickgregory]

gaff for sure.  if you're taping from your seat, you're probably indoors.

jr

not really....I tape plenty of bands from my seat in amps....

[John R]

gaff for sure.  if you're taping from your seat, you're probably indoors.

jr

not really....I tape plenty of bands from my seat in amps....

meaning, under cover

jr

[nickgregory]

meaning, under cover

jr

true but in the humidity of the south (at least here in NC) in the summer months, gaff tape is pretty useless....

[whitenite]

i can almost always open stand legs up with no problem.  typically, for me anyway, the seats have enough open space to squeeze one of the legs in between.  just expanding the legs enough to get some balance, the other two will rest nicely against the seats allowing plenty of room for people to mobilize.  my mics coupled with a t-bar make for a nice top-heavy rig, especially with a bogen 17'.  if that don't work, since i always have two tickets, i just remove a seat allowing plenty of space for your stand (some venues will bitch about it).  as a precautionary measure, i always have two tickets...and never plan on sitting down  (caveats always prosper)

oh yeah..duct tape and ties are a necessity  

[greenone]

Yeah - I typically open my stand legs up just a bit, maybe a few inches, just for stability, and of course, never plan on even MOVING. If I'm taping with friends, they know to sit on whichever side of me is closest to the aisle so they won't have to go by if they need to get out - I just try to get as close to the center of the section as possible so folks won't have to squeeze by and haven't had a problem yet...

[nickgregory]

honestly though, I have run my stand probably in the 14' range, and as long as that thing is solidly duct taped to the seat structure...it isn't going anywhere...no reason to open the legs.  I have an old stand that has a flat bottom when it is collapsed and the only reason I keep it is to run in cases where I dont want to expand the legs.  

The only time I can see this not necessarily being secure enough is in a situation where the seats are not permanent (i.e. bolted to the ground) and as a result, do not give a sturdy enough base to duct it to....

[whitenite]

honestly though, I have run my stand probably in the 14' range, and as long as that thing is solidly duct taped to the seat structure...it isn't going anywhere...no reason to open the legs.  I have an old stand that has a flat bottom when it is collapsed and the only reason I keep it is to run in cases where I dont want to expand the legs.  

The only time I can see this not necessarily being secure enough is in a situation where the seats are not permanent (i.e. bolted to the ground) and as a result, do not give a sturdy enough base to duct it to....

agree.  my concern is not so much one of stability, but of rigidity.  with a pair of heavy condensers and that shure bar, not to mention a stand not cutout for a heavy load it can become quite a pain.  god forbid someone wanting to clamp on!  i have had problems with the top of the stand (smaller section) bending in one direction, unless you have that puppy set up perfectly straight.  this can affect your config/soundstage if you are not careful.  with the legs out, i have never had this problem.  if not, i tend to only duct tape it enough to secure it but leave room for maneuvering it to counteract the "leaning" problem.