Topic: Outdoor shows and possibility of rain

[Elana]

I don't really tape a lot of uncovered outdoor shows.  And whenever I do and it looks like rain, I'm ready w/ the garbage bags to pack up my gear at the first droplet.

Does anybody actually tape in the rain?  If so how do you protect your equipment?  I know some people put umbrellas over their mics, but (1) sometimes that's not an option and (2) what about everything else?  I don't have like a waterproof gear bag or anything... that's why I always keep a few garbage bags with me.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

Heavy duty Hefty yard bags...  Essential part of the festival/outdoor rig...

A milk-crate is also useful:  elevate your rig to avoid flooding, sit on it, pack gear in it, deliver milk...

Terry

[Swampy]

There was a time when when I would tape in the rain (though I'm rarely motivated to even tape at all anymore, haha). I liked the clear bags with zippers that pillows and blankets sometimes come in. They are thick and protect, and clear so you can see everything going on. Umbrella on mics, gear inside of pillow bag and garbage bag. Only thing that gets wet sometimes are your cables.

[Shadow_7]

I made a frame of sorts from two kitchen plate racks and electrical tape.  Poor mans milk crate.  Some 1/8" rope/string to tie the preamps and field recorder to the frame.  Tied a couple planks of wood on the under side to keep it all off the ground in case of flooding.  I figure I'll just through the whole frame in trash bag/can, waterproof sleeping bag cover, pillowcase cover, or just throw my jacket over it.  Although I mainly set it up that way to have one unit to carry for the three devices.  2x mono preamps, 1x field recorder.  It also keeps the XLR cables from getting banged around on the downside.  While still giving access to battery compartments.

For the mics, I'm still not decided on how to approach that.  It's windy where I live.  Especially if it's raining so umbrellas probably wont cut it.  I'm leaning more towards a zeppelin type rig.  Perhaps a strip of duct tape on the top to ensure that water doesn't drip directly on the mics.  The fake fur catches the rest and directs it via gravity to where it belongs.  Probably why I've gone the DIY fake fur route.  Disposable wind screens.  I've heard of others just putting the mic in a condom.  Or just flying them upside down depending on the mic type.  But I haven't had an opportunity to try any of these methods myself.  I do keep a couple ziplock bags handy to throw over the mics while on the stereo bar.  Although that's more of a from the car to where ever consideration.  If you use the zipper kind, they'll stay put even in a modest wind.

For the camcorder, I just used a kitchen trashcan.  Cut it in half so it wasn't so long / big.  Drilled a 1/4" hole in one side.  Cut out most of the bottom to see the camcorders LCD.  Keeps the rain from landing directly on it.  But any sort of wind can blow it on the lens and other things.  I might beef it up with some panes of lexan / glass on the open ends.  It doesn't really need to be waterproof per say.  And anything is probably better than nothing.  There's always the ziplock bag and lens filter technique.  I'm just leaning more towards the trash can since it keeps the hot Texas sun off the camcorder, plus some shade to actually see the LCD on a sunny day.

[DisturbedPyro]

in addition to what everyone else said with the bags, put finger cots over the mic heads, then put on the windscreens. surprisingly, the finger cots dont audibly distort the sound (not in my experience at least)

[fsulloway]

Gear bag in a trash bag and an umbrella for the mics. One time at Oak Mtn we used another trash bag to protect the mics when we didn't have an umbrella. During the quiet moments you can hear the rain drops on the trash bags which to me at least isn't bothersome at all. It just makes me feel like "I'm there" even more.

[Elana]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I actually have one or two of those plastic casings that blankets and pillows come in.  Those could prove useful.

[augwest71]

instead of a milk crate i use one of those small camping stools.  it is easier to carry, but i also only carry a sonicase.

i remember phil and friends red rocks, think it was 04 started half way through 1st set and down pour till encore wettest show i have ever been too (cold also)

[dean]

Taped in the rain 2x at the same festival 2 of 3 years.  First year it was an all day drizzle so we set up in some trees ROC and strung a tarp up over everything.  Put our gear on a table the festy provided (small bore festival run by a friend).  It was also mostly old-timey music, so the sound of the rain on the tarp makes the recordings sound a bit like an old scratchy record.  Worked out way better than we'd planned.

Last year it drizzled on/off throughout the day.  We saw this in the forecast so set up umbrellas right away (we're DFC not in the trees this time).  Used heavy duty trash bags to keep the gear bags dry.  Then for the headline set (The Bad Plus) the sky freaking opened up - torrential downpour.  I kept checking my mics and gear bag and they stayed very dry, so I recorded the whole set.  The set got cut short when the lightning storm happened, though, but still I got > 45 minutes in a complete downpour with no problems whatsoever.  Laid everything out when I got home and ran a fan over it to make sure I help evap up any moisture/condensation, and no problems. 

I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing what I did, but it all worked out fine and I wasn't worried at all during the process, since repeatedly checking the gear yielded no concerns.  And I certainly wouldn't set up in those conditions, but since I'd been set up and rolling gear for 6 hours before the downpour started, it was more of an issue of hoping the storm would pass (it didn't) so I could break down gear without the rain.

YMMV, of course.   

[Walstib62]

umbrella over the stand. Stake the stand down if possible to prevent wind from tipping over. You can use a folding chair to hold gear up off the ground, then cover with 6 mil clear plastic sheeting. Make sure cables hang lower than gear, so water doesn't run down the cables into the gear.

[dean]

umbrella over the stand. Stake the stand down if possible to prevent wind from tipping over. You can use a folding chair to hold gear up off the ground, then cover with 6 mil clear plastic sheeting. Make sure cables hang lower than gear, so water doesn't run down the cables into the gear.

Great point.

Also, tent stakes for your stand are essential gear for outdoor recording.  Makes a huge difference for wind and wookies...

[crossthreaded]

beach chair umbrella, always keep a trash bag or 2 in my gear bag, always carry a half dozen or so tent stakes for myself and those that forget, plug gaff tape because you always need gaff tape

[goodcooker]

I always carry a couple of cheap ponchos for this. A couple of bucks at the outdoors store

[Kevin Straker]

T o stand my bag off of the wet ground I usually make use of a couple discarded water bottles. Lay them on their sides and you have pontoons for your bag. Of course the gear bag is inside a huge trash bag. Make a drip loop in your cable to keep the water from running down the cable and in to your gear.

[huskerbrewdad]

I couldn't find a decent umbrella on short notice, I found that for my CA-14's the fingers off of a latex glove fit perfectly over the foam.  A rubber band back by the clip to secure it and they were fine.  A lot cheaper than condoms, and a better fit, unless you really want to go to the counter and ask for the ultra-petite condoms... 

Also a good idea to tape up any random connections(I have a 12 ft extension cord between the mics and preamp) before the event if you know it may rain.

For my preamp and recorder I just cut the bottom corner off of a gallon ziplock to run the cable out of and then set that in my bag.