![\"Gear-Feature-No32\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Gear-Feature-No32.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nFrom the glory of a spectacular show to the appreciation of screaming fans, there\u2019s plenty of glamour to be found onstage. But after the last chord\u2019s played and the show\u2019s wrapped, a rather unglamorous process begins\u2014load-out.<\/p>\n
But then again, what could be more vital than protecting your instruments and gear from the rigors of the road as they\u2019re transported from gig to gig? Whether you\u2019re a pro who relies on roadies or a weekend warrior who\u2019s hauling it all in a minivan, one thing can\u2019t be sacrificed: the security of your instruments. Regardless of your musical station, fundamental questions remain, such as what kind of protection do you need to keep your rig safe on the road?<\/p>\n
For answers, we turned to classic rock legend Rick Derringer. The veteran guitarist, singer and songwriter, who scored his first No. 1 hit \u201cHang on Sloopy\u201d with the McCoys in 1965 and followed with his own smash \u201cRock and Roll Hoochie Koo\u201d nine years later, has racked up decades of touring experience with a wide range of artists from Edgar and Johnny Winter to Led Zeppelin to Ringo Starr. He\u2019s also played with Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, Alice Cooper and Cyndi Lauper. Derringer shared with us his road-tested secrets for protecting some of your biggest musical investments.<\/p>\n
How long have you been touring?
\n<\/b>The year \u201cHang on Sloopy\u201d came out in 1965 was really the first year the McCoys started touring all around the U.S. Though we had great success\u2014even on our tours with the Rolling Stones\u2014we still pretty much had to cart our own gear. Even the Stones weren\u2019t that picky back then\u2014the whole touring thing hadn\u2019t been invented on the scale we\u2019re used to now. There was a whole lot of trying to figure out how to squeeze everything into a U-Haul trailer and wondering if the rear shocks would hold.<\/p>\n
What does your touring rig look like?
\n<\/b>In the old days, we traveled with everything. For the last 10 or 15 years we\u2019ve been touring with just our guitars and pedalboards. We ask the venues to provide amps, cabinets, drums, lighting, etc. We haven\u2019t been traveling with our own drums, lighting or amplifiers. But there are some things you want to bring. In my case, I think it\u2019s important to have the best cables. Can the audience tell the difference? No. But I can tell, and when something doesn\u2019t sound right I get flustered.<\/p>\n
You tour without an amp?
\n<\/b>Instead of a regular head, I use a Vintage Vacuum Tube Amplifiers preamp that I plug into most amplifiers and get this great Dumble style sound. It looks like a regular front end of an amp, but without the power section\u2014and it\u2019s much lighter than a regular head. I\u2019ve found that if you drive the power amp section of most amps like Fenders, Marshalls and Mesa\/Boogies with a different preamp, the results you\u2019ll get are similar with all of them. That\u2019s made it a lot easier to travel light.<\/p>\n
What are the advantages of traveling light?
\n<\/b>Cost-effectiveness is one of the big things. Over the years I found I had to charge too much for concerts because I was traveling with big trucks. Carting around the whole back line and lighting systems also meant lots of roadies\u2014and that drove costs up. Traveling with fewer people meant I could charge the audience and promoters less and take home more. So I started figuring out what I could leave at home, and everyone ended up winning. And if I don\u2019t have to truck anything, I can fly instead.<\/p>\n
How important is roadworthy gear?
\n<\/b>The right case will pay for itself over and over. All you have to do is look out the airplane window at the baggage handlers to know your stuff could get destroyed at any moment. Any musician who flies a lot learns that if you don\u2019t carry it on the plane with you, anything can happen to your gear. Nothing\u2019s 100 percent, so I try to keep the most important gear on me. But sometimes you have to check gear. And these days with the right case any gear can be roadworthy, so there\u2019s no reason to give up the sound you want.<\/p>\n
Aren\u2019t cases heavy?
\n<\/b>Not necessarily. When we started out, weight was a big concern. The cases I was traveling with were heavy, but I found that even though they looked really strong, baggage handlers could still destroy them, and they\u2019d show up with the corners ripped off or caved in. In the end there\u2019s an expensive instrument\u2014or an instrument that\u2019s important to you\u2014and you need to protect it. I\u2019ve found with the injection-molded polymer cases I use, they\u2019re not just lighter but they offer far better protection. It\u2019s a win-win.<\/p>\n
How do you fly with guitars?
\n<\/b>I always travel with two guitars. I check one in a case and carry the other in a gig bag. I\u2019ve never had a hard time carrying a guitar on a plane, but I do encourage the flight attendants to stow it in one of the storage closets so it doesn\u2019t take up overhead space. It\u2019s also safer\u2014no one will try to put a bunch of stuff on top of it. A side note: I never tell<\/i> flight staff to do anything\u2014I always ask<\/i> politely. If you push them, they\u2019ll push back, and they can make traveling with gear very unpleasant. If you do have to put a guitar in the overhead storage, make sure that it\u2019s facedown so any stress won\u2019t bend the neck back.<\/p>\n
What flight case do you use?
\n<\/b>It used to be that good protection meant wood cases. And they offered good protection but were big and heavy. Now I use injection-molded plastic\u2014SKB cases exclusively\u2014they\u2019re made to military standards. They\u2019re the most roadworthy cases, and they\u2019re the lightest. Plus they have wheels, and TSA-approved locks so you can lock them up and still check them.<\/p>\n
Recall any touring nightmares?
\n<\/b>TSA locks are great for flying, but don\u2019t forget to pack a key. I\u2019ve gotten to more than one gig only to find myself locked out of my guitar case. That\u2019s still a lot better than having your guitar sent to the wrong town, which happens. Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath has an artificial finger he needs to wear to play guitar. He used to keep it in a guitar case\u2014and once when we were touring together that particular case didn\u2019t show up. It wasn\u2019t a problem being able to substitute a guitar, but they couldn\u2019t substitute his finger.<\/p>\n
Any other advice?
\n<\/b>Don\u2019t leave your wallet in the dressing room. What I mean is that traveling on the road comes down to remembering the basic stuff and staying organized. You\u2019ll think of the big stuff\u2014how to pack the equipment, what gear to bring\u2014but it\u2019s the little things you don\u2019t think about that can really trip you up. Also, always maintain a good relationship with your roadies. You\u2019re at their mercy.<\/p>\n
\u2013Phil Selman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Road Hazards From the glory of a spectacular show to the appreciation of screaming fans, there\u2019s plenty of glamour to be found onstage. But after the last chord\u2019s played and the show\u2019s wrapped, a rather unglamorous process begins\u2014load-out. But then again, what could be more vital than protecting your instruments and gear from the rigors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[7702,7703],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15167"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15169,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15167\/revisions\/15169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}