Two gigs in a day and lesson learnt (again!)

So yesterday was the Daventry music festival. It was a great day really well organised and a credit to Daventry and its music scene which still feels in its infancy.

People like Adam from AW Promotions putting on regular nights and this festival are really starting to get people interested in music from Daventry and the local area. That can only be a good thing.

It was a blisteringly hot day and our first set was on the stage outdoors in the middle of town. I've played hot gigs before obviously but this was the first time I felt like my feet were going to melt, the stage being black and in direct sunlight just turned into a foot oven!!

When I was in LA I had the chance to talk to the Line 6 developers and when they told me that the Helix screen was specially designed to be readable in direct sunlight I told them it wasn't. I'd used it for an open air summer gig and I couldn't read anything on it at all. Yesterday was the same, nothing visible at all but luckily I know where my presets are and don't need to look at it much. The tuner was a different matter! I think I need to make a shadow box for it... Kickstarter anyone?!

Onto the lesson learnt again... I always say "don't but a new bit of kit and use it for the first time at a gig". Hands up who ignored themselves?! Yep, me...

I bought the Magnum 44 Poweramp pedal. Idea being most venues have an 8 or 16 ohm cab, but as I use the Helix I don't want to lug an amp around. This pedal means helix to pedal, pedal to cab, everyone happy. I'd tested it at home and all good but it arrived just before the gigs and after our last rehearsal.

Ignoring my own sage advice, I used it live... First gig in the center was fine, brilliant, did exactly what I wanted.

Second gig in a pub... My guitar kept cutting out during the songs. I swapped guitar and it was better but still cutting out. I hit the new box repeatedly but that didn't fix it either.

When I got home and searched forums I found out that if the signal going to the 44 is too hot, it will cut it for a little bit, so I had the volumes between the helix and pedal the wrong way round for the second gig, simple as that.

If I'd have used it in rehearsal I probably would have discovered that myself, or at least had a reference for working settings.

Yep, lesson definitely learnt. Till next time. Then I'll learn it again!! Last time I learnt this lesson was with a guitar where the strings kept falling off the bridge when I bent them. Damn me and my lesson forgetting...

Still, I now know better. Till something shiney arrives the day before a gig. I'm sure it'll be fine...

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