Amplifiers are not drink holders

Played a show last night where a huge crowd turned out that no one was expecting.  Ended up having people sitting all over everyone's equipment.  Some people ended up around my amplifier and one of them spilled their beer into my head before we went on.  

Amp turned on, but sound did not come out on any channel except lead and it didn't sound too great on that one. Another band lent me a Peavey tube amp that actually sounded pretty good.

 

As for my amp: 

I've opened it up, cleaned it out, and have a fan blowing on it now and will wait to try it again till tomorrow.

 

Fans...  amplifiers are not where you set your drinks.  If I see you spill your booze into something I spent well over a thousand on...  I will scold you severely, if not outright hit you.   

Next morning update.

 Works fine after cleaning it all out.

 

Someone at the show told me they've never seen a person sing a love song with a look of murderous intent in their eyes before.  I was pissed... 

Good news. I've been there, and not had the same luck.

Plus, you got to play an unexpectedly well-attended show. Sounds like a good weekend to me.

This sounds like it would have been a good time to "accidentally" brain someone with the headstock... 

 Yeah, this also goes for bands.  Don't put your drinks on amps, especially if it's not your amp.  We played a show in Mankato (not at What's Up) and our amps were backlined.  The little shit in the first band kept putting his drinking cup no my turned on amp instead of on his own amp that was right in front of it.  I wanted to wring that little bastard's neck.  Eventually I had to be an asshole and walk up to the stage (one of those wimpy 1 footer stages) and whisper into the kid's ear so I don't embarrass him in front of his parents and grandparents.  

How old are you guys? Welcome to rock 'n roll. Get ready for many more spilled drinks on your gear. MJ

David's had this problem at 52 sometimes (from new people rather than the regulars), where people will sit their drinks on his amps or speakers.  I can understand people in the crowd maybe not having the forethought and doing it, but it's surprising when other musicians do it, you'd think they'd be very aware of what they were doing to someone elses gear.

Jorg:

How old are you guys? Welcome to rock 'n roll. Get ready for many more spilled drinks on your gear. MJ

 

Fair enough.  Shit happens but bands should know better.  I forgive the drunk guy on the floor but bands should not be putting drinks on other bands' amps.  You want to risk it and put it on your own amp, fine.  I have a pretty sturdy amp but I'm not looking to test how it handles under water.

 Thank you for starting this thread!

It always amazes me when other musicians disregard this whole thing.  Drunken idiots in the crowd are to be expected, but your fellow brothers/sisters-in-arms should always respect the sanctity of your gear. 

Thumbs up for this thread! 

Beer set on gear = beer gone flying. I've never had any gear get wrecked by booze, either mine or anyone I've worked for.

Bit of advice, make sure to clean all the gunk out from the inside of the amp where the drink was spilled. Esp if it was soda. that stuff is nasty, first it turns to goo, then hard like candy, then like steel! that shit is impossible to clean out years later! and the worst part is that its conductive and can be caustic and eat away at circuit boards, cause arc over and cause lots of nasty problems. Coffee can be just as bad if not worse! Beer seems to be easier to clean for some reason. less sugar maybe?

 

 

Zc

 And while we're on the subject of the dos and don'ts in regards to amplifiers and various beverages, I'd also like to add that my vintage tube amp is likewise not a proper place for your cigarettes and your overflowing ashtrays either. It's my amp, not a frickin' coffee table.

rost0031:

Don't put your drinks on amps, especially if it's not your amp.

One of my former bass players put his beer on top of his head (which was on top of a 4x10 and 1x15 cab) during a show once.  The vibrations from the bass shook the beer and toppled it over, spilling everything which then ran inside the head, shorting it out.  We had to cut our show quite short that night.  He couldn't understand why we were upset.

 All of this is why I love my amp setup - I have a 1x12 Mesa/Boogie combo amp on an amp stand, so the amp is tilted up at me and therefor impossible to put anything on without it falling off.

I use a Marshall TV cabinet (taller than regular cabs) so it is just the right height for me to set my drinks on.

Really, they should make amps that have drink holders that hang off the side between the head and the cabinet

Toddah:

Really, they should make amps that have drink holders that hang off the side between the head and the cabinet

Don't forget that they should be insulated so they keep your drink cold!

I think they do. i know i have seen drink holders for mic stands and drummers drink holders. im sure someone makes them for amp heads. 

My roommate and I have jury-rigged a way to have an insulated beer-holder attached to our golf bags.

Hadden has a very nice and effective drink holder that's meant to attach to a mic stand. I think it's got some other attachments as well for guitar-related items.

He makes a bee-line for anyone who even appears as though about to set a drink on an amp. The guy can sure move fast when he wants to!

 Lost many a shot of jag and beers by setting them on my cab.  Ended up just puttin them on the ground next to it.

I thought I had a drink ring on my precious blonde bassman.  Took it to Savage Audio to see if anything could be done short of a re-cover, they looked at it and said it was a discoloration from a knot in the wood that the cabinet is made from.  Pretty strange phenomenon, check out some original blonde/white amps from the 50's if you can and you might see what I'm talking about.

 

 A tough task is also protecting pedal boards, etc. from big crowds.  My guitarist has had 2 midi switchers gulp down full beers from drunken fans during a show.. any suggestions on how to "water proof" those things?? Last time Taproot was in town I saw guitarist Mike Dewolf have his pedal board/switcher completely covered in some thick semi-clear plastic... no idea how it was done or what the process was.  Maybe it was totally jimmy-rigged.  ?