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5 Tips to prevent your gear getting lost or misplaced!
Introduction
We all have gear and accessories, if you have read our blog about what’s in my guitar toolbox (click here to read) then you will know that I have a lot of guitar accessories that I use! The question I get asked a lot is, how do you avoid losing or misplacing your gear. Well, I have a few tips that I do to make sure none of my gear, gets away!
Tip 1: Pens – Lend out with NO lid
This is only a small tip but it will make sure you get your Sharpies back (Always make sure you pack a few sharpies as you will need one). Now I can’t take credit for this tip as I discovered it through Phillip McKnight (Youtube). When lending out a Sharpie or a pen, Take the lid off and keep it. No one wants to keep a sharpie without a lid, So they will return it. This tip is so simple but so effective. It is a way to make sure you get your pens back whenever you lend it out.
Tip 2: Bright tape on gear
This one seems so simple but can be so effective. For things like pedals, Tuners, tools and anything else around that size, use bright coloured duct tape or painters tape (or even luminous coloured) and stick a piece or a few pieces on that piece of gears. This allows you to see your gear in low light, See it from across the room, and you can also organise gear by colour. For things like pedals and tools, this also allows you to write notes, settings or anything you need on them. Also, should it happen and someone tries to walk off with your gear you will be able to spot them from across the room.
Tip 3: Bright colours cables
This is similar to the tip above, except I use bright coloured cables for a few reasons. The first main reason is so that people know what cables are mine, they will see a bright pink cable and instantly know who it belongs too. Makes packing up a lot easier! This kind of leads me on to the other reason I use bright coloured cables. Setting up is a breeze with coloured cables!
Arriving at a gig, opening my gig bag taking out all my cables and knowing which cable to plug where based on colour (Blue cable goes from Guitar to Pedal Board, Pink cable from pedalboard to amp) speeds things up so quickly. This is a huge advantage is someone else is helping me set up, I can tell them on the way to the gig what colour does what, and it makes it so much more simple and so much quicker.
If you have already bought loads of cables for your rig, you don’t need to go out and buy all new cables, you can just use the tip above, buy some bright tape and tape them up. I would recommend taping each end by the jacks and also taping in the middle. Doing this, I guarantee will make your setup and pack up a lot simpler.
Tip 4: Label Gear that you can with your name
Going back to the school days make sure you label your gear! You gig bag and hard case you can sew a label on the inside. However, you can take this one step further. Buying a UV pen and writing your name on all your guitars, Cases, pedals and anything else you can think off. You can write your name, address and phone number. This case if your gear gets stolen or miss placed, no one will know it is marked, but can help you or the police find your gear. Another bonus is that the UV pens don’t leave any visible marks so won’t affect the look of your gear.
Tip 5: Make a list of the gear that you take
The last tip that we have for is a very simple one and a tip that I think most of you are doing already. Become aware of the gear you are taking to a gig or rehearsals. Before you load up just have a look, maybe write down what you are taking. Then when you are packing up to finish you will be mentally aware of what needs packing up. You don’t need to do a checklist and mark off gear (You can if you want to) that you load up or unload but just make yourself aware of what you brought.
Conclusion
So there are a few things that you can do to keep track of your gear and prevent anything getting lost or stolen. As the phrase goes, Look after your gear and your gear will look after you. Keep track of it, make sure you are aware of what you are bringing to gigs and rehearsals and make sure you are taking the same amount home. Any tips that you do? Let us know over on our Instagram what tips and tricks you do to keep an eye on all of your gear, big or small! As always, thanks for reading!
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