Well folks, you are not hallucinating!  Jon Chema (aka Worship Bass Guy) is back on the scene again after a unnecessarily long blogging hiatus! In today’s post I want to talk about the importance of simple equipment setup.  Now if you think I’ve gone nuts hang with me for a second. As a musician, we all know the importance of quality equipment, unfortunately quality equipment also comes with the price of being a hassle to cart around.  I know this especially well after playing at my church’s Saturday night service with Gerry (WGG).  Playing at SNS has taught me to build my setup as simple as possible. Simple equipment setups can lead to faster setup time, which in turn gives you more time to practice, tweak your tone, and fix issues that our sure to arise.  (Yes, gigs rarely go completely as planned) Anyways, below I have listed some tips as to how you can simplify your gig setup.

Flight cases
I know it sounds a little unrealistic, but your brand new $1,500 amp will eventually get beat up….that is…unless you protect it with some sort of case.  A case not only leads to better equipment protection, but also allows you to organize your gear, and makes it easier to carry and move stuff around.

Zip Ties
Zip ties can become your best friend if your setup has a bunch of cords and cables. By keeping everything properly and neatly organized, you will spend much less time detangling cables, and more time playing your instrument!

Color Coding
I know your not a kindergartner, but most fellow musicians have the IQ of one (cheap joke, laugh it up!). Joking aside, color coding your gear not only makes it easy to set up, but simple to tear down as well. I use colored electrical tape, and place it on cable jacks on my amp and cab, and the cables themselves. That way, when im in a hurry, all i have to do is plug the colored cord into the matching jack.

simple concept= simple setup

Guitarists…Size does not always matter
For bassists, this normally doesnt apply unless your are running through a D.I. or amp modeler, but guitarists listen up! When considering an amp to use for gigging, look no further than a combo tube amp! I know it may be small, but actually quality, lower wattage, “small” amps will normally give you much better tone when cranked, then a full stack! (Marshall lovers, save the punches reserved for me later A smaller amp will be much easier to haul around, and will probably take less of a beating than a larger, and bulkier amp. And I will let you in on a little secret: Next time you are watching a rock concert video and see the guitarist plastered in front of a gigantic wall of amps, realize that he is usually only playing thru one of them, or even a smaller combo amp hidden behind stage.

Bottom line: If you didn’t comprehend any of the above, just remember that a smaller size/wattage amp will normally sound better than a larger one in a normal church setting, and will be easier to haul around.

All of the following tips, if followed, will lead to a much easier setup and tear down the next time you are playing. Fellow musicians please feel free to chime in if you have any other suggestions…