Protecting Your Steel on the Set?

[Jerry Overstreet]

How do you prevent collateral damage to your steel guitar when playing gigs?

I just spent the better part of the afternoon trying to sand, steel wool and polish out some injuries to the aluminum of one of my D10's. This is an older guitar of some 25+years and has it's share of battle scars, scratches and scrapes, but is in pretty good shape overall. I'd like to keep it looking good as possible.

The dings I have been working on suddenly appeared a couple gigs ago and I'm not sure when or where they occurred.

Looks like a pattern where a tuner from a bass or guitar made repeated contact on the front corner of neck and top front flange of right end plate. I cannot recall any occasion where this could have happened as I am quite sure I couldn't miss that!

I keep a cover in one of my cabs to protect the guitar between sets and when setting up the rest of the band and equipment.

On occasion, I have had sit-in singers pile their junk, hats and costuming on my guitar when I'm away from it. Once, I was coming back from break, a girl singer had spread her entire act across my guitar and was sitting on my pacaseat reviewing her set. I wasn't very nice about telling her what to do with it.

Another problem is having a singer standing in front of you. They almost always step backwards into your pedal bar. Beware of wanna be stars wearing big boots with fancy metal appointment.

I guess I'm wondering why other band members don't seem to respect the monetary value of and/or one's personal sentiments toward the instrument.

I always try to find a place with the least amount of traffic to set-up, but it gets to be too crowded no matter what.

I once sold a beautiful lacquered guitar because it seemed to be a booboo magnet and picked up a new one every time I took it out. I like to play all of my instruments so, rather than to have one that I was afraid to leave the house with and couldn't deal with the damage, I just sold it.

Any thoughts, comments on this problem? How can you always protect your instrument from thoughtless, careless boneheads?...or do you just not worry about it?

[Ron !]

How can you always protect your instrument from thoughtless, careless boneheads?

You can't.
One thing works for me though.When playing a gig I am most of the time in the front on the stage.9 times out of 10 I am next to the rhythm guitar.These guys stand there like a salt pillar.They won't move.
If you are on the right/left side in the front....you are likely to decrease your chances in getting your stuff damaged.

Ron

[chris ivey]

the trouble with covering your steel is when you find it backstage with a fat chick sitting on top of it (really!!) with her legs crossed!!

[Paul Redmond]

Once on a gig, I had a wannabe a-singing and a-gyrating right in front of me. Now I must admit that I enjoyed the view, but after kicking my rack 4 or 5 times, I had had enough. I simply reached forward and grabbed the right cheek and coaxed it gently about a foot forward. Problem solved at the risk of getting slapped, of course. Who knows, maybe she enjoyed it. But at least she never kicked the rack again and actually apologized to me as she realized she had done so. I do NOT think she appreciated it when I said the pleasure was all mine!!
It's hard to keep these things from getting whacked once in a while. I NEVER put a cover on a guitar once on the job. That just invites someone to use it as a table top especially those nice wide double necks. I don't think most people do this stuff maliciously. They do it out of a lack of knowledge more than anything else. As for a guitar player or bass player whacking endplates, they must be awfully short or awfully clumsy. NEVER set up in a high-traffic area. That is sure to invite damage. It can't always be avoided if the stage or bandstand is small, but look for a 'corner' or some area where no one will be walking thru. I have worked a few places where there was an actual low railing at the front edge of it. THAT'S where I set up with the rack almost up tight against the railing. Then all you have to worry about is some lush spilling his beer on your guitar while he's asking you for a request. That happened to me once. They always apologize, but keep a towel in your seat just in case. Beer does NOT substitute adequately for oil in a changer. It has very little lubricity and gums up almost before the end of the next set!! Best yet, buy a 'beater' guitar that works reasonably well and use it on those 'questionable' gigs. Leave the 'good stuff' at home.
PRR

[Paul Redmond]

I was able to meet Mike 'Cookie Monster' Johnson in St. Charles IL in the 80's when he was with the Barbara Mandrell show. He told me a horror story that kept me awake that night!! They had flown in to do a Sunday afternoon gig and some turkey at the airport ran a fork lift fork thru his guitar case and knocked the 'ear' off the tuner for his 5th string. He literally had no way of grabbing on to the stub to turn it. He and one of the other band members hit the streets looking for a hardware store or the like that was open on Sunday to buy a pair of pliers, vise grips, or whatever, so he could re-tune his 5th string. After walking several blocks they found a discount gas station that was open on Sunday and asked the guy working there where they could find a store that was open to buy the magic tool. The guy said he had an old pair of pliers in the back room. Mike either bought or was given the pliers and they hot-footed it back to the hall to tune the lousy 5th string a few minutes before the show started. Mike said he had never had such an experience before and hoped it never happened again!! The show went on and Mike WAS in tune!!
PRR

[Derrick Frank]

I'm 6ft 2" and 16+ ston, so a stren look usualy does the trick, but now I set up near the front of the stage just enough so the singer can't get infront of the steel, but did have occasion to say ouch, when danger from within, via the Bass player next to me got excited on a number one time, swung round and planted the end off the Bass on my forhead, but again, a stern look kept him a respectable distance for the rest of the evening.
And one time, some clown while talking to the singer, placed his smoke across my strings, and then looked a little put out when I placed a well aimed flick of the finger, sending it across the room, some folk have no respect for the steel, I think it's because we are sat down, out of the line of sight, so i'm thinking of making my own dias to get up there with the band.

[Micky Byrne]

Hey Slim (Derrick)....many years ago when I had my ZB, I too had a bassplayer lay his lit ciggy on the front of my steel. It actually left a burnt mark on the lacquer. A few choice words from me proceeding the the letter "F" never let it happen again. Apart from that one incident I guess I've had little trouble since.........steel/wise that is

Micky Byrne United Kingdom www.micky-byrne.co.uk

[Dave Diehl]

I have had the end plates of about every guitar I have damaged by band members and you're right.... most of the time I did not see it but it sure does disgust you when you find it. Buddy Charlton once told me that he had a lady try to sit on his guitar once while standing in line to meet Ernest. There was some dialog between Buddy and the Lady but I'll leave that to him to tell. But it does happen and probably more than we realize.

[Rick Schmidt]

Chris...that exact thing happened to me once. I was taking a long break at an event for a local Native American Tribal wing ding, so I covered my steel with a blanket. When I came back to the stage area there was a 300 pound squaw sitting on top of my shobud eating her BBQ. I think that was the most appreciated my band got that day.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Good point about the cover. I guess it disguises the fact that there's an actual musical instrument under there. I doubt it would matter either way though. Due to it's horizontal "table top" appearance, people just naturally want to sit things on it.

Never known to have anyone sit on mine, but who knows when you're away from it? I have had to shoo "leaners" away many times though.

[Ben Jones]

you guys are scaring me. maybe i will rig up some barbed wire or something. attach a cattleprod to one end? at least there are no more ciggys in the bars...a double blessing. those stories about people sitting on your steels tho...man.

[Dave Mudgett]

Get Muzzy to stand guard over by stage-right - then youse boneheads bettah watch out.



I have had people try to set drinks, cigarettes, and even sit on my steel. My 6'4" 200lb frame coming at them with an evil sneer generally chases them away, and we all look out for each others' equipment during set breaks.

The best approach, IMO, is to not let anybody onstage. That is our rule nowadays. Sometimes guitar players or another steel player will want to look at the steel up close - I'll take 'em over and show 'em - but strictly under supervision. I have never had one of these guys act inappropriately. Only clueless morons mess around with a band's equipment.

[Austin Tripp]

Hey Jerry, The best way I protect my steel in bars is just tell them im under 18 and that Bubba over there at the door is my bodygaurd. It has worked for me for 2 years,, it will be a different story though when I turn 18

_Austin Tripp

[Dick Wood]

I played a gig a few weeks ago on a very small stage right next to the lead singer.

EVERY SINGLE time he put on or took off his acoustic he smacked my Williams on the end plate.

Maybe I could hang tires around the outside like the do on tug boats.

[chris ivey]

rick..(300 lb squaw..ha) it's amazing what kind of abuse a good steel can take!

specially your sho-bud..i had a professional d10 that fell off a two foot high stage onto the dance floor when the chick singer (actually a very cool person) accidentally moved the modular stage pieces, creating a gap under the leg of my steel.

she freaked out..very worried, but i just put it back on stage and kept playing!!

[Jerry Overstreet]

....don't fret over it too much Ben. It doesn't happen very often, but I guess you need to be aware of the potential harm so's you can keep an eye out for danger to your axe

Austin....so you're still in high school How cool and refreshing is that? Got 2 yrs. of experience in the bag already and still under 18?
And a nice LGIII over there too
A hearty welcome and many long years of steel pickin'!

Always a good idea to have a "Bubba" lookin' to protect your best interests no matter what yer age.

I guess what bothers me most is that with a lacquer finish cabinet and even the machined aluminum parts, a gouge, dent, ding whatever type of booboo is generally irreversible and is there for infinity. Every time you look at it, you're reminded of the clueless, insensitive boob that left his mark without a second thought.

I had one bozo tell me "just put some fingernail polish on it, no big deal".

[Austin Tripp]

[James Cann]

you guys are scaring me.

OK, that does it. From now on:

no front of stage position or directly behind a singer;
no stage without a rail or less than 12" min. height above floor or less than 10"d x 15'w;

. . . come to think of it,

anyone who touches stage or anything on it gets thrown out;
no guest steel players unless I have seen and heard them play before,
no drinks or smokes on stage,
any drunks (chicks exempt) closer than 6 feet from stage thrown out (chicks exempt: drunk chicks, min. 4 feet, sober ones, min. 3 feet)

. . . and for anything not covered by the above (including all previous posts),

no this,
no that!
interview's over!

[Jan Jonsson]

Never known to have anyone sit on mine, but who knows when you're away from it? I have had to shoo "leaners" away many times though.

When I came back from a break during a gig with Redd Volkaert last May, there was the following scary sight. However, the "leaner" turned out to be the lead guitar player of famous old Swedish instrumental band The Spotnics, so instead of shooing him away I took a snapshot of him and Redd. Any lesser known leaner would have gotten significantly less lean treatment, no doubt ...



-- Jan

[David Doggett]

Steel Guitar Nashville sells clear plastic steel guitar covers. Seeing the strings, fret board, etc., might discourage some people from sitting on them. On the other hand, it might encourage using them for cheese slicers.

[Zeke Cory]

S&W 357 Magnum lives in the Pac-a-Seat.

[Dick Sexton]

This one has never failed me.. But only started doing it after a rum and coke was pour into my steel.