Playing in the sun

The Ozzk · 08-08-2012, 09:02 AM

I figure I'd share my experience since I never had that problem before, and to be honest I was completely oblivious to it.

Most of the time we guitar players play at night or in a shaded area. But I wasn't prepared for what happened a couple of weeks ago at an outdoors gig.

The sun directly above us made my pedalboard completely invisible

.

What I mean by that is that with the direct sunlight it was impossible to know what was on and what wasn't... tuning??? forget about it... The only pedal I could tell was on or off was an OFA modded Boss (blue LED)...

Like the warrior that I am, I adapted pretty quickly. Short tuning by ear, used only a wah, the OFA, and delay at tap tempo... Was that more than enough??? absolutely.... But it wasn't an ideal situation.

I wasn't prepared for that and I hate to be unprepared.

So if you are playing in the sun, especially in the summer when the penetration angle of the sun is close to 90 degrees, protect your pedalboard with some sort of shade so you are able to see what's going on. I wish I had been aware of that. Gig turned out awesome BTW

jon1917 · 08-08-2012, 09:10 AM

Live in Ireland so don't have a clue what your on about.

trobdcso · 08-12-2012, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon1917

Live in Ireland so don't have a clue what your on about.

Ha ha ha.

Nudge68 · 08-12-2012, 02:27 AM

same happened to me once, great that you overcame, got it together and delivered

cheers,

Matt.

HOT TUBES 70 · 08-12-2012, 03:43 AM

BTW .... in most of my modded pedals i swap out the 3 mm led for the larger 5 mm LED , and reduce the resistor size to help make them brighter for reason's like Ozzk has just explained ...

i do what i can eh !!!

SuperBeaver · 08-12-2012, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jon1917

Live in Ireland so don't have a clue what your on about.

Northern Ireland's just as bad. More likely the rain would fry your power supply...

HOT TUBES 70 · 08-12-2012, 01:24 PM

The rain thing ... i can't help you with , your on your own there !! Ha !!!!

Reckless_Life · 08-12-2012, 01:41 PM

I thought every rockstar had a pair of sunglasses?

08-12-2012, 05:51 PM

You can also put in white LEDs.... them suckers are BRIGHT!

bvoris · 08-12-2012, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOT TUBES 70

The rain thing ... i can't help you with , your on your own there !! Ha !!!!

No pedal condoms?

HOT TUBES 70 · 08-12-2012, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvoris

No pedal condoms?

I'm working out a deal with DUREX right now !!

Jason77 · 08-12-2012, 08:28 PM

Yeah, LEDs and sun don't mix well. That said, if you're playing on a stage that has a decent lighting setup and the whole stage gets flooded in red light, you can forget about seeing your pedals LEDs then also.

***Adwex*** · 08-12-2012, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Ozzk

I figure I'd share my experience since I never had that problem before, and to be honest I was completely oblivious to it.

Most of the time we guitar players play at night or in a shaded area. But I wasn't prepared for what happened a couple of weeks ago at an outdoors gig.

The sun directly above us made my pedalboard completely invisible

.

What I mean by that is that with the direct sunlight it was impossible to know what was on and what wasn't... tuning??? forget about it... The only pedal I could tell was on or off was an OFA modded Boss (blue LED)...

Like the warrior that I am, I adapted pretty quickly. Short tuning by ear, used only a wah, the OFA, and delay at tap tempo... Was that more than enough??? absolutely.... But it wasn't an ideal situation.

I wasn't prepared for that and I hate to be unprepared.

So if you are playing in the sun, especially in the summer when the penetration angle of the sun is close to 90 degrees, protect your pedalboard with some sort of shade so you are able to see what's going on. I wish I had been aware of that. Gig turned out awesome BTW

Same thing happened to me once, I had to get on my knees and block the glare with my hand to see the tuner.
It was a pain in the ass, and I looked like an idiot.

diesect20022000 · 08-12-2012, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvoris

No pedal condoms?

i've actualy used real condoms on my boards before live because we got pretty drunk and rowdy "back" then

can't say how well it'd work for rain but it entertained the crowd while i set up and it worked wonders for beer splashes and the occasional urine.

08-08-2012, 09:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
The Ozzk Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 1,222	Playing in the sun I figure I'd share my experience since I never had that problem before, and to be honest I was completely oblivious to it. Most of the time we guitar players play at night or in a shaded area. But I wasn't prepared for what happened a couple of weeks ago at an outdoors gig. The sun directly above us made my pedalboard completely invisible . What I mean by that is that with the direct sunlight it was impossible to know what was on and what wasn't... tuning??? forget about it... The only pedal I could tell was on or off was an OFA modded Boss (blue LED)... Like the warrior that I am, I adapted pretty quickly. Short tuning by ear, used only a wah, the OFA, and delay at tap tempo... Was that more than enough??? absolutely.... But it wasn't an ideal situation. I wasn't prepared for that and I hate to be unprepared. So if you are playing in the sun, especially in the summer when the penetration angle of the sun is close to 90 degrees, protect your pedalboard with some sort of shade so you are able to see what's going on. I wish I had been aware of that. Gig turned out awesome BTW HOT TUBES 70 and Nudge68 like this. __________________ Amps: 82' JCM 800 2203 09' JCM 800 KK 11' VM2466 11' C5H Cabs: JCM800B 4x12 1960A 4x12 x 2 1960B 4x12 C110 Guitars: 91' Orville Les Paul Custom 11' Explorer Melody Maker 11' Epiphone LP Standard

08-08-2012, 09:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
jon1917 Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ireland Posts: 30	Re: Playing in the sun Live in Ireland so don't have a clue what your on about. diesect20022000, The Ozzk, SuperBeaver and 2 others like this.

08-12-2012, 02:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Nudge68 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: London via Sydney, Stockholm & Warsaw Posts: 1,094	Re: Playing in the sun same happened to me once, great that you overcame, got it together and delivered cheers, Matt.

08-12-2012, 03:43 AM	#5 (permalink)
HOT TUBES 70 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Saskatoon , Canada Posts: 8,801	Re: Playing in the sun BTW .... in most of my modded pedals i swap out the 3 mm led for the larger 5 mm LED , and reduce the resistor size to help make them brighter for reason's like Ozzk has just explained ... i do what i can eh !!! diesect20022000 and The Ozzk like this. __________________ Custom pedals Pedal modifications

08-12-2012, 01:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
HOT TUBES 70 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Saskatoon , Canada Posts: 8,801	Re: Playing in the sun The rain thing ... i can't help you with , your on your own there !! Ha !!!! __________________ Custom pedals Pedal modifications

Today
Marshall Amps	Sponsored Links __________________ This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members. Register your free account today and become a member on Marshall Amp Forum

08-12-2012, 01:41 PM	#8 (permalink)
Reckless_Life Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 703	Re: Playing in the sun I thought every rockstar had a pair of sunglasses? bvoris likes this. __________________ 1984 Marshall JCM 800 2203 1984 Marshall JCM 800 2204C 1988 Marshall JCM 800 2205 1990 Marshall JCM 800 2210 2007 Marshall JCM 800 2203KK Peavey Bandit 112S TT (1st gen) Peavey 5150

08-12-2012, 05:51 PM	#9 (permalink)
80s dude Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Playing in the sun You can also put in white LEDs.... them suckers are BRIGHT!

08-12-2012, 08:28 PM	#12 (permalink)
Jason77 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 718	Re: Playing in the sun Yeah, LEDs and sun don't mix well. That said, if you're playing on a stage that has a decent lighting setup and the whole stage gets flooded in red light, you can forget about seeing your pedals LEDs then also. The Ozzk likes this. __________________ '02 LP standard '98 SG-Z DSL 100 & 50 1960B with v30/g12h30 mix TU-2 < MXR carbon copy < MXR micro flanger < OCD < OC-2 < peppermint fuzz < wilson wah

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode