As a touring musician, you are always on the road. Playing shows in different cities or just traveling around with your band is a fantastic experience. However, as you well know, it’s not as simple as just playing gigs. There is a lot of planning and care that go into making a successful tour happen, including taking care of instruments.
We know that your instruments are vital to you and that they are expensive pieces. We also know that it’s easy for mishaps to happen on-the-road, leaving your gear damaged when you need it most.
If you’re a new traveling musician, here are three of the most useful items you need to protect your equipment.
1- Drum Stands
For tours, you need everything secured on stands. Even if you’re used to playing an instrument like bongo drums handheld, trust us: you’re going to need a travel bongo stand. These stands hold your drums securely in place and prevent any drops while on stage.
You might be trying to keep your gear light, especially if you’re used to traveling in a van or small car from gig to gig. However, these stands are easy to lug around and weigh next to nothing, so you won’t be burdening your band with excess equipment.
Drum stands are essential if you want to play without worrying about potential drops and damage!
2- Protective Cases
Whether you are traveling by car or by plane, your instruments will have to spend some time in luggage. Even if you do everything in your power to protect them, there is always the chance of a drop or fall that will quickly cause damage.
To avoid this, we strongly recommend investing in protective cases for all of your instruments. Guitars are especially susceptible to damage from even a small fall, so you should prioritize cases for these instruments before heading out on the open road.
Protective cases keep instruments stationary even if there is drastic movement on the outside. They come with heavy padding and shock-absorbent materials to ensure that the instrument has protection at all costs.
Do some research to determine which type of case would best suit your needs, and make sure you have them ready to go when you travel!
3- Mobile Guitar Tuner and App
As you are traveling, there is a good chance that your guitar may slip in and out of tune. With changes in temperature and humidity, the strings will stretch and contract, making some crazy sounds if you don’t tune it.
To quickly and accurately get your guitar back in tune, we recommend bringing a mobile guitar tuner with you wherever you go. These devices can clip on to your guitar and will help you to tune your guitar perfectly.
This device is great for shows and if you want to play a couple of tunes with your crew. Nothing is worse than an untuned guitar, so make sure you add this tool to your list!
You can also get a mobile guitar tuner app. Just pull out your phone, open the app, and the device will tell you if your guitar is out of tune.
Bottom Line
Traveling musicians have a fantastic opportunity to see new places and share their talents with audiences all over. Playing to new crowds or just traveling with your band is such an exciting experience and is one that all musicians should try at some point during their career.
While our list is not comprehensive, we guarantee that these useful tools will help make your days as a traveling musician that much more enjoyable!
