USE PROTECTION
Jul 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Erik Hawkins
BURNING WHAT? >> A keytar dude greets the sunrise with Satan's Calliope, a wonderful cacophonic blaring of sound and fire at Burning Man.
There's nothing like playing a show in the desert under a clear night sky. The stars twinkle above and the desert stretches out before you while you play; it can be a mind-expanding experience without drugs. A trip to the desert for your electronic-music gear, however, may be much less pleasant. If you let it, the desert's gritty dust will get into every nook and cranny of your equipment, jamming faders, hobbling knobs, clogging delicate motors and turning every exposed cable into a shade of grayish brown. If you're ever to perform at Burning Man, Coachella, a desert rave or even any outdoor venue, taking some simple precautions can greatly minimize the chances of permanent gear damage. There are also several easy-to-find tools that can help you properly clean equipment upon returning home.
ADVENTURE CLOTHING
The dust in the desert is so insidious that it can even get into a sealed case. A simple way to keep the dust from seeping in is to tape the seams of your cases with standard, clear packing tape. While duct tape will leave a sticky residue on your cases, packing tape (such as 3M 375 Carton Sealing Tape) is less likely to do so. Be sure to wipe off any dust on the seams before applying the tape for a tight seal. Bring a couple of rolls with you for the road, so you can tape up the cases after the show as well.
Double bagging your gear is also a great trick. Even if the dust gets into the case, the second barrier will prevent it from getting onto your precious equipment. Almost any type of material will work for the second barrier, from a plastic garbage bag to a large pillowcase, as long as it fits into the case wrapped around your instrument. Be wary of plastic garbage bags, however, because they can build up a static charge that may damage delicate electronic equipment. The arid conditions of the desert can actually promote static electricity, so while a garbage bag is fine for wrapping up CDs and records, it's such not a good idea for a laptop. Musical instruments often come packaged from the factory in an antistatic polyethylene bag (usually pink or white in color), and if you still have that original packaging, that is an ideal bag. Otherwise, employ a few clean, king-size, 100-percent cotton pillowcases because cotton is generally a low-static material.
DESERT STORM
It's good for your gear when you get to perform in a tent, but in terms of a view, it's fairly disappointing. Alternately, if your stage is smack in the middle of the desert playa, the view's to die for, but your gear is going to take a beating. The wind blowing across the playa carries with it a large portion of the dust that gets onto and into your gear. By setting up a wind block on one or several sides of the stage, you will greatly reduce the amount of dust hitting your equipment. The trick is to build a barrier that doesn't get blown over by the gusts. A sturdy framework of PVC piping, held down by ample sand bags, is a good structure on which to tie down canvas fitted with metal grommets. If you can turn one corner of the stage into the wind, you may even be able to get away with covering just these two leading sides of your performance area.
After the show, make sure to pack up your gear as soon as possible. This might seem obvious, but when you're partying with fans after the gig, it's easy to forget. After the power is cut, your gear can become very cold in the early morning hours just before sunrise. When the sun peaks over the horizon, it can bring a wash of warm air that, when it hits the cool metal and plastic surfaces of your gear, can create a significant amount of condensation. The moisture from the condensation can turn a thin layer of dust into a thin layer of mud that's extremely difficult to remove. Condensation can also seriously fog up LCD screens. Avoid that situation by dusting your gear off and packing it up promptly after the show. If you think the cases may be exposed to the early-morning sunlight, toss a few packets of moisture-absorbing desiccant, like silica gel, straight into the plastic and cotton bags.
BACK HOME
Upon returning home, you'll want to thoroughly clean your gear as soon as possible. The longer you leave the dust and grit on your instruments, the more ingrained it will become and the more damage it will cause. One of the best tools for dusting off faceplates with lots of knobs, buttons and faders is a drafting brush. Employed to remove graphite and eraser dust from the surface of delicate drawings, its horizontal design lets you brush much more surface area in a single swipe than a standard paint brush. Most good art stores sell drafting brushes.
To clean the nooks and crannies (such as fader channels and input jacks), use canned compressed air. Most consumer electronics stores sell it, and you'll probably need several cans because the air pressure usually doesn't last very long. As you blow the dust out, make sure to hold the can upright and work in many short bursts of air pressure, or you're liable to freeze and possibly crack a component. For really stubborn dust that's causing crackling and grit in a pot or fader, you may need to resort to a spray electric contact cleaner (such as 3M's Novec Contact Cleaner).
The best things for cleaning your cables are Swiffers, Procter & Gamble's magnetic dust cloths — the dry variety. Hold a Swiffer between your thumb and forefinger and run the cable, from end to end, through the cloth. The dust should disappear after a couple of passes. The Swiffers even do a fine job of taking the dust off the metal ends of ¼-inch cables.
With summer upon us and outside festivals thriving, you'll want to snag gratifying outdoor gigs if you can. However, if you do end up performing outside, especially in the desert, take the proper precautions to protect your gear and prevent the damage caused by gritty desert dust.
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