Everyone’s Favorite – What is in My Pelican Case?

A favorite conversation among touring techs centers around the tools we carry in our pelican case or bags. It’s taken me years to refine my kit, but the pieces have become incredibly personal to me in how they support my career. Some items in my FOH kit tend to shock people, but I maintain that even though I typically have a “speciality,” I’m not free from responsibilities as a tech. Equally, while these items don’t always directly benefit me, they’re oftentimes helpful to others I may be working with.

Hopefully, this can serve as a guide for someone building their first kit. While none of these are necessarily outside of the box/unconventional, I consider them must-haves for either backup on tours or as part of my fly rig.

First, I carry a small tuning rig. This includes a Smaart Suite license purchased from Rational Acoustics. Along with this, I have a 2-channel Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, a 100-foot cable, and a couple of measurement mics such as the Isemcon 7150 or dbx RTA-M. I also carry a Manfrotto 156 BLB stand with a couple of adapters and clips.

Next up, testing tools are a must. This includes fiber cleaner, a Rat Sound XLR Sniffer/Sender tool, and a Sound Bullet. They’ve come in handy countless times for double-checking my work on stage or in the shop prepping.

Small organizational items also make it into my pack. A label maker is always present, as are zip ties and cable ties, a variety of colors of e-tape, and some gaff. Allen wrenches come in handy, as well as screwdrivers. Extra thunderbolt/usb adapters, drum keys, and RJ45 cables are also generally seen in my kit.

These items are generally organized within a Pelican 1510, but I also make sure my backpack is packed with essentials. Other expected items I include are my JH V2 16 in ears and a pair of HPH-MT8 headphones. And of course, I never leave the house without a notebook and flash drives.

Article by SoundGirls: Sage Tichenor

SoundGirls
The mission of SoundGirls.org is to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio. Our mission is to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers. SoundGirls.Org was formed in 2013 by veteran live sound engineers Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and operates under the Fiscal Sponsorship of The California Women’s Music Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2012, Karrie and Michelle participated in the “Women of Professional Concert Sound” panel at the AES Conference in San Francisco. The panel was hosted by the Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) and moderated by WAM founder Terri Winston. Terri brought together five women working in live and broadcast audio. The groundbreaking panel (which also included Jeri Palumbo, Claudia Engelhart and Deanne Franklin), provided young women and men a glimpse into life on the road, tips and advice, and a Q & A with the panelists. More importantly though, was how incredibly powerful the experience was for the panelists. We had all been in the business for 20 years or more, yet most of us had never met before that day and within minutes we bonded like long-lost sisters. We were struck by how similar our experiences, work ethics, and passions were and wondered why our paths had never crossed and how our careers would have been different had we been there to support each other through the years. Each of us are strong on our own, but together we were even stronger and a powerful force. We were empowered. Each of us had been asked hundreds of times in our careers: Are there other women doing sound? How did you get into sound? How would a young woman go about getting into sound? Through creating SoundGirls.Org, we hope to establish a place for women working in professional audio to come for support and advice, to share our success and failures, our joys and frustrations, and for empowerment and inspiration.

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SoundGirls

The mission of SoundGirls.org is to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio. Our mission is to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers. SoundGirls.Org was formed in 2013 by veteran live sound engineers Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and operates under the Fiscal Sponsorship of The California Women’s Music Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2012, Karrie and Michelle participated in the “Women of Professional Concert Sound” panel at the AES Conference in San Francisco. The panel was hosted by the Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) and moderated by WAM founder Terri Winston. Terri brought together five women working in live and broadcast audio. The groundbreaking panel (which also included Jeri Palumbo, Claudia Engelhart and Deanne Franklin), provided young women and men a glimpse into life on the road, tips and advice, and a Q & A with the panelists. More importantly though, was how incredibly powerful the experience was for the panelists. We had all been in the business for 20 years or more, yet most of us had never met before that day and within minutes we bonded like long-lost sisters. We were struck by how similar our experiences, work ethics, and passions were and wondered why our paths had never crossed and how our careers would have been different had we been there to support each other through the years. Each of us are strong on our own, but together we were even stronger and a powerful force. We were empowered. Each of us had been asked hundreds of times in our careers: Are there other women doing sound? How did you get into sound? How would a young woman go about getting into sound? Through creating SoundGirls.Org, we hope to establish a place for women working in professional audio to come for support and advice, to share our success and failures, our joys and frustrations, and for empowerment and inspiration.