Sound Check The Oval Savior
posted by on August 23 at 11:53 AM
Duct tape is the most powerful binding force in the world of music today. Concerts and instruments would fail dismally without it. Chords would tangle and sprawl uncoiled all over the stage. Snare heads would ring un-muffled. Posters would not hang. Pieces of broken and cracked equipment would rain to the ground.
On any given night at any given club in the world, someone is asking for duct tape. Right now, in Tokyo, for instance, a drummer needs it for his floor tom.
Without duct tape music would not exist. Scotch tape is way to weak. Masking tape? It rips off in a second.
Soundmen, engineers, and musicians gather and commune around the sticky silver ring and all is equal. Let us pay homage to this humble and dependable all-purpose adhesive.
Duct tape is fabric based and was originally developed during World War II as a waterproof sealing for ammunition cases. In 1970, duct tape saved astronauts onboard Apollo 13 as part of carbon dioxide filters in the wayward lunar module.
How has duct tape saved you? What are your duct tape stories?
The Posies’ Jon Auer has words:
Ah yes, duct tape - how I admire thee. Back in the great epoxy famine of ‘97 I actually held together a battered Gibson SG with said tape long enough to keep it playable for the final three days of two month Posies tour. It really is unbelievably strong and versatile stuff. Sure, it does the trick when taping a set list to a drum monitor or when you want to secure your loose cables to the stage, but you can also tape your bass player’s mouth shut when you get sick and tired of his incessant yammering. This all considered, what really amazes me is how some folks make the ugliest wallets I’ve ever seen out of it and people will actually pay money for them. I’m sure it’s great for the environment as well.
Man, and I was SO buying Jon one of those wallets for his birthday next month.
Not to be picky, but gaffer's tape is way better than duct tape. Its just as strong (if not stronger) and doesn't leave that cruddy residue on everything it touches.
Without duct tape there would be bongwater all over my fucking living room floor.
Also, there would not be that weird dude in the
u-district who walks around with it on his face.
True that,
And gaffer tape is easily torn by hand.
late last friday night (saturday morning) at 3am me and my house mate were preparing to lower a 150lb pig (stuffed with apples and onions and wrapped in banana leaves) into the ground to cook for 14 hours for a 6pm dinner time. we meandered the pig onto two sheets of chicken wire to be carried over to our 4x6 foot pit of burning coals. but alas we realized the chicken wire was too narrow for us to pick up and lower into the pit. we looked everywhere for some type of rope to tie that we could grab onto and lower the pig with so we could stay a safe distance from the VERY hot pit. In our storage room no rope was found but a roll of duct tape was discovered. My housemate's eyes widened as he took the roll, stretched off a giant piece and spun the roll at the bottom which spun the tape to make one long narrow piece of rope. we strung eight pieces of duct tape rope thru the chicken wire and safely lowered the pig into the fire. 14hrs it was cooked, almost perfectly.
duct tape saved the day (or early early morning)
so i know this isn't a musical related use of duct tape. but i had music playing at my BBQ, so maybe that counts.
That was beautiful Kris. Thank you. We are all children of the duct tape.
Oh, I met a bass player once who had duct tape wrapped around his finger. I asked him why (thinking it MUST be a bass related blister or something). He said that it removes warts?! So, not only practical, but it can be used for medical purposes as well!
Ditto @2, I almost never use duct tape. Coming in a lot more different colors and easy to write on-- from a sound tech's perspective, Gaff tape has a lot of advantages from tracking different vocal mics on stage via color/tape pattern and labeling the snake and mixing console.
Let's not forget the tribute to duct tape "Alabama Chrome" by Jim White
what about bungee? let us not forget bungee.
how else are we to strap the drummer to the
roof of the van? duct tape?
Oh Duct Tape.... how could I stay mad at you?
A thousand uses for drummers. More than once I've lost the washer that holds a cymbal up on the top of stand, and wrapped a thin strip of DT around and around the stem to hold it up there in lieu of a washer and felt ring. This is one of DT's best qualities, btw... the ability to tear it neatly into strips just as wide as you need. I'm not familiar w/ gaff tape.. will have to investigate.
Having duct tape is like always keeping a lighter in your pocket even when you don't smoke, just in case someone needs a light. It sucks to need it and not have it, and it's sweet to have it when someone needs it.
Hmm.. It is also like pot, in this way.
Duct tape, I love you. You are always there for me. I wish my bass player was as good as you. Maybe I will put some duct tape on him and see if he gets better.
Sweet duct tape suit with the rainbow by the way. Is that Dog the Bounty Hunter?
Nice pig story, too #5.
It seals ammunition, saves lunar modules, cooks pigs, and so much more. Duct tape makes it happen.
No, that isn't Dog the bounty hunter, it's Posh and David Beckham.
duct tape is probably the one thing holding together the seams of a well-traveled suitcase that holds our most important piece of gear.
eventually we'll get a solid roadcase, but the duct tape hasn't failed so far! plus some of those stickers on it are irreplaceable.
its sort of weird how necessary duct tape is. for anything.
Yeah, without duct tape, there would be no music. That is a given.
Don't forget the WD40. If you can't fix it with Duct tape or WD40, it isn't worth fixing. Tape drummer to the van, hold engine to the block, strap on a pig wheeeeeeee. Great article.
Tante
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