College Sound Designer Traveling Out of State for Summer Stock

Dejoux

Member
Hey All,

I'm a Junior studying technical theater at college and I just accepted a design position for a summer stock company out of state. This is my first time traveling out of state for a summer job and I was looking for any tips or suggestions you're willing to share with me. The company is flying me out there at the beginning of the season and then back home at the end of the season, so what I bring has to fit on a plane (with reasonable expenses). My main concern is transporting tools four states over, although lately I've been toying with the idea of mailing them to the address awaiting me.

If this isn't really the place to post this, please let me know and I'll move it to a more appropriate thread.

Thanks!
 
I used to fly multiple times a week across the country for gigs, and the biggest thing I can say is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ship your tools. It's just not worth the hassle of lugging a heavy Pelican to the airport and waiting around for it at baggage claim, plus paying extra for overweight baggage, plus the strong likelihood of something being broken or stolen by TSA agents, plus the distinct possibility of your stuff being lost with little possibility of timely compensation. This will also let you have one checked bag for clothes and such instead of needing to pay for a second one. Invest in a quality Pelican case and pack any fragile items securely, then lock it up and drop it off at your shipping company of choice. Put some insurance on it and make sure you have an up-to-date list of EVERYTHING in the box, including model numbers and prices. To be safe, ship it to the theatre of business office or the place where you're going so they can receive it if you're not around. Theoretically, the company should pay for this, although I know summerstocks can be stingy about that.
 
Thanks for the advice! I've been looking at pelican cases off and on for a while but haven't pulled the trigger because of the price. Are there any cases in particular you can recommend for tools specifically? I know there are a variety of different types for different applications.
 
It really depends on how much you have to carry with you, and what kinds of tools they are. I've had three different Pelicans to date, and I still use two of them regularly. My biggest is a Pelican 1620 and weighs in around 85lbs when fully loaded. It's large enough to hold pretty much everything I could ever need and then some. I rarely bring that out these days. My go-to case is my 1560. It's still big enough to store a lot of stuff, but it's a much more manageable size. I've flown with this case dozens of times and it's never given me problems. The third one, which I've since gotten rid of, is a Pelican 1510. I see this case all the time, as it's marketed as their largest "carry-on size" case. I know many sound people in particular love it, as it fits everything they need in a small, compact package. All three of these cases have wheels and a retracting handle, as well as top and side carrying handles and a hinged lid on the long side. The 1510 didn't work well for me personally because it was just too small for me to store everything I needed cleanly, but as I said, tons of people love it.

There's really nothing bad to be said about Pelican cases, other than their price point. You could also go with the Storm version of any of these cases, which is very similar except with slightly easier to open latches and (in my opinion) a less well-designed handle. Which one you choose depends a lot on what you need to bring with you. If you just need a pile of hand tools, you could conceivably toss them in the middle and call it a day. If you need to transport a number of fragile things, or if you're a big organizational person, it might be worth getting a larger case and using foam to carve out individual homes for everything you need.
 
It really depends on how much you have to carry with you, and what kinds of tools they are. I've had three different Pelicans to date, and I still use two of them regularly. My biggest is a Pelican 1620 and weighs in around 85lbs when fully loaded. It's large enough to hold pretty much everything I could ever need and then some. I rarely bring that out these days. My go-to case is my 1560. It's still big enough to store a lot of stuff, but it's a much more manageable size. I've flown with this case dozens of times and it's never given me problems. The third one, which I've since gotten rid of, is a Pelican 1510. I see this case all the time, as it's marketed as their largest "carry-on size" case. I know many sound people in particular love it, as it fits everything they need in a small, compact package. All three of these cases have wheels and a retracting handle, as well as top and side carrying handles and a hinged lid on the long side. The 1510 didn't work well for me personally because it was just too small for me to store everything I needed cleanly, but as I said, tons of people love it.

There's really nothing bad to be said about Pelican cases, other than their price point. You could also go with the Storm version of any of these cases, which is very similar except with slightly easier to open latches and (in my opinion) a less well-designed handle. Which one you choose depends a lot on what you need to bring with you. If you just need a pile of hand tools, you could conceivably toss them in the middle and call it a day. If you need to transport a number of fragile things, or if you're a big organizational person, it might be worth getting a larger case and using foam to carve out individual homes for everything you need.

I have a nanuk and storm equivalent to the 1510... the nanuk is packed to the brim with my projection tools. It used to have my lighting ones but has pretty much been switched over (though it still goes to lighting gigs sometimes as it has meters, basic hand tools ect). It is exploding I think. I need to find something bigger so I can put a few more things I need in there like a soldering iron, diffusion, and a precision screwdriver set (not just the precision bits).

Anyways, I like the nanuk and storm both way better than the pelicans.
 
Anyways, I like the nanuk and storm both way better than the pelicans.

Can you elaborate? When I bought my last Pelican, I went back and forth for a long time between a Storm and a Pelican. It was a long time ago, but as I recall, my main understanding of the difference was the push-button latches which were easier for me to open. I can't remember why I went with a Pelican, to be honest. What features about the Storm do you like better?
 
Sorry for the late response, I'm in tech for a show this week. It's tough to say which tools I'd like to bring because I like being prepared. I think the tools I'm looking to bring with my are as follows:

-soldering iron
-multimeter
-drill/driver set
-motorized screwdriver (I've found that these are great for moving things around in a rack, plus they're cheap)
-accompanying drill bits
-big screwdrivers
-small screwdrivers
-precision screwdrivers
-tape measure
-channel lock pliers
-needle nose pliers
-adjustable c-wrench
-leatherman
-allen wrench set
-9" level
-writing utensils
-flashlights
-work gloves
-tool leash

I'm sure there are a few thing's I'm missing, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head. I'll take a look at my tool cases a little later in the day
 
Sorry for the late response, I'm in tech for a show this week. It's tough to say which tools I'd like to bring because I like being prepared. I think the tools I'm looking to bring with my are as follows:

-soldering iron
-multimeter
-drill/driver set
-motorized screwdriver (I've found that these are great for moving things around in a rack, plus they're cheap)
-accompanying drill bits
-big screwdrivers
-small screwdrivers
-precision screwdrivers
-tape measure
-channel lock pliers
-needle nose pliers
-adjustable c-wrench
-leatherman
-allen wrench set
-9" level
-writing utensils
-flashlights
-work gloves
-tool leash

I'm sure there are a few thing's I'm missing, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head. I'll take a look at my tool cases a little later in the day

Audio specific... adapters if you have them, sound meter, rca to 1/8" and 1/8" to 1/4" to play an ipod/cell phone over PA (invest in one of those if necessary... I do lighting and video and I have one!).
 
Yes! Good call! I do have a bag of various audio connecters, including a cable for an iPod/phone. I forgot to add that in! I also keep a baggy of guitar picks in it because I work a lot of concerts here at school. A decent but affordable SPL meter is something that I've been meaning to invest in as well
 
Yes! Good call! I do have a bag of various audio connecters, including a cable for an iPod/phone. I forgot to add that in! I also keep a baggy of guitar picks in it because I work a lot of concerts here at school. A decent but affordable SPL meter is something that I've been meaning to invest in as well

If you need a quick and dirty, SPL meter with out Super Resolution, just as a sense of Loudness. You already have on in your pocket. if you have an Iphone. SPLnFTT It works great, and has been compared with 1000$ hardware equivilents and was still considered Accurate by reviewers. I dropped the 4$ for it and it's great. Newest update also has a rough Tone generator.
 
I've got an Android phone, although I do have a small collection of sound tool apps. I don't rely on them too heavily since their accuracy can be questioned, but they work in a pinch! I've got Sound Meter (another quick and dirty SPL meter), FrequenSee (a real-time frequency analyzer), and SoundForm which is good for signal generation including pink and white noise. I still plan on investing in a solid SPL meter, but thanks for the tips, I appreciate it!
 

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