Suggestion for keeping your gear clean at a DESERT party
I’m playing my first ever Desert party and I’m really sketched about my APC40, Laptop and MIDI Fighter getting totally screwed by all the dirt and dust in the air. When i say first ever, I mean i’ve never even been to a party in the Desert let alone perform at one, so i have no idea what to expect and would love some feedback or suggestions. It’s not a paying gig, but the potential for lots of people to play for is looking good, so I’m weighing the pros and cons.
Dirt and dust have got nothing on beer and cigarette smoke. As long as your gear stays dry, shouldn’t take more than a gentle dusting to clean up anything that a night or two of desert can bring. I would make sure that they have an overhead covering of some sort for the DJ gear though, cause depending on the desert, a dry sky can turn into a downpour in minutes.
Are you referencing burning man?
I’ve brought my gear before… and honestly, there isn’t a ton you can do while playing, but when you’re not, keep everything in ziplock bags
Yeah, I play at Outdoor parties all the time and there is no real remedy.
The Organization i play for have to clean the gear after each party. This is the house gear tho that sits there the duration of the party.
Dust clouds will be made by the dancers etc…so we find its best to cover the dancefloor with a thin layer of straw (from straw bales) and then wet the area down.
Do this a good few hours before it starts and then an hour before.
This will settle the dust and compact the ground a little.
Not sure how long you playing, but if you are only gonna bring your gear for your set…you should be ok.
It not and it has to be exposed for a long time…maybe some cling film could help?
thanks for the suggestions guys. ugh. there’s a chance now i might be doing a 4 hour set, my laptop is crying in the corner right now.
i’m going to suggest the hay trick! hell i might even bring some myself. i had already thought of not busting my stuff out until it’s time actually. i was also thinking of the plastic wrap idea! i can’t block the vents on the lappy though.
not sure if i feel better or worse now, but thanks for the suggestions! LOL
There is a lot you can do to help dust-proof your laptop. I did a pictorial guide for Burning Man a few years back; I’ll re-upload it and post the link.
i too was going to suggest taping some cling film/ saran wrap over your gear but thought against it because of the dry desert heat… however steve’s little guide looks to be the goods! i’d definitely consider his method!!
Awesome guide Steve, me thinks that’s worth a proper wrtie up on here? We used to play beach parties and you probably wouldn’t be surpise how grubby our TT’s and mixer used to come back with dust and the like. If I play any again I’m going to treat my lappy to that desert gear!!!
avoid canned air, it’s hard to blow dust OFF rather than INTO your gear.
bring brushes for both vinyl and equipment. if possible, set up a booth only “open” towards the floor but “closed” towards the sides and the back, like a shell; use a couple of powerful fans and position them behind you so that the dust gets blown back where it came from. I’ve done this one time and it worked wonders.
if setting up a shell-like booth with fans is not possible, a battery powered dirt-devil-type vacuum cleaner with the proper adapter (long, thin hose with a brush, the type you’d get for cleaning computer keyboards) does a good job, especially with fader slots. you can affix it to the bottom of the table with some gaffa tape. that way nobody’s gonna see it, but even if they do - it’s a party, so what’s wrong with looking a bit funny - especially as long as your gear is safe
The filters I buy for our window unit air conditioners don’t have any wire like that so it might be worth looking for those. Now that I think about it they may not be as dense though so pay attention to that when your buying them. And the laptop cooler would be critical because your going to restrict your airflow with those filters.
If I were setting up the DJ area I would get a pop up tent to act as your roof. you can get those with walls that cover all four sides. The front will be open and I would only use the walls it came with on the sides. For the back I would get some heavy plastic drop cloth at the hardware store, a lot of duct tape and a couple of box fans. Tape up the back very well as it can get windy in the desert. Cut some holes in the plastic for the box fans to fit in (I would probably put them about waist level or level with the gear) and have them blowing out of the booth like ctrld said with the heavy plastic taped to the fans. If it’s a dirt floor I would throw down some indoor/outdoor carpet so you wouldn’t be kicking up dust.
I think you could get the plastic, duct tape, carpet and fans for under $100.
EDIT:Some random holes about the size of a baseball in the plastic to let air flow through would be a good idea and stake down the pop up.
The cooler I use sucks air from the laptop instead of blowing air into it. For one thing, you’ve already got a laptop fan blowing hot air out; it seems silly to buy something that blows it back in. For another, why have a device that’s continually trying to blow dirt and dust into your laptop?
I have not found canned air to be a problem, as you are mainly cleaning dirt from the keyboard, screen, and filters. The intakes are not exposed so you are not blowing anything direct in. The dirt devil is a very good idea, though.
Not to start an argument, but if you are a PC person I also think you are better off with Intel vs. AMD CPU. Intel chips seem to withstand more heat (though AMD used to be famous for their overclocking ability), but more important, AMD CPUs will begin to stutter and get wacky before they overheat, whereas Intel chips just keep working till they can’t work anymore.
Explain that a little. You just have it mounted and ready to go for a quick vacuum of the gear every once in a while or do you have it running all the time?
And a bit OT, but I had to make some room on the hard drive this morning and deleted a bunch of your podcasts Steve. Now all of a sudden your on a posting marathon? Kind of making me feel guilty!
no. you don’t have it running all the time, you switch it on when you need it, pick up the hose with the brush tip and vacuum over your equipment real quick. this idea came to mind because this is how I dust off my equipment, I never actually used it (unlike the fan option).
Wow awesome work Steve! This seems to be a hot topic for sure on djtt. I definitely have my concerns about covering the vents and generating heat though. I’m also struggling with this gig being just for fun and potentially requiring ALOT of preventative setup for one night and no dough. I’d have to do this for my lappy, APC, and midi fighter (woot for the new silicone midifighter cases).
How long did it take you and how did you test for heat? I’d hate to fry my lappy trying to prevent dirt and dust from getting inside.
