On the road toolbox?

ahjteam

Anssi Tenhunen
Hi guys,

I was wondering what kind of stuff should you have in your toolbox for touring in cases of emergency? I only had my leather man and maglite with me, which saved me from a lot of things, but this is a short list I came up with, do you guys think of anything else?

Tools:
- Flashlight
- Leatherman, Gerber or similar multitool
- Screwdrivers, allen wrenches and a small battery operated power drill
- 3-5 hole extension power chord
- Camera with flash (I have one on my cellphone)
- Soldering iron and some solder
- Wire strippers
- Multimeter
- Cable tester
- Decibel meter
- Bandaid
- Bottle opener and a breathalyzer :devil:

Musical tools:
- Headphones
- USB stick (for saving settings on LS9 or other digital desks)
- Guitar tuner
- Drum key
- Few spare instrument cables
- mp3/cd player or other audio source
- Cheap microphone with switch for talkback
- Lots of adapters (XLR/TRS/TS/RCA to XLR/TS)
- minijack to 2 XLR/TS/RCA cable
- headphone jack adapter (minijack to TRS)

Expendables:
- Maybe a few spare sets of guitar strings, one set of bass strings and a few drumsticks, and a few guitar picks *
- AA and 9V batteries *
- Safety pins
- Cable ties
- gaffa
- electrical tape
- Earplugs
- Sharpies, pens, paper and a small notebook


* provided and paid by the band
 
The majority of things can be fixed/diagnosed with a leatherman, torch and gaff. I also take a soldering iron. Anything else is really specific to what your job on tour will be. Tour managing, teching, merch, driving and sound all require different skillsets and the right tools for the job. I tour alot under all of these job descriptions and the first 3 things can help with 90% of problems you'll encounter. That being said, you can't be prepared enough, but a light traveller is always appreciated.