A different kind of question...

[gisbuxfan]

Hi! I need some help. At our church we are getting just big enough now where we can't leave our mic's, cords, etc out during the week. There is too much going on in the building and the equipment is always in danger of getting broken, misused or mishandled.

We don't have a great deal of storage space in our sound booth, and so I have begun looking for a storage unit which may be equipped to handle such equipment. The big thing we are looking for a solution to store our monitor cords, instrument cables, etc without them getting all tangled up.

I am interested what you have learned or how you handle such storage and if you have any unique ideas/and or pictures that I could learn from, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks so much and God Bless!!

Nick

[milepost13]

The two things I've used the most are either big plastic bins (the kind you can buy at WalMart for $5, or to hang them up on a wall somewhere. Hanging is the best option, IMO, because it takes up less space, you can keep them better organized and get to them more easily.

Nate

[milepost13]

and make sure your people know how to correctly wrap a cable...and get some velcro loops/straps.

Nate

[gisbuxfan]

I have thought about those plastic storage units multiple times, however, I'd really like something that I can lock up.

[milepost13]

maybe if you could explain why you need to protect your stuff (what are the issues/people who are causing damage?) we could more easily help identify the best solution.

Nate

[gisbuxfan]

Sure...Our worship area is also a gym. We host a kids program here 5 days a week. So we see an average of 75 kids every day. There are balls flying everywhere and things get knocked over broken and or damaged while on the stage. This was why we made the decision that we need to clear our stage of equipment each week. We don't have a curtain we could pull closed so we need a storage area for cords and mics, etc.

Our worship team is volunteer lead, so we have someone different leading worship each week, plus we share the stage with our youth program who meets on Wednesday nights. Needless to say, there is a lot of stuff! Anyways, we'd like a good organization and storage system for this equipment, one that would prove security too. I've been thinking of storage cabinets, similar to one that you may find in an office, but one that is more suited toward this kind of equipment.

I hope that helps.

[mikeymo1741]

We have two of those big plastic tubs. They are made of heavy duty plastic, have pinned hinges and hasps for padlocks. Quite secure and durable.

A stand-up cabinet may also do the trick.

[Smitty]

I personally would use a combination of Nate's and Mikey's solutions. Hang the cables, and use a standing cabinet...or two, for the other stuff.


Smitty

[musicianinthestates]

Just to think "outside the box".... maybe an extreme idea, but is the stage built in such a manner that you could install a cage, like on a mall store? everything could be left out and protected from balls and sticky fingers. If theft is feared, this would be better in the long run anyway.



image borrowed from third party site, apologies if there's a problem.

[gisbuxfan]

yeah, a cage probably wouldn't work. We have a gigantic stage! Plus, it wouldn't look the greatest. Thanks for the suggestion. What I am really hoping for is a good solution to store mics, cords, etc.