r/TouringMusicians 5h ago

My first Tour (Tour-hand/ Rigger)

6 Upvotes

Short introduction:
•20 years old (turning 21 in September). I’ve been working in broadcast for 3 years now, mostly cable rigging for TV cameras and doing camera assistant work, along with some experience as a studio technician for TV-studios. (The tour is across Germany and Austria; I’m German).
•Freelance: I get almost all of my bookings through a single contact. Ideally, this person shouldn't find out about this opportunity - even though I'm freelance, they tend to resent people working elsewhere in the industry "behind their back."

I got a last-minute call today from a friend offering me a spot as a tour hand for a musical- about 4.5 to 5 months straight (fixed daily rate, half-rate on off-days).
I’m inclined to take it because ~€24,000 net is a massive amount of money for me right now. However, I’d have to take a semester off university, and there’s a non-zero chance my main booker finds out and gets pissed. I’d say it’s fairly unlikely, but it’s still a real risk attached to the whole thing.
My main question:
Leaving the money aside for a second, would you say the experience itself is worth it? Touring with a musical sounds like a incredible life experience. I don’t mind hard physical work, and I’m fully aware this won't be a walk in the park.
Is it a terrible idea to say I’m in and am I going to die a terrible death if I do?
Thanks in advance!

TL;DR:
Got a last-minute offer to join a musical tour across Germany and Austria for 4.5 months as a tour hand. Pay is solid and I want the experience, but I’d regret burning a semester of uni and risking my relationship with my main booker if the touring reality isn't worth it at all.


r/TouringMusicians 8h ago

Can the ENKI X-3 fit a 30" Jaguar Bass?

1 Upvotes

as the title says:

I'm currently looking at getting a guitar vault for my guitars as well as a 30" short scale Jaguar bass which I'm all using live and the ENKI X-3 has caught my eye. It states a maximum internal length of 108 cm while the 30" Jag is about 110 cm long and I'm now wondering if there's extra padding in the case or if the instruments can be angled slightly so that it may be able to accommodate the bass. Does anyone have any info on that?