I'm worried about people tripping on legs of tripods.

[Galager]

I am always worried about someone tripping on the leg of one of my tripods. I'm worried about my gear falling over and even more worried about someone tripping on them, falling, and suing me.

I have thought about skrims (something I am not currently using) but not sure if that will do the trick. I like black to match all my other gear but a black scrim in a dark room wont be much better than the tripod by itself.

What do you do to protect you and your gear from the flailing feet of oblivious bystanders?

 

[steve149]

If I use tripods, I always set them with 2 legs in front and as close to even with the front of my table as I can .. this leaves the 3rd leg straight back and helps a bit.

But lately I've gone to top over sub .. either my JBLs over my Yamahas or my EVOX 8 system .. helps a lot in the tripping department .. but opens up the issues of mixed drinks and food being placed on them.

 

[rickryan.com]

I am always worried about someone tripping on the leg of one of my tripods. I'm worried about my gear falling over and even more worried about someone tripping on them, falling, and suing me.

I have thought about skrims (something I am not currently using) but not sure if that will do the trick. I like black to match all my other gear but a black scrim in a dark room wont be much better than the tripod by itself.

What do you do to protect you and your gear from the flailing feet of oblivious bystanders?

First off, are you putting your tripod on either side of your table, towards the front?

 

[Galager]

First off, are you putting your tripod on either side of your table, towards the front?

Like Steve, I mostly use satellites over subs except when I need a 2nd set of speakers for larger venues. They are on tripods and I usually try to put them as close to my subs as possible. My lighting tree is also a tripod with an extra wide footprint for stability. That is the one that I am really worried about the most because I raise it up quite high if I can.

 

[steve149]

Light tree I always try to put behind my table (and me) if possible. I use the Ultimate Light stand and it goes pretty high .. plus I have 2' vertical extensions if necessary. If I use 2, I try to put them behind the speakers.

 

[Galager]

Light tree I always try to put behind my table (and me) if possible. I use the Ultimate Light stand and it goes pretty high .. plus I have 2' vertical extensions if necessary.

Have you ever run into a scenario where you were NOT able to put it behind you? Do having those legs pointing out make you nervous?

 

[steve149]

Have you ever run into a scenario where you were NOT able to put it behind you? Do having those legs pointing out make you nervous?

I can't recall one where it wasn't either behind me or had the speakers in front of them .. and that includes bar setups.

I had looked into speaker mounted lights (for my JBLs), but don't have that option with my EVOX (except maybe to use my Inno Pocket Scans on the pole).

Speaker mount: usually found on eBay or you can make with a couple of O-clamps and a piece of light stand if your speakers have hanging bolt sockets.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lighting-St...0-K8-KW122-KW152-KW153-Speakers-/321866834543

 

[DJ Bobcat]

I can't recall one where it wasn't either behind me or had the speakers in front of them .. and that includes bar setups.

I had looked into speaker mounted lights (for my JBLs), but don't have that option with my EVOX (except maybe to use my Inno Pocket Scans on the pole).

Speaker mount: usually found on eBay or you can make with a couple of O-clamps and a piece of light stand if your speakers have hanging bolt sockets.

Lighting Stand T Bar Tripod Kit for QSC K12, K10, K8, KW122 KW152 KW153 Speakers

I have a couple of those speaker mounted light bars. I haven't used them yet because they take longer to set up than my light tree.
I generally set my subs up in front of my DJ table, with my speakers on tripods; generally parallel to, but several feet to each side of my table. I also setup my tripods just as Steve149 described. I don't use scrims yet, but plan to get some soon.
I am concerned, of course, about someone tripping over my gear, so I try to setup in areas of the least traffic I can find. But sometimes setup options are limited. I haven't had anyone trip over my gear yet, but I'm insured in case it ever happens.

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[DJ Ricky B]

I have been deejaying since 1998 using Tripod Speaker Stands. I have NEVER had a person trip over my tripods and fall down....and I perform in some pretty tight spots.

I have had a 3 year old that the parents were chasing trip over a tripod once, but he caught himself. I had a kid at a mitzvah trip once, but he caught himself as well. I had a server with a catering company trip once, but it was a minor trip, and he caught himself too. He was not paying attention though. Also, if a server with a catering company wanted to sue me for tripping over my speaker stand I would laugh ad say good luck with that!

 

[DJ Ricky B]

A guest suing a DJ over tripping over their tripod and injuring themselves is equivalent to someone suing a vehicle owner because they walked into their parked car in the parking lot, and got injured.

Common Sense prevails, and this case would be thrown out in court.

Now if you set up your speaker stand in a real dumb location, and it happened to fall on it's own onto someone, and the speaker somehow injured someone causing them to need stitches, or get a concussion, then yeah, you could be sued. ...If your speaker stand and speaker fell off of a stage onto a guest in the crowd on it's own, then yeah you could be sued for that too.

Don't set up your speaker stands NEAR TABLES AND CHAIRS. If the stand can potentially fall and hit someone sitting at a table...then just put the speakers on the floor and go without the stands just to be safe!

 

[DJ Bobcat]

A guest suing a DJ over tripping over their tripod and injuring themselves is equivalent to someone suing a vehicle owner because they walked into their parked car in the parking lot, and got injured.

Common Sense prevails, and this case would be thrown out in court...

Maybe... but people sue over almost anything these days, especially if there is an injury involved and a personal injury lawyer willing to take the case.
You NEVER know what a judge is going to do, and if you expect "common sense" to rule, you'll be disappointed. As the defendant in a civil suit, you're at a distinct disadvantage. If you took reasonable measures to prevent someone from tripping, they'll say that's proof you KNEW your gear was a tripping hazard. If you do nothing to keep people from tripping, they'll say you are negligent. The best thing you can do is get a good liability insurance policy.


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[steve149]

Maybe... but people sue over almost anything these days, especially if there is an injury involved and a personal injury lawyer willing to take the case.
You NEVER know what a judge is going to do, and if you expect "common sense" to rule, you'll be disappointed. As the defendant in a civil suit, you're at a distinct disadvantage. If you took reasonable measures to prevent someone from tripping, they'll say that's proof you KNEW your gear was a tripping hazard. If you do nothing to keep people from tripping, they'll say you are negligent. The best thing you can do is get a good liability insurance policy.


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Main reason I have a policy (mine is from djinsuranceinminutes.com). I don't do many events, but a lawsuit from one would be enough to justify it. Speaker stands (plus the speakers) are probably near the top of the list for liability sources.

 

[Ausumm]

A guest suing a DJ over tripping over their tripod and injuring themselves is equivalent to someone suing a vehicle owner because they walked into their parked car in the parking lot, and got injured.Common Sense prevails, and this case would be thrown out in court.!

This is your brain being hopeful.
People who sue these days sue EVERYONE in the building at the time.
The more people they bring into the lawsuit, the more money they can possibly make.
They'd sue the venue, the servers, the bartender, and especially YOU!
It was your speaker stand. You were the one who put it there.
I've heard of lawsuits that involved the DJ for a guy driving home drunk.
Claimed the DJ "encouraged" the party atmosphere, which made him drink more than he should.
Common sense has nothing to do with lawsuits...
especially when ther are lawyers who are getting a percentage of the take.

 

[rickryan.com]

Like Steve, I mostly use satellites over subs except when I need a 2nd set of speakers for larger venues. They are on tripods and I usually try to put them as close to my subs as possible. My lighting tree is also a tripod with an extra wide footprint for stability. That is the one that I am really worried about the most because I raise it up quite high if I can.

The point I was trying to get to is, are your tripod legs sticking into a foot traffic area. Obviously, they are. Move them back, out of the way. It's pretty common to flank your table with subs. In that case, put the light stand behind the speaker rig and crank up the height. I used to run into the same problems, and have seen any number of times where guests were tripping over my tripods (including a few grandmas). When I finally re-thought my positioning and learned to hide the legs, the problem went away.

 

[Chuck The DJ]

I don't use subs all that often, but my speakers are, if possible, set up behind me in a safe zone, even close to the back wall. My light tree "Gig Bar" is 90% of the time right behind me,,, when I do have to set it up to the side, I try to set it back as far as I can.

Speakers and lights don't need to be right next to the dance floor to work. They both have throw, use it. Here is a pic or two. The last pic was a bit scary for the speaker on the left, but it really wasn't that bad there.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

Maybe we should start to just hide the speakers under the table because we fear someone will trip over a tripod stand and sue us.

We should probably refrain from talking on the microphones as well. Don't want to say something that offends somebody these days...might get sued. We should probably refrain from playing any music with religious references as well. It's not politically correct, and you could offend someone again.

Also you should probably put up a big yellow sign in front of your table that says "Caution - Wet Floor" and keep it there during the entire duration of every event because somebody might spill a drink on the dance floor, and another guest slips and falls. It will be your fault because you are the one playing music and motivating people to interact in the area of the fluid spill, and you didn't sufficiently warn everybody that the floor might be wet. You might claim you said it on the microphone, but some people are deaf, so you also profiled by not having a sign up they can read with their eyes.

As a matter of fact, you should probably quit the DJ Business and just stay in your house 24/7...don't go outside...There is a chance someone will sue you.

 

[steve149]

No fear .. just reasonable, responsible, preventive actions ..

 

[Galager]

Maybe we should start to just hide the speakers under the table because we fear someone will trip over a tripod stand and sue us.

We should probably refrain from talking on the microphones as well. Don't want to say something that offends somebody these days...might get sued. We should probably refrain from playing any music with religious references as well. It's not politically correct, and you could offend someone again.

Also you should probably put up a big yellow sign in front of your table that says "Caution - Wet Floor" and keep it there during the entire duration of every event because somebody might spill a drink on the dance floor, and another guest slips and falls. It will be your fault because you are the one playing music and motivating people to interact in the area of the fluid spill, and you didn't sufficiently warn everybody that the floor might be wet. You might claim you said it on the microphone, but some people are deaf, so you also profiled by not having a sign up they can read with their eyes.

As a matter of fact, you should probably quit the DJ Business and just stay in your house 24/7...don't go outside...There is a chance someone will sue you.

The fact is I bring this up because I DID have an incident where I was NOT able to put my light stand out of the way and I DID have two people trip but neither fell (thank goodness). There have multiple times where either kids running around, drunk adults, poor lighting (like THAT never happens at a dance!), or limited space have all contributed at one time or another to me seeing someone stumble on a leg of either a speaker stand or lighting stand. I do try to place my gear as far out of the way as possible but sometimes that is not enough. I wanted to get some constructive ideas on what other might do. Hence the reason for the OP.

I don't know, maybe you just aren't as observant as I am.

 

[steve149]

The fact is I bring this up because I DID have an incident where I was NOT able to put my light stand out of the way and I DID have two people trip but neither fell (thank goodness). There have multiple times where either kids running around, drunk adults, poor lighting (like THAT never happens at a dance!), or limited space have all contributed at one time or another to me seeing someone stumble on a leg of either a speaker stand or lighting stand. I do try to place my gear as far out of the way as possible but sometimes that is not enough. I wanted to get some constructive ideas on what other might do. Hence the reason for the OP.

I don't know, maybe you just aren't as observant as I am.

Since many of my gigs were of the bar karaoke variety, I was/am VERY careful with the legs, since 90%+ of the people who sing are drunk (or on their way) AND they walk around my gear to get to the mic .. so I try REALLY hard to minimize any issue that could cause me pain (and $$s). I try to tuck everything in inaccessible corners (thankfully bars tend to have those) .. but drunk people tend to find a way. I used to leave a 12" gap between my karaoke rack and my floor monitor .. until people would attempt to walk between them.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

...I used to leave a 12" gap between my karaoke rack and my floor monitor .. until people would attempt to walk between them.

Funny how 24" wide people think they can fit in a 12" gap???[emoji1]



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