Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jon mccumber]

I'm thinking about investing in some pipe and drape for our small sound and lighting co. Anything I should know or keep in mind .
Thanks in advance,  Jon

[John L Nobile]

I'm thinking about investing in some pipe and drape for our small sound and lighting co. Anything I should know or keep in mind .
Thanks in advance,  Jon

Lots to choose from. Make sure it's fire retardant certified. I much prefer the pipes that have 3 sections. I need a chair or ladder to lower or raise the 2 section pipe.

[Scott Holtzman]

Lots to choose from. Make sure it's fire retardant certified. I much prefer the pipes that have 3 sections. I need a chair or ladder to lower or raise the 2 section pipe.

Best investment I ever made, have been collecting poles, crossmembers and bases, still don't have enough.  It's a license to print money (was when we were working).  Staging, pipe and drape and you need a pile of wireless wash lights to finish the package.


We got our first run of drape at auction from a man who was doing shows for a cosmetic company.  Picked up a trailer load and a bunch of hampers, Rose Brand heavy velvet drape.  Much better than the banjo cloth.  We bought another 40 panels of that and it is our higher end drape.  We have been buying banjo cloth drape from georgia expo. 


Keep in mind you need to do about a 2:1 ration to give you a nice fill.

[Craig Leerman]

Figure out what you are going to do with the drape, then buy. For Example: if you are going to build expo booths, then 8’ tall uprights and Banjo cloth would be the ticket. But, if you want to build a backdrop behind a corporate gig, you need to know how tall the area ballroom ceilings are, and buy uprights for that height plus get better velour type drape.

If buying new, get the Castle Top uprights. They allow the crossbars to sit flush at the top so you don’t have a “hump” at every upright. If buying used, you can get retrofit Castle Top plastic parts that you can install yourself with rivets.

While black is the standard color for most drape usage, some events require different colors. Examples include: White drapes at weddings or Blue drapes for a political rally.

Style of drape panels. If you need to match existing drapes or projection screen dress kits then you may need to buy certain drapes like a good velour that matches most dress kits. If not then you could buy drapes from anywhere in any type as long as your inventory matches.

Get base weights or sandbags. I have seen numerous pipe and drape installs fall or get blown over at gigs because the install company did not put some weight on the bases. I use sandbags, but if I were buying stuff today I would look into the flat rubber base weights.

Figure out how you want to transport the stuff. You could buy soft bags or hard cases for the pipes, or simply shrink wrap the pipes for transport. I have seen drapes live in ventilated road trunks, hampers and even small plastic RubberMaid totes from Home Depot. Figure out storage and transport options before you buy. There are base carts and pipe carts available that may be good transport/storage options.

Buy some clothespins or binder clips to clip your drapes together when you need to. I use binder clips from places like Office Depot.

Last, check out the local prices for drape and price accordingly. While the investment in pipe and drape may seem low compared to speakers or consoles, it’s all about the storage, transportation and labor costs. Don’t be too cheap as your labor and other costs will sneak up and take away your profit.

Here are a few good online places to look. I have bought from Georgia Expo, Drape Kings and Rose Brand. They are all great folks to deal with.

Georgia Expo
https://www.georgiaexpo.com

Rose Brand
https://www.rosebrand.com

Event Stable
https://www.eventstable.com

Sew What
https://sewwhatinc.com/products/pipe-drape

Drape Kings
https://www.drapekings.com

Online EEI
https://www.onlineeei.com

[jon mccumber]

Figure out what you are going to do with the drape, then buy. For Example: if you are going to build expo booths, then 8’ tall uprights and Banjo cloth would be the ticket. But, if you want to build a backdrop behind a corporate gig, you need to know how tall the area ballroom ceilings are, and buy uprights for that height plus get better velour type drape.

If buying new, get the Castle Top uprights. They allow the crossbars to sit flush at the top so you don’t have a “hump” at every upright. If buying used, you can get retrofit Castle Top plastic parts that you can install yourself with rivets.

While black is the standard color for most drape usage, some events require different colors. Examples include: White drapes at weddings or Blue drapes for a political rally.

Style of drape panels. If you need to match existing drapes or projection screen dress kits then you may need to buy certain drapes like a good velour that matches most dress kits. If not then you could buy drapes from anywhere in any type as long as your inventory matches.

Get base weights or sandbags. I have seen numerous pipe and drape installs fall or get blown over at gigs because the install company did not put some weight on the bases. I use sandbags, but if I were buying stuff today I would look into the flat rubber base weights.

Figure out how you want to transport the stuff. You could buy soft bags or hard cases for the pipes, or simply shrink wrap the pipes for transport. I have seen drapes live in ventilated road trunks, hampers and even small plastic RubberMaid totes from Home Depot. Figure out storage and transport options before you buy. There are base carts and pipe carts available that may be good transport/storage options.

Buy some clothespins or binder clips to clip your drapes together when you need to. I use binder clips from places like Office Depot.

Last, check out the local prices for drape and price accordingly. While the investment in pipe and drape may seem low compared to speakers or consoles, it’s all about the storage, transportation and labor costs. Don’t be too cheap as your labor and other costs will sneak up and take away your profit.

Here are a few good online places to look. I have bought from Georgia Expo, Drape Kings and Rose Brand. They are all great folks to deal with.

Georgia Expo
https://www.georgiaexpo.com

Rose Brand
https://www.rosebrand.com

Event Stable
https://www.eventstable.com

Sew What
https://sewwhatinc.com/products/pipe-drape

Drape Kings
https://www.drapekings.com

Onlin
https://www.onlineeei.com

Most of what we is smaller bar gigs and smaller outdoor feats. I'm basically looking to provide a nice looking backdrop while helping to contain some of the back wall reflections. Does banjo cloth fit the bill or would I need something heavier?

[Chris Hindle]

Most of what we is smaller bar gigs and smaller outdoor feats. I'm basically looking to provide a nice looking backdrop while helping to contain some of the back wall reflections. Does banjo cloth fit the bill or would I need something heavier?

For your intended use, heavier is better.
Outdoor use REQUIRES a beefy support system.
You can't fusk with Mother Nature.....
Chris.

[Scott Helmke]

Banjo cloth won't have any significant effect on the sound.

[Rick Earl]

Most of what we is smaller bar gigs and smaller outdoor feats. I'm basically looking to provide a nice looking backdrop while helping to contain some of the back wall reflections. Does banjo cloth fit the bill or would I need something heavier?

Banjo cloth is about as useful as a banjo (apologies to my banjo playing friends).   Banjo cloth is thin, almost scrim like material,it is slightly shiny and doesn't take light well and would have minimal if any acoustic properties,  you see it most often at trade shows. 
I do not recommend it.  I did not own any when I was at a production company, and now I don't allow it in the door at any of my venues. 

[Caleb Dueck]

Most of what we is smaller bar gigs and smaller outdoor feats. I'm basically looking to provide a nice looking backdrop while helping to contain some of the back wall reflections. Does banjo cloth fit the bill or would I need something heavier?

Heavy velour.  For really bad rooms/surfaces consider two separate drapes.  Not only will you get more total absorption, but the spacings from the wall will help it perform down an octave lower.  It's easy to make a room muddy with velour (absorb only the highs); this helps minimize the muddiness a bit. 

[jon mccumber]

Heavy velour.  For really bad rooms/surfaces consider two separate drapes.  Not only will you get more total absorption, but the spacings from the wall will help it perform down an octave lower.  It's easy to make a room muddy with velour (absorb only the highs); this helps minimize the muddiness a bit.

I'm really looking to tone down cymbals. A couple of the rooms I work they just take over.

[ProSoundWeb Community]