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| Doumbek |
The repair of the Jasmine guitar was attempted yesterday afternoon. It was amazing how, as it sat there with no strings on it; I saw several busking opportunities go by the wayside, but, I'm sure that part of that was psychological.
One of which was the arrival of Gabrielle, the 23 year old percussionist/beat boxer, who was toting a doumbek. She said that she had been looking "all over" for me. I assumed that she wanted to jam and/or even busk along one of the sidewalks.
That type of drum is very quiet when the open end is flush against the ground, but when it is tilted to allow air flow, it can be heard a mile away. This is a technicality that will have to be addressed with Gabrielle, should we busk on this Halloween night.
Roll Over, Bob Villa 
The attempted repair of the Jasmine involved me slathering the fingertips of my left hand liberally with (skin and eye irritant; avoid contact; rinse off with water) Liquid Nails and then working that limb, in a Harry Houdini style contortive motion, into the sound hole of the Jasmine. I found that I could just barely reach the damaged area with the very tips of my fingers, and I did the best I could to find where the flat top beam had separated from the ribbon of wood which runs around the inside perimeter of the body. My right hand couldn't even get close.
I thought that I should probably separate the two pieces, so that I could get some Liquid Nails between them, before pressing them back together, which I hope that I accomplished. However, working only by feel, I was only guessing at how effective I was being.Liquid Nails does not set instantly; nor does its tube bear any indication of just how long to let your Jasmine sit and set.
I let it set all night.
This morning, I had my doubts about the thing staying together under the pressure of the strings which I have yet to put on. There is still a bit of "play" and I don't know if it is because the adhesive still needs to dry more (maybe it is like rubber now but will soon become like cement) but I do feel that I need to re-apply some duck tape or a bumper sticker to the outside to keep the wood from moving, in the case that it might take 2 or 3 days for the Liquid Nails to turn from liquid to nails.
Can't Make It Worse If nothing else, the weight of the glob of adhesive stuck to the sound board will significantly lower the frequency at which it will resonate, giving the Jasmine a more solid sound i.e. more bass.
The duck tape will have to do its job of preventing the top from separating further from the side. It had started to "run" like a crack in a windshield...until such a time that I find myself in the right pawn shop with the right amount of money on me and can get twice the guitar for the same 90 bucks that I paid for the Jasmine. Just a matter of stringing two $75 nights together in a row, and being too tired to spend anything in the interim.
Counting My Blessings (one hand required)
So far, I have a sleeping bag, socks, razors, new strings and a tube of Liquid Nails to show for my trip to Mobile.
With Halloween night on the horizon, I need to find some duck tape somewhere and get on with my life.
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| Dorise (foreground) |
Since I Lost My Camera...
Just for the record, Gabrielle is kind of cute in a "boyish" way (and in an "Alabama" way, given her inability to spell her own name). Her short hair plays a strong roll in her overall appearance. I guess she looks like a "tom-boy" -one that you could easily picture terrorizing an entire opposing team of field hockey players.
Kind of like a white Dorise, of Tanya and Dorise from New Orleans fame, she is, now that I think of it.
Lepley Sequel Oddly enough, she looks quite like a guy named John Lepley who I once knew, and who I always thought looked rather effeminate, himself. This didn't keep me from hanging around with him; but his ripping me off for all my music equipment and then disappearing DID keep me from hanging around with him
Maybe Gabrielle is the cosmos' way of reimbursing me for the Lepley debacle back in 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Teaming up with a drummer could be a good move. People will hear the drum, and then come over and tip the drummer - and that bummy looking guy next to her, the one with the guitar...
ReplyDeleteI didn't busk today. It's supposed to rain and looks/feels almost like it's gonna snow. Plus I feel pretty tired, the kind of tired where you know you'll catch a cold or something if you push too hard.