Restoring Instruments

Had a great gig down at the Falling Rock on Friday with Dysfunction Junction.  I got to bring out the Portuguese Guitarra, the mandolin, electric mandolin, electric, resonator and Weissenborn guitars.

The Subdudes Return to Colorado

The 3 Twins and the Tommy Malone Band joined together as the "Dudes" as a Subdudes reunion concert.  I caught the great act at the Little Bear and they'll be finishing up with a show at the Bluebird.  It was a fantastic show showcasing John Magnie, Tommy Malone and Steve Amedee - the three original Subdudes.  The three introduced the additional band members on stage with a version of Tim Cook's (Mr. Rutherford) Sarita.

Picture taken from an article on the post.

Restoring Instruments

 

	In January, I mistakenly bought a guitar over the internet.  A 1937-ish National Duolian resophonic guitar.  It had been sloppily painted gold and the neck was completely warped. Well, I believe in recycling, so instead of selling it for a loss, I've decided to dump more money into the thing to try and resurrect another life in the instrument world. The neck has been taken off and a new ebony fretboard will replace the old one.  A truss rod will be added - I figure there's not much point in trying to make it as original as possible - I play these instruments, so the truss rod will ensure proper adjustment in the future.
In the spirit of "Don't try this at home" - I stripped all the gold paint off - only to find a rust bucket.  I did my best to take the rust off.
Now the instrument's fate lies in the hands of Edward at the Olde Town Pickin' Parlor.  I've given him specific components to amplify the instrument and hopefully it will be done in time for my CD release party for the song "Mo' Trouble Than Love".
To accompany the solo blues slide act, I built a stompbox.  It's an old ammunition box with a latch door.  I wired in a microphone and padded the inside of the box with foam.  It still needs tweaking, but it is a great little box to hold the beat by stomping on it while I play and sing.  When it's all done, it probably again is as much as buying a porchboard, but I recycled the box and with the new leather handle it just looks too cool...