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BS: Instrument mistreatment ??
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Subject: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Davey Date: 14 Jul 00 - 04:26 PM I think it would be interesting to hear about accidents that befell any of your GOOD instruments, either through accident, negligence, inebriation, or whwtever. Back in the 60's Oscar Brand hosted a TV program "Let's Sing Out", and I fell in love with his big, blonde, Goya 12-String. So, when I chanced to find one in a music store, I shelled out $600. (a lot of money for an instrument in the 60's) and took this lovely guitar home. It had a wide classical guitar neck and was joined to the body at the 12th fret, and had tremendous tone. Loud, too. I was still a veritable beginner but could strum most of the popular songs that were around then. Used to take the guitar to the pub where 20-30 people would gather to drink, sing and carouse on Thursday nights (place called The Pretzel Bell, long since demolished, anyone from Toronto remember it?). Being a young,struggling banker, I had no wheels, so I always hitched a ride home with someone. One particular night we were leaving the pub at 1:00 AM, and a friend offered me a ride in his sports car (I think it was an MGB). We stashed the guitar in the trunk, closed the lid, hopped in the car and away we went. On reaching our destination and opening the trunk I was confronted with one of the saddest sights I had seen in many years. The metal hinge on the trunk cover had pierced the guitar case and the top of my beautiful 12-string. I stood there nearly crying, I was so devastated. I took it to a repair shop and it was patched (cost me $50.00 for that, but the guitar was never the same after that. It still had great tone but little mechanical things began going wrong, such as the bridge popping off, the top caving in (slowly and gradually over a period of time), and I eventually retired it from service and bought another guitar. Hard lesson learned !!! Davey... (:>) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Branwen23 Date: 14 Jul 00 - 04:37 PM well, nothing so sad as your guitar story... but my fellow band members and I have countless "oops, had my pennywhistle in my back pocket, sat on it, there's another trip to the music store" stories... -branwen- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: GUEST Date: 14 Jul 00 - 04:43 PM Being unaccustomed to modern conveniences, such as ceiling fans, I once lifted my guitar upwards to protect it from two running tots ... and stuck it into the path of the fan blades. The G-string key was bent from then on. Later I sold the guitar, and even later saw it in a pawn shop - no mistaking that dinged G key. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: catspaw49 Date: 14 Jul 00 - 04:51 PM Refreshed an old one for you Davey that relates....called "Instrument Disasters." Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Jon Freeman Date: 14 Jul 00 - 04:57 PM My best instruments have been OK but I have been cursed with a foul temper: My Hohner Chromatic Harmonica got shattered when I threw it at my brother and missed. I threw my Hohner Anglo Concertina into the sea of the quay in Conwy. Somebody asked if they rescued it, could they have it and I agreed. My Hohner Erica Melodeon has a few scars from being thrown at a wall. I snapped the neck of my Ozark Tenor banjo when I threw it accross the room. My Dulcetta Tenor banjo had a similar accident but I was able to repair that. I am a lot calmer these days and the only other instrument to suffer at my hands was my Harmony Mandolin which I was carrying when I slipped on wet grass. It got a small dent in the side but it didn't make any difference to it. I came close to loosing my Kildare Tenor one day when I got very drunk during a local Festival. About an hour after visiting a pub, I remembered that I had just left it in the middle of the floor when I had used the toilet. I went back and found out that the landlord had put it safe but he persuaded me that I was not in a fit state to look after instruments and I agreed to collect it the next day. Jon |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Branwen23 Date: 14 Jul 00 - 05:05 PM Wow, Jon... temper, temper... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Sorcha Date: 14 Jul 00 - 05:10 PM A freinds mom backed over his double French horn with the car; not once but twice. I played on a stage in the summer sun once, air temp was at least 100F, up on the stage with the heat boucing off the floor was probably 120F. Next day when I opened the fiddle case, ALL the bow hair was out of the bow. When younger I walked through an open doorway and caught the tip of the bow in the hinge crack. Broke the bow. My mom sneezed in orchestra and put both elbows through the top of her viola. I think I will shut up now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Ebbie Date: 14 Jul 00 - 05:52 PM Sorcha-LOL!
No personal disasters to relate but a friend lost his favorite fiddle to the tide. (This is in Alaska.) Lugging his fiddle and a pack of supplies, he had been dropped off by boat on a shore. By himself in the wilderness, he played a few tunes then carefully latched the fiddle in the case and went roaming the island. Well, it took longer than he had foreseen- he was gone hours. When he came back, he was tired and hungry so he built a fire for lunch. Whilst it was cooking, he was in the midst of stockpiling some firewood when he suddenly recalled his fiddle. Alas, the tide was receding. He thinks he got a glimpse of it cresting a wave in the distance but isn't certain. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Clinton Hammond2 Date: 14 Jul 00 - 06:08 PM This is why I NEVER load my stuff anymore...
I was packing up after a gig when a fan from the bar came up and asked if he coudl give my Seagull a whirl... We had talked earlier and he seemd to be fairly knowledgable...
"Sure", I said, "Just be careful eh."
He took the guitar from me, put the strap over his head, and wile fumbling for a pick out of his pocket with ihis right hand and his left hand holding the neck at about the 5th fret, he spun to his left to say 'night' to one of his mates that was leaving.... the sound was unforgetably, but I'm completly unable to describe it, as the headstock of my guitar caught the brick pillar on his left side, and the head snapped off at the nut....
*Gasp*
I don't know who was more horrified, him or me!!! But he arranged a loaner for me while he had it fixed, and when it came back not 2 weeks later, and ya gotta look pretty frigg'n close to find the joint...
So now, no one even carries my cases for me, but thanks for asking... But if you could get that door for me, I'd be forever grateful...
{~` |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: bigchuck Date: 14 Jul 00 - 08:58 PM Oh, yes. I was playing on an elevated stage in Burlington VT a few years back. It was pretty gusty fall day, and while I was playting the banjo on one song, a large gust of wind came along and took the stand with my venerable Guild D-50 off the stage and sent it to the pavement some 3 feet below. I went and got it after finishing the song, and discovered no new dings that I could see (this was a very cosmetically challenged instrument). I did have to adjust the tunung on a few strings, however. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Mooh Date: 14 Jul 00 - 09:16 PM Maybe 3 years ago, my Godin fretless bass was sitting happily in a stand at a festival when some well-intentioned but poorly trained stage hand, while discretely pulling cables during our set, toppled the bass, which made a God awful lot of noise when it landed on the concrete stage floor. One ruined tuning machine, and since it happened directly behind me, I never regained my composure that set. Maybe 20 years ago I had a van load of instruments swiped during a snow storm. Gibson 335, Telecaster, Guild flat top and other stuff. I used the insurance settlement to pay off the van instead of replacing instruments, a mistake I won't repeat. Aforementioned bass fell one story, in case, to the ground behind some hall somewhere. No damage. Never underestimate the value of hardshell cases. I've seen lots of near misses, too many to list here, but my favourite happened recently when the cat I have to share my home with chewed on the headstock of my baritone flat top. The cat still lives, good thing I don't have Jon's temper. Peace, Mooh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Rick Fielding Date: 14 Jul 00 - 09:17 PM Davey, you took your Goya 12 to the PRETZEL BELL?? Luv Rick |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Les B Date: 14 Jul 00 - 11:06 PM The Goya in the trunk reminds me of the first decent guitar I owned, a Goya 6-string. Being real green, I didn't buy a case. One night when it was 20 below in Wyoming I threw it in the trunk of my car and hauled it to a party at someone's house. I drug it out and played the two songs I knew in that nice warm house, then threw it in the trunk and drove 30 miles home. Next morning I couldn't figure out why there were a million little crinkly cracks in the finish. It played OK but looked real old ! It was several years before I figured out what heat & cold do to instruments. In the meantime I had foolishly decided to put steel strings on in place of the nylons. Couldn't understand why my tuning pegs kept breaking !! I had to replace them. It's a wonder I didn't rip the bridge off. I still have it. Back with nylon strings. Just plunked out a tune on it before I started this post. If I had abused a person like that I'd still be in the Big House ! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: rangeroger Date: 15 Jul 00 - 04:10 AM In the Gibson thread I mentioned killing a 1953 LG3 in a Jeep accident. It wasn't the only Gibson klled in that accident.I also had a 1967 Gibson BlueRidge that was pulverized. I had gone out camping with friends in the Mountains east of San Diego, an was towing a utility trailer with all the camping gear and the two guitars. On the way out that Sunday evening I moved the two guitars to the back of the jeep as I thought they would be safer there. We were playing cat and mouse with the jeeps and going into some fairly rough area.At one point I climbed a motorcycle hill, with the trailer on behind, that we had climbed before with the jeeps. I made it to the top. The problem was coming back down.The trailer pushed the jeep,causing it to roll over.Just before it went,I told the guy riding with me to jump out. He did,but I rode the jeep down,with it rolling over the top of me. When all the crashing stopped, I heard him yell, asking if I was okay. I said I was and asked if he could see my guitars.It was dark by this time, and I saw a flashlight come on and he was silent.When I got over to the jeep, it was on its wheels facing me.The trailer was on its wheels facing the other direction.The guitar cases were in between the two, smashed flat. They were the only things to have fallen out during the crash.As I said I keep the pieces to remind myself of stupid actions. There was a ray of light in all this however.Being without a guitar was a major hole in my life.Particularly that one(the LG3). About 2 weeks after the accident, I went to The New Expression Folk Music Center in San Diego and talked with Vickie Cottle about the loss and what I could replace my Gibson with.After playing her Taylorand some other guitars,the luthier there, Bob Zink, brought in a guitar for me to try. Bob repaired instruments,did marvelous inlay work and built legendary banjo necks.This was the first guitar he had ever built and he said he was never going to build another.It was a 000 and the serial number stamped into the neck block was 0001&last.Well I completely fell in love with this guitar.It was the same size as my LG3 but was about twice as heavy.The strings were completely dead, but I roppped it into an open D and could not believe the tone and resonance this guitar produced.I bought it,of course. I then took flatpick bluegrass lessons with it and a year or two later('84 or'85) played it at the Julian Banjo and Fidlle contest.Bob Taylor was one of the judges.About 2-3 weeks after the contest Bob Zink went to work for Taylor guitar and became one of their major constructors.This was when they were still in a garage in Lemon Grove.Several months after he started there, Taylor came out with a 000 style guitar. Last year I got to tour the new Taylor plant and had a chance to talk with Bob Zink again.He no longer builds instruments as his eyesight isn't what it used to be.He is the purchasing offcer for Taylor, and as such flies around the world buying materials for Taylor guitars. It may not be the case, but I like to think that my guitar is the prototype for the Taylor 000's rr |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: GUEST,Rich(stupidbodhranplayer....) Date: 15 Jul 00 - 04:38 PM I misunderstood the title. I would think the cruelest mistreatment of an instument would be to play either top 40 or modern country music on it. rich |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Hardiman the Fiddler Date: 15 Jul 00 - 05:08 PM The fiddle I learned how to play on was the victim of an unfortunate disaster. It is a Roth, that at one point in its career had a whole the size of a silver dollar punched into the back. My brother worked at the time as an insurance adjustor, and when the owner came to settle the claim, the fiddle was slated for destruction. My brother rescued it. It hung on a nail in his room for about two years, and I asked him if he'd lost his temper with his favorite fiddle. He told me the story and gave me the fiddle. I committed the unforgivable sin of trying to patch the back, but the hole got larger. Finally in a bit of pissed off frustration, I cut a piece of laminated counter top material and glued it over the hole. It is perfectly servicable, and plays quite well, just sounds a little muted. I keep it in my office and use it at moments when no one is around, just to keep my sanity. If my brother had not given me the fiddle, I probably would never have learned how to play. Hardiman |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: oggie Date: 15 Jul 00 - 06:39 PM Many years ago I had a Bandoneon - Lovely instrument until the night a pint of guiness got poured into it! Not by me and not by accident - ruined the bellows and the valves and eventually the reeds rusted! Bloke offered to replace but where (in pre-internet days) do you buy bandoneons from! Eventually he bought the rusting hulk from me and continued to perform the 'performance poem' which had been the cause the destruction! PS - if anyone knows where I can buy a bandoneon please let me know. All the best Steve |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: GUEST,Ely Date: 16 Jul 00 - 05:52 PM Never done it on purpose, or had anything horrible happen. The worst I've ever happened when I had to fly back to school with a mountain dulcimer. I had it in a soft "quiver" case inside a very solid, high-quality pine box, wrapped in cardboard, marked "FRAGILE" in huge red letters. I don't know what United did to it but, when I cut off the cardboard later, I found that one end of the heavy wooden box underneath had been completely smashed. Amazingly, the dulcimer was fine. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Mbo Date: 16 Jul 00 - 05:59 PM Aw c'mon Rich...be kind! I do it all the time, and so does Mark O'Connor & Gerry O'Connor (no relation). --Mbo |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 16 Jul 00 - 08:18 PM God, but this is a nightmare thread...Urban legends, but for real. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: GUEST,Owlkat Date: 17 Jul 00 - 03:18 AM Hi, I play tuba, among other things, in a vaudeville show and one year we had a killer tuba player in the show who had an extremely expensive, orchestral quality horn, made with very thin and vibrant brass. One day at rehearsal, I asked if I could try it. He handed it to me and I gripped it by what I thought was one of main tubing pieces but was actually a tuning slide.(Yes, you can so tune a tuba) The tuba slid smoothly off the slide and slammed bell-first onto the floor, flattening the bell. This was a very bad thing. I almost puked, I was so scared, and upset. He just calmly took it from my shaking hands, put the slide back in, and said it was no big deal and that it had happened before, and that he'd just have it re-shaped. I didn't go near it for the rest of the summer, even when he said I could play it when he was having a day off. The horn I'm presently playing is an Eflat Huttl, with is roughly the Yugo of tubas. Cheap, crappy, thick, and toneless, but it goes. The end. Owl. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Melani Date: 17 Jul 00 - 04:05 AM One evening when I was about 16, I was babysitting two little girls, aged about 6 and 10.I had brought along the first guitar I ever owned to entertain them. It was a really crappy Sears Silvertone which my father, who was learning guitar-making, had rebuilt, improving the tone greatly. The older kid had a guitar of her own and was learning to play, so I let her play mine, but the younger one had no clue and was physically very small for the instrument, so I told her not to touch it. She kept teasing me by pretending to grab it, and I threatened her with major repercussions if anything happened to it. When it was bedtime, I laid the guitar on top of the closed case and told them to go to bed. They both started tickling me, and when I fended them off, the big one fell into the little one, who tripped and put her knee through the top of the guitar. She then started crying in terror, and I had to reassure her that I knew it was an accident. As traumatic as it was at the time, it all turned out okay, because when my father repaired it, it sounded even better, and he went one step farther on the road to guitar-building. But since then, I have NEVER, EVER left a guitar on top of the case. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Lady McMoo Date: 17 Jul 00 - 12:45 PM You're not the only one Jon! Some 23 years ago when Lady McMoo and I were newly together (we still are by the way but I am MUCH calmer now though she is still as feisty!) I threw my favourite mandola at her during a "domestic". Needless to say, not being a very good shot and she being small and extremely fast-moving, the thing crashed against against the wall and broke into about five pieces. There was nothing to do but laugh and then cry! I effected the best repair I could but it was never the same again. I am much more careful with my instruments these days... Pieces, mcmoo |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Mrs.Duck Date: 17 Jul 00 - 07:20 PM I also misunderstood the thread and assumed someone had heard me play! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Jim the Bart Date: 17 Jul 00 - 08:13 PM About 25 years ago I was in an auto accident. I was playing for a living at the time, and I had just seen my enamorate off at the airport. I was going to my grandmother's for a family reunion - and the rest is pieced together from reports. Apparently, I was turning left when an oncoming car ran the light and hit my car, which spun around and smashed into a stop light on the the median. My head went through the windshield and my chin was smashed into the dashboard. The steering wheel was bent back to the dash. All I remember is suddenly "coming to" and realizing that I was sitting in a wrecked car. Remembering that I had a gig to get to, I got out and unpacked my guitars from the trunk. At that point I heard the sirens and a nice gentleman came up and said, "son, you'd better sit down. You've been in an accident". I spent a month with my jaw wired shut, eating through a straw. My Guild D44 was busted up on one corner, but not totalled. I took it to the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and the violin maker there put it back together better than new. He shaved the braces and it really started to sing for me. Nothing like going through a traumatic upheaval to bond you to an instrument. It is still the best sounding recording instrument I've ever played. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Instrument mistreatment ?? From: Jim the Bart Date: 17 Jul 00 - 08:15 PM About 25 years ago I was in an auto accident. I was playing for a living at the time, and I had just seen my enamorate off at the airport. I was going to my grandmother's for a family reunion - and the rest is pieced together from reports. Apparently, I was turning left when an oncoming car ran the light and hit my car, which spun around and smashed into a stop light on the the median. My head went through the windshield and my chin was smashed into the dashboard. The steering wheel was bent back to the dash. All I remember is suddenly "coming to" and realizing that I was sitting in a wrecked car. Remembering that I had a gig to get to, I got out and unpacked my guitars from the trunk. At that point I heard the sirens and a nice gentleman came up and said, "son, you'd better sit down. You've been in an accident". I spent a month with my jaw wired shut, eating through a straw. My Guild D44 was busted up on one corner, but not totalled. I took it to the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and the violin maker there put it back together better than new. He shaved the braces and it really started to sing for me. Nothing like going through a traumatic upheaval to bond you to an instrument. It is still the best sounding recording instrument I've ever played. |