That 44-lb pig of a bass amp has to go. (This is the Ampeg I bought when the Hippie promised he had steady duo gigs lined up. Remember, I was fresh from the west and never thought a fellow musician would say he had work when in fact he did not.) Well, I’m the pro manager, the past 15 weeks proves it [again], and I will never join another Florida group as a partner. Boss, yes. Partner, no. In that short time, I’ve made $1,515.75 and it cost me just $248.62 to do so. ‘Nuff said.You like statistics? In thirteen months, I’ve put 2,500 logged miles on the Jamus bicycle. Logged means there was more, but for various reasons not recorded. Like the week the cable was broken. At 25 mpg and averaging $2.75 per gallon, I’m up $275 and down 84,279 calories. That represents, as I predicted, the 12.96 pounds I’ve permanently lost. If you wonder why most diets don’t work, buy a bicycle. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a real shortcut.
Later, I’m back after a day in the rain looking after music-related chores. It looks like I can put the high-hat together for around $125, but it will be a very long time before I forget that nobody in this town would give me a deal. They can smell when you need it now. Every place I went quoted prices for used equipment that was within 20% of buying new. I’ve found a stand for $60 and cymbals for $55, around twice what I was prepared to spend. The worst case was that pawn shop across I-95 from Guitar Center. They had a crappy setup with tarnished Sambian cymbals and they wanted $10 more than it cost new.
The bass amp was another matter. Nobody had any used equipment, but the new stuff was very impressive, and expensive. The lowest power seems to be 300 watts for $300. I passed. I’m sure all those knobs and input jacks have a purpose, or at least I think I’m sure. I examined twenty units. Then it hit me, I may have a solution right under my nose. When I saw a 4-channel equalizer on a $1200 Marshall head, I remembered that Crate practice amp had a 4-channel input.I rigged it up and while it is not the best, I think I can work with it. With the savings, I’ll buy the high-hat shortly. Here’s something, I wanted a set of those clips to prevent your guitar strap from slipping off the posts when the leather gets a little worn in, the clips that look like the ends of old suspenders. They don’t make them any more. Instead, you get a “strap retainer system” for $16.00 a pop. It’s expected to cost six times what it is worth because it is built in California.
At first I balked at paying so much for what is basically a releasable bolt with a washer, but upon examination, it is a neat arrangement with six pieces per bolt plus the strap, making seven in total. I then discover my custom Danelectro bass has a plastic Mickey Mouse strap system held in by gravity. I left it there and drilled new pilot holes; the literature specified a 7/64th inch drill bit. Sure, why not? It was a two-hour job. I set the Ampeg up as my practice unit in the computer room. History is going full circle here as I am getting back to what I needed when I was 13 and have eventually gravitated back to the same equipment setup in every band I’ve ever managed .Much later, so there I was, heading home past the Mardi Gras Casino, aka the Greyhound Track, so I thought to drop in for a look. Coffee was $3.75 so I asked how much for a beer. A fat, 4 foot 9, shapeless bleached blonde sow of a cow-woman at the “Bayou Bar” said $3.25. Here I borrow a line from “Private Ryan”: “She took a nose-dive out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.” I actually ordered a beer to see if such an elephant could pretend to be a barmaid. She did. I must have crimped an eyelash because then she said, “What if I told you it was $4.00?”
I smiled, and left.
