Chisel Rage

Well, as you probably expect by now, all my plans, hopes, dreams and vague expectations fell to ashes around my trainers.

Chisel-rage-routed The Blue Moon One,
with knackered old Korg Pandora,
being watch by thankfully
working and in one piece
The Beaton One

Firstly, I would like to say that I did in fact get the Blue Moon One - now to be known as The Albatross That Is Slowly Strangling Me One - wired up, took my frustrations out on the routing with a chisel and put it all together. It looked great, beautiful in fact. The last ever Jooky Paisley guitar. I almost shed a tear.

Then I almost shed a few more when I plugged it in and it was doing a great impression of something silent, dead as a dodo and generally a bit too laid back for anybody's good.

Many hours were then wasted on rewiring, checking my resoldering of every joint until I remembered I own a Multimeter, and five minutes with that told me that the switch was knackered. Brand new, good make, yet flat-lining like a good one.

Well, I've ordered a new one and hopefully that will show up today as it all goes close to the wire again. I do feel that this guitar is just not destined to 'be'. I don't know why, it just feels like some kind of impossible mission.

That was Tuesday. Yesterday though, well that turned into a disaster too. If you remember (are vaguely interested) it was meant to be Gordon Smith New Guitar Day, combined with a trip around the fantastic light of Bristol's guitar shops. However at literally the last minute or three, 'family illness' intervened for the second time and so that never happened either. I still have the smell of NHS disinfectant in my nostrils as I type this missive.

So all in all, a complete pitta bread of a week in the end, I'm gutted about it. I still have today to hopefully sort out the BMO but lets face it, the odds on that working out are slim-to-zilch. The post won't show up with the switch before the schools are out and then I'm stuffed.

Still, Friday I get to give away The Beaton One. So that no doubt means the gaff will be turned over tonight, just to complete the joy, so you'll no doubt see it popping up on Crimewatch in artist impressionistic form.

Oh, I should add one uplifting little note for the day. When I finally got home yesterday an old original version of the Korg Pandora (PX1) was there waiting for me. Slightly battered, a good dozen years vintage, the back-lighting is unlit and the display can only be read from an odd angle, but plugged in it sounds great. Well, some of the effects sound great and the others can be tweaked, so a good half 'n' hour of jingling and jangling my way around Ghostdancing by Simple Minds and various Smiths and Echo & the Bunnies songs, put a smile back on my face. All for a bargain £3.84. You've got to love Ebay sometimes...even if the rest of real-life sucks like a Big Brother contestant.