Tondeleo: I'm trying to learn more about the guitars and equipment that Doc Stevens uses, because I have noticed that when I have been with him and Marilyn, that other musicians come up to them and ask about their equipment, and apparently whatever equipment a musician uses denotes some level of status or another.
As I mentioned earlier, many of these rural people who barely seem to have life's necessities may have, for example, a couple of dozen or more guns. It is not uncommon for a rural American to have maybe ten or more rifles; (a long gun that shoots bullets) These typically would be what are called, "22's" referring to the calibre of the bullet. A 22 is a "rabbit gun" or "squirrel gun," and yes rural Americans intentionally shoot squirrels so they can eat them! I cannot imagine this, but Doc, Marilyn and their friends have served squirrel to me, without telling me what I was eating. If I had known, I would have been ill. Doc says that a 30 ought six is also common. I am not certain what that means.
These same Americans with maybe ten or a dozen rifles would also have several shotguns of various sizes, mostly, from what I hear, .410's, 12 gauges and 20 gauges. Twelve gauges seem the most common. So a poor American may have more than two thousand dollars worth of guns, yet live in a small bungalow!
In addition to rifles and shotguns, rural Americans typically have a few handguns. These seem to be in the following sizes: 22's, 25's, 38's, 45's, 380's and 9 mm's. I am not certain what these mean. Doc says a 38 or 45 is good for home protection, but not as good as a 45.
He says if you shoot someone with a 45 and he is still standing, you want to stick your head through the hole to see what is propping him up. In America, that is considered humourous. And Doc said to tell the world that he has not shot anyone before.
I said that to say this. In addition to having small arsenals of weapons, rural poor Americans may also have collections of musical instruments and equipment. I find this a bit odd, since they are clearly poor.
I mentioned already some of Doc's guitars, and will continue with this, as long as he will let me. I have seen some that are clearly special, and I hope he will let me take pictures of them.
He has several small guitar amplifiers, and at least three bigger ones. His small ones are mostly home made, and I am including pictures of them in this posting. Some of them are mains powered, and some are battery powered for when he and Marilyn are busking.
For busking, he says all you need is about 15 watts of power for the guitar, and a mic for Marilyn's harp. He says a busker shouldn't need a mic for vocals because a busker "develops pipes" by playing out in the street singing louder than the traffic. I know that he and Marilyn definitely can sing loudly without amplification.
Here is a pictures of one of his small amps, with brief explanations:
Doc: "This here is one of my favourites for busking. I made the box for it, so it would be strong, but easy to carry. I put a battery pack holder in it so I don't need no 'lectric. Takes 6 D cell [torch] batteries. Them bigger batteries give you longer play life.
Then I wired in the plug in adaptor for if you DO have someone who'll let you plug in. I fastened the adaptor inside and then plugged it in to a small extension cord.
Last, I hooked in a adaptor for a car cigarette lighter, so I can run it off a car if I need to. I've done that plenty of times, like at car shows what is outside. I plug in and play.
The front with the speaker in it is hinged so I can aim the sound up a little bit so it carries. It's got a pin on the side to fasten it shut when I'm carryin' it. This amp is 15 watts. Loud enough for busking and is two channel, so me an Marilyn can play and she can plug her mic in for her harps.
Lookin' at the picture I can tell it needs somethin' to make it stand out. I will put a couple Cadillac emblems on it when I get a chance. I got some out in the shop I will put on it.
I put a shoulder strap onto it as you can see, so I can carry it and a guitar and still have a free hand. That's pretty much all on this one. Got a handle on the top. Got a eight inch speaker with two cones.
I got others. Some made from old amps and old radios. But they all do the same thing. Ain't nothin' to write about, if you know what I mean."
