HOW TO BUILD A ONE-MAN-BAND
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How to build a One-Man-Band

Corkboard

 


Firstly, don't spend any more money than you have to
(you're a busker, you're not rich!).


  You can find most of the bits and pieces you'll need in second-hand shops.
I paid £20 for the drum (A), (see the diagram At the bottom of this page),
£0.50 for bass pedal (C), (broken, but it didn't matter), £5 for the ruck-sack (D),
someone gave me the hi-hat stand and cymbals (B) (I was lucky). The roof-rack
'traces' or 'straps' cost about £3, key rings (F) £0.50.

  A bass drum is too 'deep', so saw off about 12-15cm ( leave enough room for the pedal to 'swing').
Or use a Floor Tom (which should also be sawn off).
Make a pair of holes, top and bottom (A), to attach the ruck-sack frame to.
You'll need to screw on a back-rest (H) - a semicircle of plywood, padded with polystyrene
and covered with cloth (a t-shirt will do), screwed onto the back of the drum, to protect
your back from the rim of the drum.The important thing is to keep the weight down,
so be minimalist. If you can chop something off, do!


  Of the hi-hat stand, you only need about 15-20cm (to hold the cymbals and to attach
it to the top of the drum - 2 angle brackets on top; 2 on the inside). Then you attach
your 'trace', which goes down through the drum, through a rectangular hole and clips into
the key-ring in your boot (RIGHT FOOT = DRUM - LEFT = HI-HAT). You use the buckle
to adjust the length of the trace to suit you own height.


  The bass pedal is bolted securely on the floor of the drum, in a position where it can
swing freely without hitting your back or fouling the 'hi-hat trace'. A trace leads from this pedal ,
down through
the floor of the drum, by way of a rectangular hole and clips onto your right foot.

ALL CLEAR SO FAR? That's basically it!

Any problems let me know!

I'm afraid you'll have to find most of it out by 'trial and error'. If I had more time/space,
I'd explain how to achieve different rhythms etc.
This is all free - you don't have too pay anything for this info, just add some comments
to the corkboard to help other buskers who may want to visit your town!!!!
                                                      JIM