Friday 12 June 2015

That damn vibraphone cord...

How many times have you found the vibraphone cord rolled up around the strips holding the bars?, how many lying on the floor?, how many times have you stepped on the plug with the pedal?, how many times have you rolled over the cord when moving the instrument?, how many times did the motor not work due to a bad connection because of a battered cord? I bet many... Every vibraphone is a world in itself, and every vibraphonist has (or not!) a trick to deal with the chord... ;-) . It´s not unusual finding things like these:


©David Valdés
©David Valdés



©David Valdés
©David Valdés

  
A loose cord is a real pain in the ass, but fixing it is very easy: go and get self-adhesive velcro and cut such a lenght that permits embracing your rolled up cord plus the bar you´ll be attaching it to.


©David Valdés


Peel it off and and make a double sided strip of velcro.


©David Valdés


With two of them you can keep the cord nicely rolled up and secured to the frame of your instrument. Always face the soft part to the inside so as not to damage the cord nor the vibraphone. 


©David Valdés


You now have no excuse not to make your vibraphone look tidy instead of like a plate of spaghetti... ;-)


…et in Arcadia ego.
© David Valdés