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Throw It In The Pond! Do It Now!


Elias Graves

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So a month ago we had this awful hailstorm that tore my roof to pieces. The insurance just paid off but the roofers haven't started work yet.

Earlier in the week, I learned during a record breaking 9" rainfall that my roof does indeed leak...right over where my Ibby acoustic was standing. :cry:

The poor thing had two cups of water inside the body for like 13 hours. The top was swollen and split, the back was warped all to hell. I assumed she was history.

My mother in law suggested filling the body with uncooked rice for a few days. I figured she was nuts but played along.

So I let it sit for three days and didn't even look at it. Last night, I brought it out and, despite some newly acquired relic marks, looked ok. I was astonished.

The warping in the top and back were gone, replaced with some odd dark streaks in the spruce top and some rippling in it.

Well I thought I'd give it a shot and strung it up. I was afraid the rosewood bridge would pop right off but it held fine. In fact, after I got her strung back up, she sounds BETTER than before!

I don't know if this will work for electrics or for all acoustics either, but, for this little Ibby acoustic, it had some mojo effect. This guitar used to have a bad habit of getting really shrill and overly bright when picked but that's gone now, replaced with a really nice mellow tone. I was absolutley floored!

Anyway, here's to one guitar that did NOT die a premature death in the wacky weather of 2010! Cheers.

 

EG

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Yep, rice. In fact, some spilled out of the bag and is stuck inside the body. It's actually got kind of a cool maraca effect. I may put more rice in there and use it for a percussion effect. :)

 

Haven't taken any pics since the incident. I'll see if I can get any of the damage to come through.

 

EG

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Your other is a wise woman.

Rice also works well as a dessicant for other purposes (for instance if you put several grains at the bottom of a sugarbowl, the sugar is less likely to clump from humidity).

It's not hard to clean up and sounds like a great idea for absorbing water from an acoustic.

Congrats on the rescue :).

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Not in a plastic bag. We used a pillowcase, actually. And a LOT of rice.


EG



Yup, you need something that'll let the water vapor pass through. I would have dug around for some cheesecloth or something that would let even more air/vapor through. But then again, I'm a firm believer in overkill :).

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What? You're selling your AlleyKat? I thought you loved that thing more than your woman?



I do but it's turned into Fatal Attraction. The guitar is awesome but the neck and my left hand were not meant to be. :cry:
It's got to where I hardly play the thing anymore.
Anyway, the 5th avenue is something I've wanted for a long time. This is the first deal I've found on one. $400 with factory case. New. Just can't pass it up.

EG

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