Whats the screwiest thing you collect?

From: Philip.Belben_at_pgen.com <(Philip.Belben_at_pgen.com)>
Date: Fri Dec 3 10:17:44 1999

> There's also some sentiment opposed to the separation of the gong
> from the rest of the set; it's regarded as a central part of the
> spirit of the collection of instruments. It's akin to putting a
> core memory on the wall, I think. :-)

Not that bad, surely. It's not as if I don't use it!

Anyway, no need to worry. This gong was never in a gamelan, AFAICT. And I have
a saron or two to keep it company (although it turns out the saron is tuned in
slendro, and the gong in pelog. Oh well. I searched for ages to try and find a
melodic instrument tuned in pelog, and failed - and never even checked the gong)

For anyone who goes to Jakarta: the antique market in the Jalan Surabaya is
unmissable as a place to visit, but most of the stuff on sale is far from
genuine. The gong is detectably a fake [*] when you look at it, but I chose it
on listening, not looking. The stand is a blatant fake - a combination of two
incompatible ethnic styles - and judging by the newspaper used in construction,
dates from around January 1997 (I bought the gong in July or August that year)

Philip.

[*] made in several pieces with welded seams that are just visible. Real gongs
are beaten from a single sheet of bronze. For that matter, the notes on the
saron are pieces of bronze plate, bent into shape, when they should be
individually cast...






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Received on Fri Dec 03 1999 - 10:17:44 GMT