On the topic of hard rubbish...

One thing Melbourne has over Brisbane (and many other cities for that matter), which I've come to appreciate is hard rubbish collection, those intermittent points of the year when everybody in suburban Melbourne does a bit of garage-cleaning. I have no doubt that many a student in suburban Melbourne are furnishing their houses as we speak with old picture frames and rickety chairs that others with fancier jobs have discarded.

Quite frankly, I don't blame the rubbish-scavengers. Who the hell wants to go to IKEA? I've found some perfectly good rickety chairs lying around myself before. I was shocked to find a recent city council brochure speaking of the evils of people scavenging around outside your house during hard rubbish time and what you can do to prevent them taking your stuff. Here's a preventative measure; don't put hard rubbish outside in the first place maybe? Talk about dangling the carrot...

But I digress. Being the DIY musician that I am, my primary aim is to find anything audio-related.

I was quite surprised last year when I found a classic 80s synth in good condition lying around during an otherwise aimless stroll. All it needed was an adapter and it was underway, as good as new. The potential of this keyboard is vast but it unfortunately has the memory of a broken calculator. Perhaps the original owners just misplaced it. If you're out there, sorry, but it found a better home.

I've been without a proper record amplifier for months. The fuse for my original one broke and so I've had to resort to listening to CDs; the lowest form of audio entertainment. So my heart skipped a beat today when I found a Marantz amplifier with a tape deck sitting outside someone's front gate. I've seen things like this before but have always come away disappointed after finding they've cut the cord or made some alteration that screams: "Scavenger beware: this does not work and it comes with a curse."

But this one had no markings to speak of. "Perhaps the owner just got a hi-fi upgrade and couldn't sell their old amplifier to anyone", I reasoned, trying to keep my spirits high. I quickly nabbed the dusty thing and took it home. Finding that it took one of those strange two-prong cords, I found one and plugged it in, not expecting much, when the light came on. "That's a good sign", I thought. I then plugged some old speakers into the back, found an old cassette to test it and...success! This neglected piece of equipment actually works! "Melbourne, you are the city of dreams, if only for your hard rubbish!"

I left the house briefly, forgetting to switch off the amplifier. When I returned, I found the light off. "That's funny. I thought I left it on." I turned the switch off and on again. Nothing. I tried switching the power supply. Nothing. I tried changing the cords. Nothing.

Much fumbling around.

Some cursing ensued.

More fumbling around.

More cursing ensued, this time more frequent and involving spitting.

"I give up. I'll just go into a pawn shop and pay the $70 instead." With that, I proceeded to place the amplifier where it now belonged. Outside the front of my house.

-AMCS