1973 Blue Bird

Discussions about all things to do with buses, trucks, and the homes made within them.

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

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Post by Rudy »

Sharkey, I think I forgot the img tags. I will try again. I have photoshop on my Mac, but I have to get it and my pc laptop communicating with each other.

A friend is going to help me with that. That way, I can manipulate the photos to size. The Mac is solely dedicated to the recording studio, and the laptop is my internet computer.

WOW, I never thought that I would be a dual platform guy. That reminds me of a Clarence Gatemouth Brown song named Dual Citizen. He sure was talented. Thanks for helping me out. Rudy
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Beginnings

Post by Rudy »

Here you see the 1979 Dodge class c that I lived in for three years. Next to it is the bus. Behind them is a 1953 trailer that I lived in for five years. Notice the temporary propane tank to run the heater. It was still cold then.

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Old booth area.

Post by Rudy »

This was the table area directly behind the driver's seat. The wood that you see was one of the command centers. It was removed as well as all you see here. There will be a photo of that desk.

I ended up replacing the original driver's seat with one of the car seats that you see in the foreground. it has a lot of adjustability. One lever lets you rock it, similar to a rocking chair. The platform that it sits on is an air ride.

Image
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Old Front Room

Post by Rudy »

This is looking towards the rear of the bus. There were two fold down desks with bolted down office chairs in front of them. The hideous flourescent ceiling lights are now gone. I took out eight of those car seats and saved one for the driver's seat.

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Original front room looking forward

Post by Rudy »

This is how it looked when I got it. Notice the black plastic dashboard. It now has a new splendor which you will see in future pictures.

Image
Last edited by Rudy on Mon May 10, 2010 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Music

Post by Rudy »

I gotta go now because it is music night and the guys will be here soon. I forgot to mention that the fuel tank is 60 gallons. I would like more but do not have the room for it. I will post a few more pics in the morning before I go to work. Keep on Bussin' Rudy
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stuartcnz
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Post by stuartcnz »

Apologies for going off topic here, but what software are you using for recording?
I just use the light version of cubase that came with my Lexicon Omega interface on a Macbook, which works okay for what I am doing at the moment, but would like to switch to Ubuntu Studio. I was dual booting between MacOS X and Ubuntu Linux, though have now sacrificed the Linux partition for Windows, so that I can run Rhino 3D.

I found Ubuntu to be a very easy to use operating system and software for it is free, and they have comparable versions of just about everything.

My ideal would be going back to MacOs and Ubuntu as my two platforms, but will have to wait until Rhino comes out on MacOS X.

PS Does anyone know of a decent site to share music you have created?
I tried putting stuff on youtube, but unless you have software to convert to flash beforehand, it really destroys the audio quality.

PPS If anyone does have the appropriate flash converting software, I have the compression settings to create decent stereo versions for youtube.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Software

Post by Rudy »

Stuart, I am using Audiodesk 1.05. It came with the Motu 828 which I got a few years ago.

For mastering, I use an old program called Amadeus II. I use a ten year old iMac (ruby) 400 mghz computer. I am running OS9.1. Sure it is slow, but it is a lot better than splicing tape.

I have a stereo tube mic preamp, an Akg C3000 mic, and two Samson CS1 mics that are very impressive for cheap stuff.

I also have an old Yamaha SPX90. Pretty much all my effects are done with VST plugins. I am not familiar with the softwares you mentioned, but am glad to hear about them.
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

More

Post by Rudy »

Music night has ended and I still have an hour of awake time, so here are more photos. These are the original bunks. There were two on each side of the bus mounted midships. HA HA, I sound like a nautical guy now.

The view you have here is looking forward and those two bunks on the driver's side. The top bunks folded down to make an uncomfortable couch. The cabinets in front of the bunks still remain.

Image
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Storage bays

Post by Rudy »

I have two storage bays. One on each side of the bus. They are about 5 feet wide, 2.5 feet deep and 1.5 feet tall.


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Last edited by Rudy on Mon May 10, 2010 3:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Disassembly

Post by Rudy »

We started with the front room.

I should tell you now about my helper. On Saturdays and Sundays we work on the bus. His name is Shawn and he is quite a craftsman.

I have known him for 10 years. For three years, he and I did land surveying. Often times we were in the woods doing boundary searches.

It was during that time that my legs became permanently scarred because of chigger bites. I had to quit that job.

What was nice was that, although we worked out there in the oppressive heat and strenuous physical demand, we never once became cross with one another.

I knew then, we would always be able to work together. I helped him build an addition to his house and taught him a lot about that stuff. I eventually ended up selling him most of my carpentry tools. He went on to do many other carpentry jobs.

He has been helping me on the weekends.

Trust me, if I had to do this all myself, it would be far from this stage and I may not have had the foresight to employ many of his ingenious ideas. So when I mention, we, it is Shawn and I.

Now to this pic. The table and seats are still there, but on the passenger side, things are starting to be removed.

At the bottom left of the picture, you'll notice a metal rack that is covered with grey carpet. It housed two car seats. There was another one, right next to it, and has been removed.

Under that one was the fresh water tank(30 gallons). It has been removed and installed in another area that you will see soon. The PVC pipe and the water inlet are still visible in this shot.

Also, you may notice, that the passenger side fold down desk unit is gone.

That little plate on the floor is to access the top of the fuel tank. I can also access that area from the outside so I chose to cover it up, as you will see.

In this photo, you are looking towards the rear of the bus.

Image
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:31 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

This desk stays

Post by Rudy »

This desk is on the driver's side in the front room. But now, all the chairs and table are gone.

I also removed the fold down lid. Now here is where I got really lucky. See that cabinet door up above? Well, guess what, It is 19 inches wide. (So what?)some might say.

I will tell you how overjoyed I was when I took the door off and was able to screw in 7 rack spaces of studio gear up there. BUT WAIT, it gets better.

The back of that desk is a wall of one of the cabinets you saw earlier. I cut out a section in that wall behind the rack gear so that I could access (with great ease) the back of all my equipment.

YEAH! No more having to move a bunch of stuff just to plug a wire in. OH, there is now a big desk area for my studio which I melded into where the fold down lid is.

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:32 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Weary

Post by Rudy »

It is late now and I am growing weary. I will try to get some more stuff posted in the morning before work. Keep on bussin' Rudy
Sharkey
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Post by Sharkey »

Those may just look like old car seats to you, but I think this one (and any others like it) may be valuable:

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The red seat looks a whole lot like a Recaro, which were installed in a lot of up-market sports cars, including VW Rabbit GTIs, Jettas, Siroccos etc. If you knew what car they were out of, it would probably be possible to resell them to an interested buyer, they look to be in excellent condition! If they were black, I'd say send them to me!!
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Seats

Post by Rudy »

Sharkey, I still have the seats. There was only one red one. In the picture above, I used one of the ones that you are looking directly at as the driver's seat.

In the picture below, you can see two matching black ones with grey cloth. I am not "seat savvy", so I have no idea what they came out of. Perhaps I can find a place that buys and sells seats and make a few bucks.

Image
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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