Handmade Music Factory. Mike Orr

TEA CHEST

      RESONATOR.

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      Pinch the spring eye closed.

      Use pliers to pinch the

      end of the spring closed.

      MUSICAL STICKS

      If you have any spare thick dowel rods or thick branches lying around, you have

      the makings of a musical percussive instrument! The most common way to

      play is to hit a couple of sticks against each other. However, you can even get

      into pitches by thinning parts of the sticks, or by drilling holes through them.

      Experiment and see what you can create!

      ATTACHING THE CORD

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      Attach the spring

      to the eye screw.

      Stretch the spring

      and hook it onto the

      eye of the screw.

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      Drill the cord hole.

      Mark and drill a hole about 2"

      (50mm) from the top of the neck for the cord. The

      hole should be big enough to let the cord through.

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      FRITZ RICHMOND

      Fritz Richmond (1939–2005) was king of the washtub bass. He built his first

      washtub bass in the late 1950s, using a tub, broomstick, and rope. In the sixties,

      Fritz played washtub bass for Eric Von Schmidt, Geoff Muldaur, Tom Rush, The

      Charles River Valley Boys, and others. He was a founding member of Jim Kweskin

      & The Jug Band; after learning to play the jug, he gained nationwide attention

      by appearing on

      The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

      and other national

      television shows. He went on to perform with The Doors, Bonnie Raitt, Bob

      Dylan, The Grateful Dead, and many others. He also appeared on Garrison

      Keillor’s

      A Prairie Home Companion

      . The Smithsonian has one of his washtub

      basses in its collection.

      PHOTO © JOHN BYRNE COOKE, WWW.COOKEPHOTO.COM

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      Attach the cord.

      Tie one end of the

      cord to the eye

      bolt in the center of

      the tub. Feed the

      other end through

      the hole in the

      neck and tie a knot.

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      Handmade Music FactorY

      One-String washtub Bass

      HOW TO PLAY THE WASHTUB BASS

      To play, stand with one foot behind the tub. Place

      the other foot on the rim of the tub, toward the

      front, over one of the legs. Putting your foot here is

      necessary to hold down the front of the tub while

      you’re putting tension on the center with the string.

      You could also sit down and hold the tub with your

      feet on the rim. Hold the top of the neck with your

      back hand, and use your front hand to pluck the

      string. To get different notes, adjust the pressure on

      the neck

      —

      putting more or less tension on the string

      will change the pitch.

      If you’re concerned about your volume, be sure

      that your foot is resting on the top rim of the tub only.

      If you’re playing with acoustic guitars only, and using

      a riser, with no microphone, you can be heard just

      fine for about 10 yards. The washtub bass will sound

      very different on a carpeted floor than on a hard one.

      Some players carry a bass base with them. This is

      an approximately 36" x 36" (915 x 915mm) piece

      of plywood covered with carpet, or not, depending

      on the sound you want. A scrap piece of carpet the

      same size will also sound pretty good on a wood

      floor. I suggest experimenting to find the sound that

      fits you.

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      Player Les Claypool

      pioneered the use of

      THE WHAMOLA,

      an instrument

      descended from the

      washtub bass.