Electric Washtub

[commanderplyers]

iv made these in the past, as well as many other various instruments, and i have come to the conclusion that a good wash tub bass is no better than a bad one, in that they are, by there own characteristics, poor poor instruments.

[db5186]

I don't care what anyone says, but I do believe that this is an awesome invention. It truly sounds good for being made with just one string and that string being made out of cotton only. This deserves an A+!

[gamecubedude03]

I know I'm gonna get flamed, but I just don't like the sound of this at all. Sounds bad. Kudos for making it, but I just hate the sound of washtub.

[washtubbass]

@gamecubedude03 naaaaaa no flame here. The washtub isn't for everything and everyone. Good and Bad comments are part of the whole. Elderly Instruments picked up on it and i'm the only manufacturer of electric washtub basses so they're selling them for me. I make them to stock and special orders too. Its just a fun thing to do and i love it.

[DaRaNdOmNooB]

you must be very bored

[bassjeffd]

You are very special and made me laugh after realising that you not up to no good. Can you play Any other tunes on that baby.

[nirvana726]

that was sick as fuck!

[MrP00sy]

can u tell how 2 make 1? i first saw huub dutch usin one in a bookstore in heidelberg, nd i was hooked on washtub bass

[nananaalgoodaye]

mate you're a legend haha if you were in a plane crash and got stuck on an island you'd be all sorted for musical instruments haha! That's awesome bro

[Gutbucketeer]

Here is a recording I did using a Bogdon Pickup. Just fiddling about.

[ncyonder]

I don't understand the haters. This is a crucial part of music history for many cultures around the world, and is still relevant today. Some poor kid in Somalia can't afford the latest Fender electric bass, amp, & effects pedals. But he can probably fashion something like this, as generations of bassists before him have, and get right to making some good music. Don't be a gear queer!

[mamwicz1]

You would really have to work hard to get bent out of shape about this (bassfiddlesteve)..Wow... also if you ever heard him play electric bass you would have kept this whole arrogant trip to your self....

[Cidantis]

not sweet

[wwesuperstarreviews]

man thats cool

[bluecollarboiler]

more proof that some folks will post anything on youtube! Bravo!

[Kalikantzaros69]

cool

[apc467]

I dont get it... must be way above me

[hoodiey]

lol...nice!! ^ ^

[schelter300]

I've been trying to amplify one of these for a while. What's the secret?

[yonderyoung]

just simply put a pickup on it. lookup how to make a pickup.

[DAKOTAANDJEFF]

you put a mike under it

[ErPeto87]

piezo pickup

[kraigus]

transducer;)

[mano90tgs]

que pendejada ni lleva el ritmo jajaj

[RULAS41306]

ja ja

[ilovecolinandbrad]

HA! awesome!

[debz0773]

You are an interseting fellow indeed..I'm just concerned for your neck..playing like that after a while and you'll be suffering I'd say..

[RFTAEC100]

hey! why dont you put some foam padding inside to cut the echo?, it should sound pretty warm with it

[aaron112233445566778]

i play guitar, but i wanna make 1 of them, i made a shittier one.

[Felixxe1]

Perfect control of a washtub bass. Very good job man !

[RoCkiTGermany]

respect : D

[WmcEvo]

wow yall are gay for dissin this, i would love to see u have some creativity like this guy and make something like that and then actually be able to play it, so shut the fuck up

[wario22]

turn on the overdrive lol

[210rich]

weak. have a little soul, for crying out loud.

[Chefodeath]

neat

[PhilipZahnd]

very good... uh, no.

[leindeth]

wth

[borobuha]

hihihih very funny :)

[richard52402]

now thats what i call "old timmin" good stuff

[pazumo]

retardado mental elétro-acustico!

HAUhauHAUhauHAUhauHAuahUHAuhau­HAUhauhauHAUhauHAuahUAHuahUAHu­ahUAHuhaUAHuhaUHAUha

[adrf2a]

Imagina o q ele faz com um vibrador e uma botina véia

[pazumo]

q lixo!

lol

HAUHuahUAHuahu

[hereNever]

i love the melodious thumping of this instrument...seriously, no.

[amandastandalone]

Why must people make such a simple concept more complicated? Plastic weed whacker wire is the way to go, the thinner the better. the more the cord can stretch the better range your going to get. a metal string makes it so you can get a pitch variation of nothing.

[Mrgatterholle]

ingenioso o_O, aunque es menos estetico, buen sonido... aunque mejorable

[tvrdokorno]

Learn to play !!!!

[DemyxFan100]

I don't hear any music coming from that. Just thumps. The cardboard bass is better.

[GutBucketJones]

duuude, i got the wastub pickup! thanx for selling your crazy ideas.

[IndianaJesusfreak]

Inagodadavida?

[Fretkillr]

I know someone who spent hundreds of hours perfecting a self-built wtb and he used very thick poly/cotton rope. This made it less sensitive to the tension changes used to change the pitch. It also helps to have a small wood block with a rim groove about an inch high to lift the tub up which allows the tubs diaphragm to vibrate more freely. Mics work well but they must be kept a distance from the amp/pa speaker to avoid feedback. It'd be nice to hear it played with some other instrument.

[shalalaszwee]

plastic tub is even better, just to make a hole on the front end of the bottom. The best wire is a plastic coated metal cable used to hang clothes. Grease it and use a pvc tube 5 inch as a slide piece around neck and wire. Ny washtub rocks! sounds louder than any upright bass or wasthub I ever heard, Louder than yours amplified, and I use a mic design for kick drum

strait in the hole, sounds deeper and louder very easy to blend with live music onstage...

[AcePilot101]

That's a gut-bucket..Spinchat afficianados know that now..lol

[leviv06]

wow buddy you got a life lol just playin...have fun with that

[BanjoBoy33]

Thats some mighty fine washtub...ing!

[bigtallladyG]

Sounds great, what kind of string did you use?

[washtubbass]

1/4" 100% cotton rope... it has the warmest tone, in the past i've used a brake cable, parachute cord, 50/50 polycotton, and even a gut string.

[rockstarkey]

I've switched to a stranded wire now and I use a big metal pot. I am getting much longer resonation and much larger range. Almost 3 octaves. However, I agree with you that 100% cotton does have a warmer tone. Keep it up bro! My band recorded last night, I can't wait to post it.

[imgonapokeyou]

@washtubbass parachute cord is the best in my opinion

[questionmark824]

that's pretty sweet. good job!

[bassfiddlesteve]

Based on this idea and his cardboard box bass I think he's determined to send bass playing back to the stone age.

[washtubbass]

or bring the fundimental basics back into the new century.

[bassfiddlesteve]

That's not how I see it. Bass players have worked too hard to achieve respect and recognition. However, I respect your ingenuity and sense of humor and if there are a lot bass players out there that really want to play amplified cardboard boxes and washtubs, then you've found your niche.

[washtubbass]

well said! no argument from me.

The cool thing is that Bass Player Magazine wrote a wonderful supportive review on my cardboard box 2-string bass in the January 2008 issue. I'm just some plain ol guy doing something that really shouldn't cause a stirr in anything anywhere. But I really love what i do.

[skaryskate87]

@bassfiddlesteve I play electric bass n this isnt an electric bass its a washtub bass totally different

it is like pairing night and outerspace they are totally different an electric bass is uniform a washtub is free. and very hard to control

[skaryskate87]

@bassfiddlesteve

look at Blackbrid Raum

[aowen91]

@bassfiddlesteve Are there really bass players and guitarists and pianists or what have you? Or are there just musicians in general? The medium in which you choose to outlet your musical creativity is subjective, but in the long run it's all for the same reason. I guess what I'm sayin' is music is music. I really get your point, though. Bass players don't get alot of recognition despite how freakin' hard it is to play bass (well) and how much depth they actually bring to musical texturing.

[valhan364]

@aowen91 I like your comment! There is a definite distinction between instrumentalists and musicians. Between a piano player and a musician who plays piano, a musician that plays guitar, etc. True musicians create, re-create, know doctrine, and understand principles. Instrumentalists re-create, know doctrine, but miss the principle behind it all. Musicians, if they're lucky, get paid, instrumentalists get paid regardless unfortunately. Like artists, never make money til they're dead.

[aowen91]

@valhan364 Thanks! You said it perfectly. The instrumentalists are just so widely adaptable to more behind-the-scenes musical positions if you will, whereas musicians that are focused on one or sometimes two instruments are very limited to where than can be paid to outlet their musicianship due to the exclusiveness of the roles they wish to fulfill. It's all the record labels' faults. They go for quick, cheap hits and just toss aside anything that could even be considered musically in-depth.

[valhan364]

@bassfiddlesteve I have a comedy group that uses the washtub bass, it attracts more attention than a stand up! Haha not at all to slight bassists, my bassist from my jazz fusion/bebop group plays with the Kid and NIck show and he is one of the best musicians I know! Bassists really do get the short end of the stick recognition wise. Keep it up washtubbass!

[estoboy29]

@bassfiddlesteve you have no clue what stone age really was like, alot of ignorant assumptions of stupidity yet don't see the fact that people were not destroying the planet but rather respected it, only a tiny aspect of the drawing have been released into mainstream which carry along the kinda image they want for people to submit into dictatorship system of limits by laws.during such age were without any manipulation,all living beings were able to communicate more directly(telepathy-empathy)

[cheezwizzle]

Awesome!!!

[rockstarkey]

Nice solo dude! I have been playing washtub for awhile now but I really like the tone you're gettin. I will post a video response soon. NICE!

[TonyBologni]

a washboard and a whiskey jug would make it all come together quite well.

keep up the good work. that was great!

[foowah7]

Props on the washtubbin'! I got to play one the other day that used a boat paddle as the neck...I almost got green onion on it...

[aarr413]

you are one jazzy cool cat.

[Kernel777]

you are simply a genius :D ! amazing!

[Poonard]

i wish i could get my damn webcam to work. i'll show ya some washtubin!

[TeamCannabis]

Very cool playin' love the tub. Reminds me of the old jug band days!

[GutBucketJones]

hats off to you, you're the greatest bassist alive!

[thedoorsfreak]

Hahaha thats awesome

[ZEBU1212]

huzzah!

[Burnwash]

That was the theme from "The Monkees", right? Pretty cool. I've got a 13-string washtub, and yeah - it rawkz.

[fuckingoblin]

uhm..i really dont think that it could produce anything similar to "music".

[jonhansnilsson]

Actually, it is ingenious design. There are three ways to produce different pitches using a string. 1) change its length 2) change the tension 3) manipulate the produced sound wave later

Especially considering basses usually play single notes, it can be quite useful.

I think this washtub was a prototype of a real one. This has a great potential to develop into a real instrument.

[evanphi]

very cool! one thing though... don't be afraid to crank up your amp! we can hardly hear you!

awesome stuff!

[acousticore]

one thing that works real well is to mark the note lines on the wall and then play your shadow.

[Lesny14]

Ehh...no.

[GutBucketJones]

i need one!

[RunningDogs]

I like it!

[heartsndspades]

eh 3 clear notes woo!

[TCBinaflash]

Blech.

[washtubbass]

Fritz Richmond was a very high-tech audio engineer that enjoyed both spectrums of technology. Fritz Richmnond and the whole Kweskin scene inspired music to venture beyond the norm with a dash of humor. The 2 most important bassists ever to live is Jaco Pastorius and Fritz Richmond. May God bless their souls.

[vipvop]

Fritz Richmond turns in his grave...

[erpezoa]

And you are actually trying to sell that as an instrument?

[washtubbass]

Its a Bogdon Washtub Bass Pickup,  more than just a piezo... a piezo glued to a tub has no warmth

[connormcmeanman]

yuck

[audiogx]

did you use a peizo to amplify it?