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Double Bass Custom bass project

M

Mr.Krinkle

May 12, 2006
21
0
38
#1
So Ive been thinking about this project for a long time now and today I finally took a step towards getting started on it. I ordered an engelhardt neck and fingerboard from Gollihermusic.com and plan on attaching it to a wash tub to make an upright washtub bass much like the one I saw on this website Link Removed

Ill most likely follow most of the instructions that guy has on his website but Ill have to make adjustments to accomidate the real neck. I already made a pseudo bass out of a card board box and some flooring boards, much like the ones you can see on youtube. The box bass is alright, its major drawback is obviously the neck that is made up of one piece of wood...
I plan on cutting out a bridge myself and working out some sort of custom end piece, i've been looking at EUBs and have found some plans that I feel like I could potentially work out.
Ill post pictures of the progress as it begins and most likely ask for a **** ton of advise. Maybe I made this post alittle soon, but I just ordered the parts and Im so excited I just want to shout from the roof tops, but its raining so Ill just let you guys know.
Heres a youtube video of that guy playing a bunch of his homemade instruments including his upright washtub. Link Removed
 
#7
zeytoun. Well Im glad everyone is interested in my signiture, yes its the one and only Slick Rick, (before my time as well, but as are most of my musical influences) anyway Zeytoun, it seems like were coming from the exact same backround, I am going to use the oblong tube too, theres a link at that website that shows some other old guy who did that. But I didnt even think about bending the plywood...I think your thread will hepl greatly. Im sure ill be talkig to you very soon about it.
 
#8
So a little change in plans in the bass. Ive scraped the tub and opted to build my own box. Im at a bit of a stand still right now until i get a set of strings and tuning pegs, but whence that happens, ill hopefully have the box all put together, then I can work on the bridge and end piece, then finish it just in time for the old fiddlers picnic. I just have the neck sitting on top of it and it feels pretty good, I can reach all the way down the neck comfortably. Ive got high hopes!
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#9
Well its been a long time coming but I finally have my self an accustic stand up bass in my basement for under $300. I got an amazing deal from a bass instructor at West Chester University on the final parts I needed. Still having a few dilemmas with the string height but it definatly plays and sounds respectable. No hand carved German bass or what ever but for a guy with limited funds, some wood working tools, and alot of spare time it works just great!
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Hopefully I can get a video or sound clip or something up to let you all know that it can be done. Who needs a thousand dollars?
*note the bogdon bass in the backround, got that last year and realized that any box will resonate. Throw on a legit neck and fingerboard and I could have myself my own upright bass!
 
#11
Wow!

I can see this bass appearing on certain forums in a hundred years time

"rare early 2000's cornerless bass attributed to a Christopher Cringle, distinguished by its lack of C-bouts, expertly cut down from what is thought to be a rather flat-arched high-shouldered cello shape. Unique to this fine instrument are the cut-down lower bouts, thought to be a product of the fossil fuel crisis and necessary for transport of the bass in smaller electric cars of the time. Luthiers are divided as to the original form of this bass. The lack of C-bouts are no doubt due to the demise of the double bass bow due to the disappearance of pernambuco wood at the beginning of the century."
 
#16
Hey i dont have a video or recording of it quite yet, if anybodys in the Chester, PA area Ill be bringing it to the Old Fiddlers Picnic at Hibernia Park this saturday Aug 8. Ill most likely be able to get some one to shoot a video there. But moving it is a hassel, luckily I have a pick up truck so I can transport it and yesterday i just put on some handles to make carrying it easier. As for the dimensions, I kind of just winged it, took into account how tall the neck was and built the box to set it at the right height so it could be played sitting on the ground. I dont have a bow but i was "bowing" with a metal rod just to see if it would work and though movement will be alittle limited on the E and G string i think i will be bowing once a get the oppertunity. On the inside there is a sound post made of an old broom handle, then i was trying to bend the wood on the front of the bass with hot water and clamps but was not having much luck, so I just put a board that was about an inch longer then the depth of the bass right in the middle of the box to push out the front board to create a bludge in the front...hard to follow? sorry... But most of the loose ends are all tied up, theres a rattle here and there when i hit a certain note, but i can confidently say the playablity and even the sound is comparable to Carlo Rebelli basses that Ive played at Sam Ash...with that said Im very happy to join the Double Bass World! Video coming soon.
 
#17
Pardon the delays but I just shot a video of the upright this morning on my cell phone. Check it out and let me know what you think! The song is Capt. Shiner by Primus.

And heres a picture someone snapped at the Fiddlers Picnic last week, it was a real eye catcher and attracted alot of attention.
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#19
Yes, I saw the video. You've certainly got an original Krinkle bass and people will talk about this for years! I'd have to hear it in person to make any comments about the sound. If I run into you at a Pennsylvania fiddler's event, I'd love to plunk a few notes on it. I'd just be careful that it doesn't give you strange back problems--carrying it AND playing it! Again, congrats on a very imaginative project.
 

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