Double Bass glue on steel strings

[George700DL]

Hey, umike! We talked at Clifftop - may have been two years ago. We were both playing instruments we built and talked bass construction quite a while. Your single-stringer double-barrel design was about 10x louder than my little teardrop. Loudest acoustic bass device I have ever heard. Fortunately you have the sense and good taste to use it well. Welcome to TB, if I can help, send me a pm.

When I saw that picture, I KNEW that instrument had to be a cannon! Thanks for confirming this.

George

 

[uttermike]

Hey, umike! We talked at Clifftop - may have been two years ago. We were both playing instruments we built and talked bass construction quite a while. Your single-stringer double-barrel design was about 10x louder than my little teardrop. Loudest acoustic bass device I have ever heard.

gbaker... clifftop was awesome two years ago! I missed last year but hope to make it back this year. I've worked on about 3 more tubs. I thought I'd take one this year and silent auction it off at the end of the week to pay for expenses... ;{) I'd sell them but I don't know how much to ask. Each one I make turns out to be like a old lap dog. I get attached and don't want to sell it.

 

[gbaker]

When I saw that picture, I KNEW that instrument had to be a cannon! Thanks for confirming this.

George

A double cannon, George. umike can elaborate but as I remember the single string operated through a splitter pulley and drove the center of the bottom of the two plastic tubs. This created a massive pressure wave at the gap where the tub rims face each other. Thump does not describe it - more of a BOOOOOM!

And when you are walking around with it you look like de judge with a giant gavel across your shoulder.

Careful who you sell it to, umike, I would not want to hear it end up in the wrong hands. If they proliferate there would have to be SALT talks.

 

[George700DL]

A double cannon, George. umike can elaborate but as I remember the single string operated through a splitter pulley and drove the center of the bottom of the two plastic tubs. This created a massive pressure wave at the gap where the tub rims face each other. Thump does not describe it - more of a BOOOOOM!

And when you are walking around with it you look like de judge with a giant gavel across your shoulder.

Careful who you sell it to, umike, I would not want to hear it end up in the wrong hands. If they proliferate there would have to be SALT talks.

Good God - that makes so much sense...now I wanna make one too. And...this thing could be bowed too - talk about bow clearance!

George

(Didn't they just have SALT-lite talks recently?)

 

[George700DL]

Hey, umike! We talked at Clifftop - may have been two years ago. We were both playing instruments we built and talked bass construction quite a while. Your single-stringer double-barrel design was about 10x louder than my little teardrop. Loudest acoustic bass device I have ever heard.

gbaker... clifftop was awesome two years ago! I missed last year but hope to make it back this year. I've worked on about 3 more tubs. I thought I'd take one this year and silent auction it off at the end of the week to pay for expenses... ;{) I'd sell them but I don't know how much to ask. Each one I make turns out to be like a old lap dog. I get attached and don't want to sell it.

Hey Mike, that double double washtub bass is very inspirational to me. I have been playing a carved-top bass that I finished building in January, but this washtub bass sure got me fired up as well, after Gary described how it works..

How does it respond to things like popping the string (ie "Bartok pizz") or slapping? Does that still work? I'm sure that with some thick black hair, this thing would also sound awesome bowed.

George

 

[Jack Clark]

Wow! When you said "double tub" I thought you were joking. That's amazing! Do you know others who play DTs like that, or did you design that up yourself completely?

 

[james condino]

Mike:

If you make it up here to the big city for the "shindig" or any of the 200 other great festivals and shows this way during the summer, make sure you stop by and bring that cannon with you!

I've got a good friend in town with a degree in double bass who makes a good living thumping on the washtub 95% of the time...

j.

 

[uttermike]

You guys have swelled my head to great proportions! I do apprecieate the chatter though. The design came to me in a vision one night. gbaker is right about its construction and what I look like carring it around to campfire jam sessions.

There is one string that goes down the fretboard, hangs a right angle to the eyelet in one tub, across to the eyelet in the other tub, and then terminates back at the center fretboard. The string is from that green vinyl coated clothes line you can get at any hardware store. You stip the vinyl and you get 3 of them. If you get the right kind the line will come out long and straight not braided or kinky.

George you can slap but it's a totally different technique. When you play the thing you play it very delicately to get a big sound because the tension is so low. I can play all night with no blisters... try that on a traditional wash tub! And gbaker is right about having several of these out and about. In the wrong hands it could be obnoxious. I always defer to "real" bass players. My notes overpower and fill their bass so as to make playing for them near impossible.

I have made models with metal tubs and really cranked up the tension to make unbelieveable "bowability" from just one string. The plastic models are bowable too but it takes a gentle easy stroke.

I'm off to Merlefest this weekend (staying at Sewerfest) and hope to do some jamming there. Thanks for the comments :{)