I'm by no stretch of the imagination a real luthier. But I didn't know where else to put this thread so here it is.
I decided that it would be a fun summer project to make a Whamola. I figured it couldn't be that hard.
So I found as many pictures as I could of Les Claypool's and started to design my own.
I used a 1 1/2" x 2" aluminum tube. If I ever make another one (which I doubt) I'd use 1 1/2 x 1 1/2" instead. 2" is just too wide. Makes it hard to play. But I wasn't sure how much room I'd need when I started... so there you go.
I took an old axe handle and carved it down to make the handle. I then picked up a random bass tuner from a local music store and installed that on there.
I used a patio door wheel for the nut/fulcrum point of the handle.
I used a smaller patio door wheel for the bridge and just bolted it into a piece of oak.
The neck is a 1 1/2" piece of oak I got from Home Depot. I just used a table saw to get the angle cut. Seemed to work ok. Glued it on with Gorilla Epoxy.
My friend had an old set of P Bass pickups lying around that he gave me. I think I need to raise the pickup at a later date though because it's pretty quiet. For now it'll work where it is though.
I bought the cheapest upright bass D string I could find and strung it up and there you go! Whamola!!
I decided that it would be a fun summer project to make a Whamola. I figured it couldn't be that hard.
So I found as many pictures as I could of Les Claypool's and started to design my own.
I used a 1 1/2" x 2" aluminum tube. If I ever make another one (which I doubt) I'd use 1 1/2 x 1 1/2" instead. 2" is just too wide. Makes it hard to play. But I wasn't sure how much room I'd need when I started... so there you go.
I took an old axe handle and carved it down to make the handle. I then picked up a random bass tuner from a local music store and installed that on there.
I used a patio door wheel for the nut/fulcrum point of the handle.
I used a smaller patio door wheel for the bridge and just bolted it into a piece of oak.
The neck is a 1 1/2" piece of oak I got from Home Depot. I just used a table saw to get the angle cut. Seemed to work ok. Glued it on with Gorilla Epoxy.
My friend had an old set of P Bass pickups lying around that he gave me. I think I need to raise the pickup at a later date though because it's pretty quiet. For now it'll work where it is though.
I bought the cheapest upright bass D string I could find and strung it up and there you go! Whamola!!
