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Double Bass NWTBD!

Sean Peters

Sean Peters

Mar 15, 2013
145
362
40
Utica, NY
#1
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I have a gig coming up playing early country blues and jugband music, and decided to go in whole hog with the jug and washtub bass! Pleasantly surprised with the sound from the tub. It gives me roughly an octave to work with. I've got it strung with an old worn out Gamut Lyon G. I might mic it up with my DPA, and send it to the PA with my Felix! :roflmao: This must be the most frivolous washtub bass set up ever. Anyways, thought this would be good for a laugh. Let me know if I should move it to the 'Bass Humor' section!
 
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#6
lowplaces said:
What's the best metal for Wash Tub bass ?

And the neck ? Mahogany, alder, other ?
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AH, you've come to the right place to ask these questions!

As per Washtub Jerry, in his book "It Takes Pluck", the preferred tub is the Cubetas #6 tub, made in Monterrey, Mexico . The washer to keep the cable from pulling through is alluminum 2.8" dia x 0.25" thick. The cable is the clutch cable for a Porsche 914, 37 strands of 0.01" wire, 0.12" dia. The pole is a log peavey pole (Hmmmm... thinking "Peavey amps"? No, not those guys, think lumberjacks.) from Peavey Mfg. Co, Oakland, Me, PV #56.

In addition, the hat is the Resistol Big Un style S04 OBIG UN in color 080 Cordova; the glove is the Wells Lamont White Mule no. 229L, lubricated with standard toilet ring wax; a 2x4, 16" long is used to raise the tub rim off the ground on the side opposite the pole.

There are probably some other details I didn't find in my quick once-over review of Jerry's little book, but that's the basics for the washtub used by the pre-eminent washtub player of our time.

Check out Washtub Jerry and Sid Hausman on You Tuba.
 
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#11
Mark_T said:
Spiros, right?
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I don't know if I can wait long enough for Spiros to lose their 'twang'! :laugh: It would be interesting to experiment with some metal wire. I've tried some old, tired gut strings that I've kept around, and weed whacker line. Gut D's give you more bass, but it's more work on your left hand. I think the gut G has been my favorite so far, followed by the whacker line.
 
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#12
Sean Peters said:
I don't know if I can wait long enough for Spiros to lose their 'twang'! :laugh: It would be interesting to experiment with some metal wire. I've tried some old, tired gut strings that I've kept around, and weed whacker line. Gut D's give you more bass, but it's more work on your left hand. I think the gut G has been my favorite, followed by the whacker line.
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What you need is steel cable. Jerry uses a clutch cable from a small car (probably small diameter, unlike a clutch cable for a one ton truck).
 
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#15
To clarify the OP's concern about his tub, 'hot-dipped' is galvanizing by immersion of the finished product into molten zinc, as opposed to 'electro-galvanized' - zinc electroplating of the raw steel sheet before fabrication. Hot-dipping gives a thicker coating and penetrates any crevices and raw edges, so is preferred for longevity, especially in a product used around moisture like, say, a washtub. It's easy to tell the difference - EG material is dead-smooth, but a HD product will have a rougher, more uneven layer of zinc.

Hard to tell if there would be much of a tonal difference...
 
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#16
misterbadger said:
To clarify the OP's concern about his tub, 'hot-dipped' is galvanizing by immersion of the finished product into molten zinc, as opposed to 'electro-galvanized' - zinc electroplating of the raw steel sheet before fabrication. Hot-dipping gives a thicker coating and penetrates any crevices and raw edges, so is preferred for longevity, especially in a product used around moisture like, say, a washtub. It's easy to tell the difference - EG material is dead-smooth, but a HD product will have a rougher, more uneven layer of zinc.

Hard to tell if there would be much of a tonal difference...
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Thanks! Why I think that may be preferable has to do with unwanted vibrations and rattles. I've noticed some, and have put duct tape along any seams, where the handles used to be, etc... They are still there. At the end of the day it's still a tub, with a pole, and a string, so I try not to get too fussy!
For anyone interested, Peter Ford, of the Baby Soda Jazz Band, is the best I've seen at this style of playing. He custom builds his own 'box basses'. They sound great!
 
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#20
Gut Bucket copy.jpg

Here's mine that I played in the early 70s. I preferred sitting. You'll also see that I made a capo that I could slide up and down to shorten the pull I had to make on the broom handle. I just used clothes line rope I think. I did have a little piece of a 2x4 under the front to prop it up and would put a mic under it at times. I may have to make me another one soon!
 
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