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Washtub bass

T

Thumper828

Jan 29, 2010
195
3
48
North Carolina
#1
Its tax season. Im thinking of boosting our economy by buying all the material I need to make the Washtub bass. I accidently stumbled across some youtube videos of these and was quite impressed. Any one have any suggestions or pics?
By the way,how would I post a link or upload pics here?
 
#2
Thumper828 said:
Its tax season. Im thinking of boosting our economy by buying all the material I need to make the Washtub bass. I accidently stumbled across some youtube videos of these and was quite impressed. Any one have any suggestions or pics?
By the way, I would I post a link or upload pics here?
Click to expand...


for pics you can upload them to www.tinypic.com and then copy the img tag url and paste it in your post.

for a link, just paste the url in your post.
 
#3
I saw one just the other day that was a cross between a washtub and a BG. It had an SX neck, a P-bass pup crudely attached to the bottom of the tub, and the tub was parallel to the neck like a BG rather than perpendicular like a "normal" washtub bass. Pretty fun.
 
#4
Just don't go cheap. For great tone, you have to go with a great builder.

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Bought mine straight off of the unmarked Sadowsky Van at the beach, no middleman for me!
 
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#9
I made one a few years ago and bought a tub from Trader Vics. My advise is to get a tub that isn't galvanized. You'll get bad tone. Mine had this crappy chrome coating. I think it was really meant to be an outdoor flower planter or some home decor. Try to find a dull metal one that's really made for washing.
 
#10
Way back in the 1970s when I was a teenager my grandmother's next-door neighbor gave me a washtub bass. I never used it with my band, but I plunked it enough to know that A) the tone was awesome, and B) pitch definition was teh suk. (Although note, in the 1970s nobody knew what "teh suk" meant.)

My Dad disassembled it one day to use the tub for his earthworm farm.
 
#11
Make sure that you get a tub with an edge on the bottom, so you can slot your neck/broomstick/whatever so it will stay in place while you play. I bought a tub with a sloped edge and had trouble keeping the neck where I wanted it.

One of the bass magazines had an article about 10 years ago on building a washtub bass. A player they spoke with strung his with a narrow steel cable, which is supposed to be a heck of a lot louder than nylon rope or weedeater string. He had to wear a glove on his plucking hand to avoid tearing the skin off his fingers, but apparently the sound was worth the effort.

+1 on the questionable pitch control. I sucked real bad and gave up after a few months. Somewhere there's a steel tub with a Black Flag sticker on it for no obvious reason.
 
#12
Yeah, Pitch is hard. I've played with my friend Layne's washtub (see pic and video posted above), and I'm shocked he can get as close to in tune as he does. I can't get anywhere close.

Cheers,
Liam
 
#14
I punched a hole in the center of the tub bottom, tied one end of the string to the eye of an eye bolt, and fastened the bolt in the hole. You might want to put a dab of airplane glue or LocTite on the threads because mine tended to come loose and rattle.
 
#15
Been playing home made washtub bass for years and all sorts of setups, came up with an improved design that I only recommend to anyone interested in that sort of stuff. You just have to add a pedal, a fingerboard, and a peg / machine head. Amazing. I've set up a website that's bucketbass.com where you can see some pics. I gig it with a piezo pickup through a Fishman and a Minimark (!) in my band.
 
#18
i believe that a brand new tub sounds better than an old tub because the plate tends to loosen after applying tension to it for a long time. I change tubs almost every year depending on how often i gig. Tubs are under $20 so its comparable to changing strings. All you need is a tub, an eye-bolt with 2 washers and nuts, a broomstick or tree branch, and I prefer 100% cotton rope 1/4", its hard to find but the tone is warm and true. Elderly Instruments is the only store that offers a real washtub bass pickup made for a standard classic washtub bass [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

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dig the bass clef carved as a sound hole so no plunger/lift is needed.
 

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