The Tea Chest Bass is the English version of an American folk instrument, the Washtub Bass, or ‘Gutbucket’, and another marvel of DIY music. Basically it’s an upturned box (or washtub) with a length of string attached to it’s centre which is tightened or slackened by means of a broomstick handle.
Again, this is an instrument that can be found in one form or another across the globe – attach a string to a hollow object, twang the string, and the sound will become amplified. There are a million different ways to make a Tea Chest Bass – I’ve seen one with four strings and tuning pegs – and your imagination is the only limit to the level of sophistication with which you wish to endow it.
This picture shows me playing a wonderful Washtub bass, built by Helmut Collas of the Stolberger Altstadt-Musikanten from Germany. It had a great sound, used a simple plastic washtub as a resonator, a broomstick, and electrical wire (covered in plastic) as the string. The gloves made it a lot easier to play it, which added a nice Michael Jackson touch, I thought. (Photo: Oliver Grendel)
I had a great band when I was at Manchester University called The Kenyan Tea Corporation, which was named after the writing printed on the side of our Tea Chest Bass. We won the Battle of the Bands in 1996, to the intense irritation of a host of carpet-gazing Stone Roses wannabes.
