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Topic: Anybody build any of these |
Wally Pfeifer
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 24 May 2016 12:38 pm |
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 or this
 from a 1965 Popular Mechanics magazine. I also had plans for a 1-string
steel guitar from an old Science & Mechanics magazine. Never built any of them. 
Wally Pfeifer |
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Blake Hawkins
From:
Florida
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Posted 24 May 2016 7:18 pm
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| Yep, I built the washtub bass. Used a #2 washtub. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 24 May 2016 8:40 pm
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Yes, I built their "One String Steel Guitar" when I was about 10 years old. Used a Lafayette headphone for a pickup, but was unimpressed with my capabilities with just one string.  |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 25 May 2016 6:20 am
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| Thanks, Wally. This may answer a friend's recent question about an instrument he found: what is it? |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 25 May 2016 7:08 am
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Good find! 
I have built a lot of stuff, but I never built either of those gizmos. The Aeolian Harp reminds of a time a while back (c. 1973) when I went with a friend to visit a friend of his who lived out in the middle of nowhere. This guy had a cabin on the prairie where the wind never stops blowing. There was an old picnic table in the yard. On top of the table was a flattop guitar in an open tuning with a harmonica in the same key sitting on top of the guitar. The wind played this duet all day long for free.
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 25 May 2016 8:18 am
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http://dllapsteel.com/
This guy makes steels based on construction methods that look similar. |
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Wally Pfeifer
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 26 May 2016 9:07 pm
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Thanks for all your comments, Guys.
Donny,- I agree,- you can't do too much with 1 string but it's a start with 5, 6, 7 or 9 to go.  Michael,-very interesting post. Even though I never built the Aeolian Harp,- I always thought how soothing it would/might sound.
Jon,- Unusual . I like it.
Blake,- Have seen lots of these washtub bass on TV but have never heard or seen one being played live.
Wally Pfeifer |
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Mel Bergman
From:
Camarillo, California, USA
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Posted 28 May 2016 2:30 pm
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| I built a washtub similar to this and played it for many years in a jug band. I used # 16 braided wire for the string. I still have it outside behind my garage getting reliced.Ha! I tell ya, playing that thing well is harder than it looks! |
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