What's the "WHALE BONE BASS?" aka "THE BONE"

The "Whale Bone Bass," is an elegant refinement of the funky washtub bass type instruments. It is also musically an extremely flexible and beautifully sounding instrument. The drum shell is maple, with a specially modified 22" Remo Sound Controlled head, all hardware is chrome metal. The instrument is finished in a clear natural wood finish. It has four permanently attached wooden legs, a convenient off-duty neck holding attachment, and large wood foot rest with a non-skid surface. The neck, is anodized aluminum with a bonded ebonized wooden head and foot. It can be readily played by right or left handed players without any special adjustments. Because it has only one untuned string it has the amazing and rare quality that it can be played in an any key immediately and with equal ease, great for jamming with anybody. It is a highly intuitive instrument, there is almost no learning curve. It has a wonderfully open naturally feeling technique, and you will soon find that all you have to do to play well is to listen well. Although the "Whale Bone Bass" has just one string it still has an over three-octave range, much greater than its folk washtub and broomstick counterpart. This is due to the extended length of its uniquely curved wood and metal neck, which has the shape of a whale's rib bone, hence "the Bone." This original design gives super low notes and at the same time allows for easy fingering access to the two higher octaves. It's range is nearly that of the classic acoustic four string stand-up bass, and it's sound is warm, sweet and strong. The "Whale Bone Bass" is great fun to play with friends, they'll all want to try! It's also a great teaching tool useful in the ear training of young musicians! The pitch of the notes is made by holding the string against the neck and varying the tension of the string by applying lateral force to the neck. A good basic playing technique is to hold the neck where plucking at moderate tension sounds the root note of the desired chord, then the third and fifth of that chord are easily made by continued plucking and pulling laterally on the neck without repositioning your hand. Accurate fingering is not very important as the final pitch is determined by neck tension. With this technique you need only move your hand at the chord changes. You can easily play very fast passages and conserve a lot of energy in this way! The better you listen the better you'll play, playing "the Bone" will soon become as natural as singing or whistling. There are many ingenious things that will occur to you while playing. Some of our favorites are the foot vibrato, the wedding ring click, and the guest brushes player! You'll figure out more! If you ever thought you wanted to be a bass player here's your pass! Also included is an easy instruction manual, a drum tuning key, and a light protective foam neck case for traveling, and a "Certificate of Authenticity" signed by the creator. The neck, which can be seen in the close up photo, is the one made of anodized aluminum with a bonded ebonized wooden head and foot. (Please Note: The instrument you receive will have the wood and metal neck as in the close-up photos, and the lighter drum body with the new partially transparent modified Remo sound controlled head, as in the page top photo. The cowgirl pictured is in the playing position on an earlier bass model that is no longer available.) It's also great for home recording. If you are receiving sound with this page the bass track is being played on "the Bone."

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