Robin

At its simplest, the instrument is just a tub, bucket, trash can, or any other "container" turned upside down, with a hole in the middle of the bottom. Run a string through the hole, and tie a knot on the inside of the tub to keep it from pulling through. Fasten the other end of the string to a stick - typically a broom handle, and adjust the length of the string so that you can pull it tight by "swinging" the stick sideways.

For a more durable string connection, an eyebolt (#8 or #10 - .08 to .12 inch shank diameter) with washers and nuts on both sides of the tub surface will let you tie on so that you don't chafe the string. Use "fender washers" if available, and some add rubber fender washers to keep the bolt from rattling, and the hole won't leak if you want to cool the beer.

You want the string connected to the middle of the largest surface available, so that the motion induced moves as much air as possible.

You can put the bottom of the stick on the ground beside the "bucket," but most feel you get better action with the stick notched to sit on the rim. (You do get more "leverage" if the bottom of the stick is closer to the string attachment to the tub.) Put one foot on the rim to hold the tub down, haul back on the stick, and whack the string. Play with it until it sounds good - which can happen because you've figured out how to make music, or just because you've gotten used to the noise it makes.

One of the first "improvements" is to get rid of the inevitable "rattles." Take the handles off (or if you used granny's good tub, duct tape them securely and hope she doesn't notice the hole). You may find rivets or even seam gaps in an old tub that need a little "hammer adjustment," or a dab of solder, to tighten them up - but that's getting into "fussy mode."

Many will recommend putting a board under one edge of the tub "to let the sound out." Whether this helps or not depends on your individual tub, it's personality, and how you play it. (Some think a bigger amp makes their guitar sound prettier too. Judgment required.)

One of the main "acoustical faults" of the typical tub is that the concentric ribs in the tub bottom make it a little less than an ideal diaphragm. It's a little too flexible. As you advance in your playing you may want to put a heel on the surface, to stiffen it so that you can get a little more range in string tension. Later, you may want to add a "pressure plate" in the form of a small wood block so that your soggy shoe soles don't muffle the response.

The first generation progression is often to try to figure out a way to get "better control" of the string tension. ("Better control" usually means higher tension, but not always.) A variety of cranks, levers, wheels, and such appear in people's designs, usually in the form of something hung on the top of the stick. When this "mechanism" grows enough to get cumbersome, there's often a move to fasten the stick to the tub to make it easier to use the new "devices." Most such improvements tend to be something that suits an individual's perception of what fits his/her individual style, so one should be wary of accepting them as "generally suitable" for your personal instrument. Such modifications also move somewhat away from the joy of building and playing a simple "found" instrument.

The real test of your creativity comes when you take your gutbucket out in public to play. In any reasonably large group (at any festival), there will always be someone who will want to run and get his own bucket, and very nearly always will be determined to "prove" that his is better than yours. It's rather a mixed blessing that, unlike other "obnoxious" instruments like ... (can we leave off several common ones, and mention spoons maybe without offending) it's virually impossible for two gutbuckets to play together in the same group, if one of them is trying to "prove" something. If you're creative enough to avoid such encounters, it's a fun instrument - in appropriate circumstances.

John