Dr. Dr. Guitar,

As you were so helpful to my sister Anne Arthur-Dumas in the other thread, I thought maybe you could provide a little luthiery advice.

I would dearly love to have an acoustic bass of some type, but my current financial solution precludes my being able to purchase one. A friend recently showed be a very nice acoustic bass guitar that he had built for very little money. This has led me to consider the possibility of building one for myself.

Now, I have heard of a type of bass referred to in the Southeastern U.S. as a "doghouse bass". I have an old doghouse out in the shed-house left over from before old Buford got hit by that truck. It is one of those plastic igloo-looking type things that they sell at Wal-Mart. Would this be suitable for building a doghouse bass? I'm thinking that a nice one made from cedar or cypress shakes would be more attractive, but, hey, I'm one of those guys that doesn't care what it looks like as long as it sounds good. Do you think it would sound as good?

Also, do you have any suggestions for how to attach the two-by-four to the doghouse?

Thank You,

Justin Arthur-Dumas