Weird Bass Archives

Now this is a bass. The Octobass is an enormous, three-string instrument that tunes an octave below a standard double bass. It’s so large that the player has to use special keys on its side to change pitches on each string. The Musical Instrument Museum – which now seems to be the coolest museum ever – lent out their Octobass...

While this bass may conjure images of ZZ Top, the idea for the Bas-Extravaganza Fluffy actually came to proprietor Bas Wittenberg on a trip through IKEA. The luthier saw a rug and immediately decided to put it to use as a “finish.” “This is a real party bass,” he writes. “Women love it, and men want to shave.” Measuring at...

Last week we featured a video about a bass being built into a snowboard. This time, it’s a little different. According to the guys who made this, “the Rockin Chair was invented on a coffee break at a newspaper in Värmland, Sweden, back in 1984 by the journalist Kjell Palmers and noted by his college Stefan Markebo. Many years later...

Some people play bass, and some people ride it. Signal Snowboards is a company that makes handmade boards, and on every third Thursday they get a little adventurous. In their latest edition, they hook up with bassist Duff McKagan and build a snowboard out of his signature Fender bass. The kicker? It’s still playable.

Today’s featured video comes by way of a submission on our Youtube group and features the innovative folks over at BalloonBass.com. Addi Somekh demonstrates how to make and play a balloon bass.

We’ve covered Spaceman and his unusual bass creations before. Here’s one from the archives: the Spaceman “Dominator” Aluminum 6-String Fretless Bass The Dominator is a full-length, 6-string aluminum bass guitar with an active EMG pickup, mounted above the strings.