Whamola

The Whamola is a

bass instrument Bass ( ) (also called bottom end) describes tones of low (also called "deep") frequency, pitch and range from 16 to 256 Hz (C0 to middle C4) and bass instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range C2-C4. They belong to differen ...

used in funk-

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

styles of music. The name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordswhammy bar A vibrato system on a guitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change the pitch of the strings. Instruments without a vibrato have other bridge and tailpiece systems. They add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the stri ...

and

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

. The Whamola is a direct descendant of the

washtub bass The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses hav ...

, an American

folk instrument A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. Such an instrument is played in performances of folk music. Overview The ...

popular with

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

and

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepi ...

s, and features a single string which is manipulated via a pulley-and-lever system. The pulley mechanism is mounted in place of the

tuning peg A variety of methods are used to tune different stringed instruments. Most change the pitch produced when the string is played by adjusting the tension of the strings. A tuning peg in a pegbox is perhaps the most common system. A peg has a ...

s at the top of a

double-bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

-style neck, which is attached to a wooden or metal body featuring a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, pickup and stand. The Whamola is played by hitting the string with a drum stick and either fretting it against the neck with the other hand or using the lever to alter its tension and change the pitch. Whamolas are rare, and are usually made by musicians for personal use, as opposed to professional luthiers, though the instrument has gained mass exposure and growing popularity in recent years due to its being played by contemporary bassists like

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

. A song prominently featuring the instrument appears on the Les Claypool Frog Brigade's 2002 album '' Purple Onion'', and a remix of that same track is the basis for the opening theme of the tenth season of '' South Park''. Primus also regularly play a "Drum and Whamola Jam" in concert, as documented by their 2004 live DVD '' Hallucino-Genetics''. Bass monochords {{String-instrument-stub