My Father’s Trashcan Bass

This may be where I got my interest in making instruments, if delayed by a few decades. My father made this bass out of a galvanized steel trash can, a broom stick and a rope. Brackets covered in tattered duct tape hold up one side to let the sound out. He called it “zafa-bajo,” a combination of the words “zafacón” for trashcan, and “bajo” for bass. I remember he would play this at parties to the delight of the crowd. It was decorated with stickers from Artic-Kar, the family business. After he passed away in 2020 I inherited it, and I have to say it make a nice rumble. I suspect that the galvanized steel construction makes it sound better than an aluminum trash can. I took these pictures in January 2022, showing the wear and tear the years have brought.