IN Sungai Asap, a quiet settlement, about 60km from the Bakun dam, manufactured musical instruments are difficult to come by – even for the almost ubiquitous gitar kapok.

The nearest shop lies quite a distance away, what more, retailers specialising in selling musical instruments.

But as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of inventions and local musicians have turned to improvising their own music instruments.

During a recent visit to Uma Belor, the Borneo Post Adventure Team (BAT) was intrigued to discover musicians here playing a hand-made double bass with a single string — or a one-string bass guitar.

These instruments bear little resemblance to their more commonly known 4-stringed counterpart manufactured by the likes of Yamaha, Ibanez and Fender.

First, they are giants by comparison, measuring between five and a half to seven feet long and up to several kilogrammes in weight. Their hefty necks can be as thick as the leg for a large dining table.

They look more like giant acoustic guitars with a sound hole in their bodies compared with the solid bodies of modern bass guitars which do not have sound holes.

The body of the instrument is often decorated with Orang Ulu motifs as is the headstock which often bears ornate wood carvings in the same theme.

An electric guitar pickup is attached near the sound hole to enable sound to be picked up electronically and projected through an amplifier.

Due to its considerable weight, the one-string bass guitar must be laid out horizontally to be played, similar to the manner of a steel guitar.

“This instrument has been around since the 1970’s,” said

49-year-old Lawing Luat, chairman of the Orang Ulu Sungai Asap Belaga Cultural Club (Kelab Kebudayaan Orang Ulu Sungai Asap Belaga).

He recalled that locals decided to make their own version of the bass guitar because of difficulty in getting ready-made instruments.

“At first, it was used for church services but now there are many local music groups using it as a substitute for a regular bass guitar.”

He added that to his knowledge, there was no specific name for the instrument. Within their music group, they just refer to it as a bass guitar.

One of the group’s musicians Sion Lian, 55, uses one hand to press notes on the bass guitar’s single string along the guitar’s fretboard while his other hand strikes a lively tune with a mallet made from kayu benua, a type of soft wood found locally.

To the BAT’s ears, the sound produced resonates stronger, warmer and rounder than a regular bass guitar.

Lawing and Sion explained there were no hard or fast rules when it came to making a one-string bass guitar.

“It really depends on what the maker wants — from the length to the size,” Lawing said.

Sion added: “If the maker is skilled enough, he can finish one guitar in half a day, depending on the painted decorations and carvings.”

The kampong bass guitar can be tuned to any key with the aid of a handcarved tuning head. Its single string actually consists of fishing line No. 200, normally used for deep sea-fishing.

However, Lawing said many of the tunes they played tended to be in the key of C, G and F.

Sion also demonstrated how to strum the tapung kitan, a four-stringed instrument which looks and sounds very much like a ukulele. Like the one-string bass guitar, it was fashioned from scratch by the locals using locally available resources.

In addition to the one-string bass guitar and the tapung kitan, the cultural club music group features traditional Orang Ulu instruments, including the sape and jatung utang (wooden xylophone) alongside more modern ones such as the harmonica and the maracas.

“By incorporating modern instruments, we can add more depth and richness to the traditional music we play and make it more interesting for people to listen to,” Sion explained.

He added that it was important to keep developing traditional music to make it sound even better as well as preserve people’s interest in the music.

Asked about young people’s reaction towards the music the group plays, Lawing replied they responded positively and showed keen interest in learning how to play.

“Our group now have about 100 members. One reason is that we only charge a low one-time membership fee of RM10 to encourage people to join,” Lawing beamed.

“The other reason is that we’re a multi-cultural group and don’t differentiate between ethnicities. We want everyone to have this opportunity to enjoy music,” he added.