Coconut shell as pedal enclosure?

[charleston]

I'm a noob who's gonna have a go at building the bazz fuss, and I wondered whether you could use a coconut shell Got the idea from a thread on Ultimate Guitar.

Would i have to put a metal base to it in order to ground everything?

thanks

Charleston

[azrael]

I would also shield the inside of the shell, to lower noise.

[Philippe]

*hmmm* There's already a 'Captain Coconut' effect out there (previously available via AnalogMan/Fox) but I don't recall it having any connection to an actual coconut shell.  

A metal base would probably work as well as lining the inner shell with either foil or some metallic lining.

Are you going to leave the coarse outer coconut fibers on or shave them off? Depending on how you half the coconut shell, you could even get it to look like a monkey's face.

There is also the question of long-term durability with the periodic 'stomps'. Are you going to shellac or varnish the exterior for added strength or simply buy a new coconut? Over the long haul, it's still probably cheaper than replacing a Hammond enclosure providing you find use for the copra & coconut milk.

[John Lyons]

Yeah! do it! Be the first on your block...or the forum. Love it!

John

[sean k]

Coconut shells are very strong with the "wood" being of a similar consistency to rosewood so it's reasonably hard. tougher than one might think given it's hardness.

[Adji]

Mate this is a great idea! I look forward to seeing the finished result.

[kungpow79]

Coconut shell?  Bah, that is SO 2009!!!

This is 2010!  You wanna be top HOT dog?  EVERYbody I know is putting 'em in much cooler shells!  Walnut, egg, turtle, clam...

Coconut....  crazy.........

[jayp5150]

Awesome idea.

Leave it fuzzy

[Paul Marossy]

I think that's funny. I wouldn't do it myself, but hey whatever floats your boat. 

[amptramp]

Most plant matter will eventually decay.  Wood has to be protected unless it is a naturally toxic wood like cedar and the insides of the coconut may rot and decay.  You may have to consider preservatives.

[John Lyons]

There are many coconut shells out there from many years ago, should be fine.
Grass skirts and coconut tops. Leave it fuzzy. +1

[Paul Marossy]

Hmm.... I wonder if coconut is a "tone wood"? 

[PRR]

> Wood has to be protected

• The inside of a 1959 Fender Amp cabinet is raw wood.
  
  Yes, if you leave it in a dank basement it gets all gross; in a flooded basement the bottom eventually rots off.
  
  But thousands of old wood guitar-amps have survived 50 years, longer than their owners.
  
  I used to live in a house built in 1830. Yeah, some of the old wood "had problems". Some of it survived very well. Mostly it was about using enough material for the load, and about not letting the rain get in. They used the best wood for sills, the next best wood over the sills; they held up super-good. They finished the house with leftovers, the shed/kitchen was pretty wobbly.
  


• It's a coconut shell! If it does rot, get another coconut shell. Not a major investment in cost or labor.

[sean k]

Well, from someone who lives in the southern pacific in a suburb predominantly made up of people of pacific Island descent... I've seen a few coconut shells.

The pacific Island cultures made good use of the fibrous hardwood that formed the protective shell of the coconut fruit and they last a very long time... even when left wet. One has to consider that the coconut palm spread across the pacific simply because of the hard inner shell that was so protective of it's inner seed... while it floated accross seas to spread the hardy tree!

[philbinator1]

Coconut shell?  Bah, that is SO 2009!!!

This is 2010!  You wanna be top HOT dog?  EVERYbody I know is putting 'em in much cooler shells!  Walnut, egg, turtle, clam...

Coconut....  crazy.........

turtle?!  haha!  Call it the Eco-fuzz, for extra irony   

[slacker]

Do it 

[birt]

[GFR]

You can carve the fibers like a sculpture:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/2212625966_7955c4b37d.jpg

[liddokun]

If you leave the fibres on, maybe you'll stop having the need to buy velcro to attach your coconut shell pedals to your pedalboard. 


haha.

I kid of course, but I love this idea.

[charleston]

Thanks for all the replies

i think i'll leave the fuzz on, who cares if it moults on the drummer's carpet 

anyway, i'm having a bit of bother with the parts

i have all the parts on the vero layout ( http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DRAGONFLY-LAYOUTS_0/album18/album144/BAZZ_FUSS.jpg.html )  bar the transistor, but maplin don't have any in stock. what could i use as a substitution? would mosfets work?

thanks

charleston