Gut Check Library and Research Center
"Resonating with you since 2024"

Providence, Rhode Island, USA
gutcheck.foundation

Our Mission

The Gut Check Library and Research Center provides public access to a rare New England folk instrument, the UNI-BASS, which was designed and manufactured in the early 1970s by Duncan Calder Stephens of Jeffersonville, Vermont. In the spirit of Freedom and Unity, we research the instrument’s history and provenance and make findings publicly available at no cost.

Our Story

On Wednesday June 10, 2024, the UNI-BASS was purchased from Paper Nautilus Books in Providence, Rhode Island for $32.10, inclusive of tax. An image of the instrument was shared with Dr. Craig Spencer of Brown University—a fan of Americana and Bluegrass music—who explained the instrument was called a gutbucket; a term that also appears in the instrument’s original brochure. Gutbucket made us think of the phrase gut check, which—if you were to operate a lending library that provides access to a gutbucket—well, that would be a great name. Thus our organization was born.

Inventory

  • One UNI-BASS, available for public loan.

  • Related papers and objects, available online and at OPEN.


Our UNI-BASS

Our gutbucket-style instrument is a Vermont UNI-BASS, a folk object designed and manufactured by Duncan Stephens of Jeffersonville, VT. Based on available historical records, believe our UNI-BASS was built sometime in the early 1970s.

The device has a range of just under two octaves and originally cost $22.00, directly from Stephens, inclusive of shipping. In the fall of 1970 it was advertised by the retailer Bailey’s Music Room for $20, noting a $15 discount, thus indicating a high retail price of $35. According to the Consumer Price Index, $35 in 1970 would be roughly $275 in modern (2023) dollars. Our specific UNI-BASS was obtained by Lewis P. Lipsitt, sometime in the early to mid 1970s, possibly at a commune in New Hampshire. Mr. Lipsitt kept the instrument in incredible condition until his passing in September of 2021. It was later sold to Paper Nautilus Books.


Images

UNI-BASS Specifications

Height: 73”
Width: 15”
Depth: 14”
Lid: 12’ circular x 3/4” tall


UNI-BASS Materials:

(1) 5 gal. metal paint pail, black, Sexton Can Company of Everett, MA
(1) bass viol G string
(5) pieces spruce & maple (stained “to a warm glow”)
(1) small dowel
(1) medium dowel
(7) silver wood screws
(1) small metal clip
(2) silver screws (size MD, 2.5”) 
(2) large wingnuts
(1) Grizzly brand 3/8” valve steam washer
(1) Mailing address label, typed, “85” mark in pen
(2) Frank Lloyd Wright 2-cent stamps
(1) Original Pamphlet, 4” x 9”, 4pp (folded); black ink on white stock

Our UNI-BASS Provenance

  1. Duncan Calder Stephens of Jeffersonville, VT, early to mid 1970s

  2. Lewis P. Lipsitt, early to mid 1970s

  3. Estate of Lewis P. Lipsitt of Providence, RI, 2021

  4. Kristin Sollenberger / Paper Nautilus Books, Providence, RI, 2024

  5. Gut Check Foundation / OPEN, Providence, RI, 2024


Historical Texts (PDFs)


Wiki Fun Facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washtub_bass

  1. According to Willie "The Lion" Smith, the term "gutbucket" comes from Black families who owned their own pail, or bucket, to be filled with the makings for chitterlings.

  2. Ethnomusicologists trace the origins of the instrument to the 'ground bow' or 'ground harp' – which uses bark or an animal skin stretched over a pit as a resonator.

State symbols of Vermont:
Hermit thrush, Red Clover, Leopard frog, Monarch butterfly.