Loose Acoustic Trio, from Sacramento, California, uses a variety of instruments not commonly seen on the rock stage in making their roots / Americana music. They, of course, use guitars, bass and all the "normal" stuff, but they also make use of accordions, tubas and even more unusual -- the bedpandolin. The bedpandolin is featured on the band's latest CD, Sorrow Be Gone on Big Book Records.

"The bedpandolin is a metal resonator mandolin. So the guy who makes it, Keith Cary, gets metal bed pans in bulk, drops in a regular resonator guitar, strings it up and makes the necks himself," says Ken Cooper." I have the last of the hand carved necks -- number eight. I bought number two and number eight. I think he is [at] over 25 now. He lives in Winter, north of Davis, 45 minutes from Sacramento. He designed it himself."

The resonator mandolin is loud and that suits Cooper fine.

"I like that it is loud. We play mostly outside, busking, on the street. To keep up with acoustic and upright bass I need something more than a wooden mandolin," he says. "It also has a wider neck making it easier to play and a radius fretboard. It tunes up real well. People think it is a joke instrument but -- well it IS -- but it plays great."

The bedpandolin has good action, according to Cooper, and it sounds like a resonator. He adds that National just released a wooden body resonator for around $1500.

"Sure they are nice, but the bedpandolin is half the price." he says.

And as you might imagine the bedpandolin is a great conversation starter -- which is especially important when busking. Playing a regular mandolin -- even a good one -- is not going to get the kind of volume you get out of the bedpandolin. It even seems to jump out of the recording. The band plays at the Palms Playhouse and the bedpandolin was so loud during a recent show the sound engineer turned off the mandolin mics and it was still loud enough acoustic in the 200 plus sized venue.

The bedpandolin was overdubbed on the song One Man Band as they do not use something so loud with other studio instruments (recording live). They used an Audio Technica 4033 large condenser to mic the instrument.

Cooper also has a Guitjo, a six string banjo-guitar, from Keith Cary (we really need to chat with Mr. Cary).

"Keith took a Framus banjo pot and he bolted a no-name Japanese guitar neck, strung it up and it works fine." says Cooper.

And in case you were wondering, the bedpans in question are not used but bought, brand new, from a hospital supply company.

Keep an eye out for our chat with accordion player Richie Lawrence of Loose Acoustic Trio soon.