The Stompbox
The first stompbox began appearing in the southern states of the USA shortly after the civil war. When the slaves were emancipated and left the plantations, they took their music with them. Poverty left them with very little choice when it came to musical instruments – many of the travelling musicians using apple crates to create a percussive sound with the foot, thumping the middle of the crate to create a “bass” drum sound. The next step was to nail a piece of flat tin to one of the front corners so that when stomped on it created a sharp “clack” sound. Two or three tin lids that were beaten out of shape and nailed loosely to the opposite corner, created a very early version of a tambourine sound. This became known as the Mississippi apple crate and an instrument was born.