6 ms·

Not to be confused with the subcontrabass flute, which can be heard (for example) in Justin Bell's soundtrack for The Outer Worlds [0] [1]. [0]: https://twitte

Not to be confused with the subcontrabass flute, which can be heard (for example) in Justin Bell's soundtrack for The Outer Worlds [0] [1]. [0]: https://twitter.com/sonic_presence/status/1196491729022509060 https://twitter.com/sonic_presence/status/119649172902250906... [1]: https://old.reddit.com/r/theouterworlds/comments/ilvt6x/got_to_play_a_bass_flute_today_its_impossible_to/g3y49wp/ https://old.reddit.com/r/theouterworlds/comments/ilvt6x/got_...

dhosek 4y ago
I remember going to a flute event in Chicago back around 2000 and in the exhibit hall, there was a bass flute¹ that a few people picked up and couldn’t get a sound out of—later, I was on the other side of the room and someone (who likely had previous experience with the bass flute) picked it up and played a lyrical line on it and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.² ⸻ 1. While called a bass flute, strictly speaking a bass flute should be called a tenor flute as it sounds a fifth below the alto flute which sounds a fourth below the concert flute. The piccolo plays an octave above the concert flute and there are intermediate flutes pitched a fifth above the concert flute and also a whole tone above it. 2. At the time, a bass flute seemed an improbably expensive instrument that I could never afford to buy. It occurs to me that now that I’m older and more financially secure, I could conceivably afford to buy one and learn to play it.
- tomcam 4y ago
  I got a supposedly used Jupiter for $1500 on eBay a few years ago, so yeah! Worth it.
  - jefftk 4y ago
    That's a lot of money, but it's well within the range of what people pay for high quality instruments
    - dhosek 4y ago
      That’s less than half the price of a new bass flute, so not really that much money. And a good double bass (the stringed version) would be $10,000 so $1500 is kind of a bargain in comparison.
  - dhosek 4y ago
    Man, I was just looking on eBay and all I was seeing were no-name Chinese bass flutes around $1000. I’ve been contemplating whether it’s worth the risk to get something that might not be playable.
    - tomcam 4y ago
      You are correct. I'd risk it if I didn't have one already. I've bought several (normal aka soprano) new Chinese flutes for $80 or so and they're absolutely fine. That price is way less than it costs to get my old student model Gemeindhardt to be repadded. Plus PayPal and eBay never ever side with the seller if you decide to return :O
  - dhosek 4y ago
    Looking at the prices of Jupiters now, that’s a fantastic price.
    - tomcam 4y ago
      Affirmative. It was a great price then too!
fortran77 4y ago
Not too many people would confuse a flute with a bassoon.
tomcam 4y ago
[0] Damn. Scrub to 1:00 if you want the real tea. In the first part he’s playing very high, in standard bass flute territory. At the minute mark it sounds like a string bass. The amount of air you need to push through an instrument that size has to push some kind of anatomical limit.
- Kaibeezy 4y ago
  “amount of air” Is it more air than, like, a tuba, or whatever would be a more familiar so-low instrument? Would it be cheating to add an assist like on a bagpipe? What about mechanical airflow like a compressor or air conditioning vent?
  - tomcam 4y ago
    Fun thoughts! Surprisingly, a normal (soprano) flute takes almost as much air as a tuba. The instrument featured here would definitely take at least tuba volumes of air. None of the assists you mention would be worth it because you would lose almost all of the nuance in tone quality. It is no accident that bagpipes tend to have a fairly uniform sound and volume. And that’s assuming you can somehow prevent the additional noise these techniques bring with them.
  - genewitch 4y ago
    i played both flute and tuba for a few years and both make your lips hurt and require obnoxious amounts of lung capacity - air. I'd say a tuba requires a bit more overall, because you gotta move your lips by pushing air through them.
    - tomcam 4y ago
      I play both and agree. Now imagine playing one of those crazy contrabass dealies…
robin_reala 4y ago
…or the subcontrabass recorder, e.g. https://www.kunath.com/en/Generalueberholung-Subkontrabass-Paetzold-by-Kunath/RPBK-48-G https://www.kunath.com/en/Generalueberholung-Subkontrabass-P... or https://www.dolmetsch.com/millennium.htm https://www.dolmetsch.com/millennium.htm .
- Eupraxias 4y ago
  I have a near obsession with these instruments, and would love to try to build one. Excellent recording of this awesome recorder in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIesMapxaOs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIesMapxaOs
  - robin_reala 4y ago
    Beautiful! Thanks for the link.

dhosek 4y ago

I remember going to a flute event in Chicago back around 2000 and in the exhibit hall, there was a bass flute¹ that a few people picked up and couldn’t get a sound out of—later, I was on the other side of the room and someone (who likely had previous experience with the bass flute) picked it up and played a lyrical line on it and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.² ⸻ 1. While called a bass flute, strictly speaking a bass flute should be called a tenor flute as it sounds a fifth below the alto flute which sounds a fourth below the concert flute. The piccolo plays an octave above the concert flute and there are intermediate flutes pitched a fifth above the concert flute and also a whole tone above it. 2. At the time, a bass flute seemed an improbably expensive instrument that I could never afford to buy. It occurs to me that now that I’m older and more financially secure, I could conceivably afford to buy one and learn to play it.

tomcam 4y ago
I got a supposedly used Jupiter for $1500 on eBay a few years ago, so yeah! Worth it.
- jefftk 4y ago
  That's a lot of money, but it's well within the range of what people pay for high quality instruments
  - dhosek 4y ago
    That’s less than half the price of a new bass flute, so not really that much money. And a good double bass (the stringed version) would be $10,000 so $1500 is kind of a bargain in comparison.
- dhosek 4y ago
  Man, I was just looking on eBay and all I was seeing were no-name Chinese bass flutes around $1000. I’ve been contemplating whether it’s worth the risk to get something that might not be playable.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    You are correct. I'd risk it if I didn't have one already. I've bought several (normal aka soprano) new Chinese flutes for $80 or so and they're absolutely fine. That price is way less than it costs to get my old student model Gemeindhardt to be repadded. Plus PayPal and eBay never ever side with the seller if you decide to return :O
- dhosek 4y ago
  Looking at the prices of Jupiters now, that’s a fantastic price.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    Affirmative. It was a great price then too!

fortran77 4y ago

Not too many people would confuse a flute with a bassoon.

tomcam 4y ago

[0] Damn. Scrub to 1:00 if you want the real tea. In the first part he’s playing very high, in standard bass flute territory. At the minute mark it sounds like a string bass. The amount of air you need to push through an instrument that size has to push some kind of anatomical limit.

Kaibeezy 4y ago
“amount of air” Is it more air than, like, a tuba, or whatever would be a more familiar so-low instrument? Would it be cheating to add an assist like on a bagpipe? What about mechanical airflow like a compressor or air conditioning vent?
- tomcam 4y ago
  Fun thoughts! Surprisingly, a normal (soprano) flute takes almost as much air as a tuba. The instrument featured here would definitely take at least tuba volumes of air. None of the assists you mention would be worth it because you would lose almost all of the nuance in tone quality. It is no accident that bagpipes tend to have a fairly uniform sound and volume. And that’s assuming you can somehow prevent the additional noise these techniques bring with them.
- genewitch 4y ago
  i played both flute and tuba for a few years and both make your lips hurt and require obnoxious amounts of lung capacity - air. I'd say a tuba requires a bit more overall, because you gotta move your lips by pushing air through them.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    I play both and agree. Now imagine playing one of those crazy contrabass dealies…

robin_reala 4y ago

…or the subcontrabass recorder, e.g. https://www.kunath.com/en/Generalueberholung-Subkontrabass-Paetzold-by-Kunath/RPBK-48-G https://www.kunath.com/en/Generalueberholung-Subkontrabass-P... or https://www.dolmetsch.com/millennium.htm https://www.dolmetsch.com/millennium.htm .

Eupraxias 4y ago
I have a near obsession with these instruments, and would love to try to build one. Excellent recording of this awesome recorder in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIesMapxaOs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIesMapxaOs
- robin_reala 4y ago
  Beautiful! Thanks for the link.