Contrabass Digest

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2000-10-10

 
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 15:48:53 -0700
From: Grant Green
Subject: [CB] Bass Sax

Only 4 days left on the Selmer bass sax at ebay
(http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=458111747).
Too bad the opening bid is $5K...

Grant

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant Green
ecode:contrabass       http://www.contrabass.com
Professional Fool -> http://www.mp3.com/ProFools
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 07:07:41 +0900
From: Joel Koh
Subject: Re: [CB] [Contra Digest]

>>The second instrument I tried to build, but so far have given up for
>>this concert,  is a wooden sort of suboctocontrabass chalumeau  in G
>>with just 7 holes and 3 keys in the same style as the renaissance
>>rankets.  But it should be possible to make.  I'll try to make this
>>instrument when I have the time.  It will be with a square (!) bore
>>of 28x28 mm and a contrabass mouthpiece.
>>Sorry for all these crazy experiments.
>>
>>Terje Lerstad
>
>No need to apologize!  I still have the raw materials for a
>sub-contrabass flute lying around, waiting for the time when I can
>start construction.  Glad to hear someone else pushing the envelope
>:-)
>
>Grant

Right on! Cool experiments!
The lowest homemade instrument I have managed to do is a 8 holes alto flute
in G.

Joel Koh
 

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Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2000 21:10:56 +0000
From: Lawrence de Martin
Subject: Re: [CB] Crazy Experiments

After your earlier posting about 128' instruments and a conversation with Ms. Loban, I had the inspiration to think of an instrument that is a recorder built to a pipe organ size.  It can be fabricated from PVC pipe, which I have used successfully for speaker enclosures.  The beauty of this medium is that there are pre-fabricated crooks - you just have to ask for them as "ells" at the plumbing wholesaler.  That way a 64' instrument can be made to fit through standard doorways!

You can obtain bores up to 200mm at reasonable expense, which are then driven by a fan or air compressor.  I suspect that a reed would be too difficult, so a blockflute design is the best alternative.  I then need to fabricate very large pads - perhaps controlled by footpedals and linkages.

Has anyone seen an instrument of this description?  It is not too far from existing mainstream designs.

Larry de Martin

> From: Terje Lerstad <tlerstad@online.no>

> The first instrument I call "Octocontracombinaltobasso", ... The bore is of course 29 mm, which is a bit too small (and much smaller
> than the real octocontras), ...  As far as I can tell from listening, trying out overblowing etc., the lowest tone is G in the octave above 128' C.
> The second instrument I tried to build, but so far have given up for this concert,  is a wooden sort of suboctocontrabass chalumeau  in G with just 7 holes and 3 keys in the same style as the renaissance rankets.  But it should be possible to make....
> It will be with a square (!) bore
> of 28x28 mm and a contrabass mouthpiece.

---------------------------------------------------------

From: "Jay Easton"
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 20:48:49 -0700
Subject: Re: [CB] Octocontracombinaltobasso clarinet

I admire you, Terje!  I've been working half-heartedly on a slide contrabass clarinet
with some PVC and an old trombone slide, but haven't got it quite right yet.
Now you're giving me crazy ideas about trying to link my bass and contrabass
saxophones together...   hmmm....

:-)

Jay Easton

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Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 06:11:14 +0200
From: "Klaus Bjerre"
Subject: Re: [CB] Crazy Experiments

----------
>From: Lawrence de Martin
> After your earlier posting about 128' instruments and a conversation with
> Ms. Loban, I had the inspiration to think of an instrument that is a
> recorder built to a pipe organ size.  It can be fabricated from PVC pipe,
> which I have used successfully for
> speaker enclosures.  The beauty of this medium is that there are
> pre-fabricated crooks - you just have to ask for them as "ells" at the
> plumbing wholesaler.  That way a 64' instrument can be made to fit through standard doorways!
>
> You can obtain bores up to 200mm at reasonable expense, which are then
> driven by a fan or air compressor.  I suspect that a reed would be too
> difficult, so a blockflute design is the best alternative.  I then need to
> fabricate very large pads - perhaps
> controlled by footpedals and linkages.

Do I understand you right, that you are thinking of an instrument given wind
like an organ?

And fingered, handed, or footed like an oversize recorder?

If so I believe you are in for a greta disappointment?

As I have understood the art of building pipe organs, the most important
factors are to get the right relations between wind (direction, amount, and
pressure), pipe length, and pipe bore.

With the wind and the bore being constants in the instrument you are
planning, then it would be very difficult to get a good sound on more than
one single of the fingered notes.

Getting a range of more than one octave could hardly be hoped for.

Klaus
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Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2000 22:37:59 -0700
From: David Richoux
Subject: [CB] re: crazy experiments

Hello all,

All of this talk about large organ pipes and crazy experiments reminds
me of a tiny CD my radio station got last year - a French (or some other
western european country - the details escape me right now) experimental
musician and pyrotechnician built a massive flame organ using large
pipes, natural gas, and spark plugs. By controlling the amount of gas
released into each tube and timing the igniting spark he could make his
own sort of explosive sonic compositions. Very deep and very loud!  I
will try to find the CD again and get the details...

David Richoux  KFJC  Los Altos Hills CA

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From: Heliconman
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 10:20:35 EDT
Subject: [CB] Tuba Hike Website

Just got an email from Scott Rimm-Hewitt, the guy who's hiking the entire
Appalachian Trail carrying his tuba. I lost the url for a while so I was not
able to answer the recent question as to the website location. Fortunately,
I'd left him an email about 2 weeks into his journey when he was in southern
VT/NH. Looks like he found a cyber-hut along the way! Drop him a line!! This
was the same guy who carried his tuba in the Boston Marathon! Must have a
great set of lungs!

<< Subj:     Re: Tuba Hike Website
Date:   10/10/00 2:10:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From:   slrimmhe@uncg.edu (Scott L. Rimm-Hewitt)
To: Heliconman

This is my last and final notice to everyone out there while I'm hiking
the AT.  Right now Charisma (my tuba) and I have gone past the halfway
mark and have completed 10 states with 4 left to go.  There is still 1,000
miles to hike so here is the web address one last time:

http://lemming.uvm.edu/~dtepper/crazyhikers

I found that if you bookmark the address in Explorer or Netscape, it's
real easy to link to and you won't have to remember the whole URL.  Also
you can just save this e-mail for future reference if lost.

Please check out the journal entry for September 20th if you haven't
already, it's a real SHOCKER!!!
                                                                 -TUBA Man >>
---------------------------------------------------------

From: "Spencer Parks"
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 14:27:35 CDT
Subject: Re: [CB] Octocontracombinaltobasso clarinet

>Now you're giving me crazy ideas about trying to link my bass and
>contrabass
>saxophones together...   hmmm....

Now that's what I'm talking about.

SPeNCeR
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