___________________________________________________ | | |CONTRABASS-L | | An email list for discussion of bass and | | contrabass instruments of all kinds. | | Contact gdgreen@crl.com for subscription. | | See www.crl.com/~gdgreen/c-arch1.html for | | back issues. | |___________________________________________________|
Vol. 1, No. 68
19 December 1996
EDITOR'S NOTE: Let's all rumble a contrabass welcome to new subscribers Chris Chappell < school@epix.net > and Måns Engman < c92manen@und.ida.liu.se >. Welcome aboard!
Author: gdgreen@crl.com (Grant Green) at
SMTP
Date: 12/17/96 1:08 PM
TO: school@epix.net at
SMTP
Subject: Re: Digest
>Mr. Green,
> Please sign me up for the digest list. I don't know much about this
>system -- I plan to check out the past digests at the address you gave
>me.
> -Thanks,
> Chris Chappell
> school@epix.net
You're on! I'll send you a copy of the digest that went out this morning: the next one may be a few days.
Please feel free to post an introduction, e.g., your interest in the low instruments, background, etc. Not required, of course, but appreciated.
Grant
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 1996 13:52:19 -0800
From: Scott
Hirsch <ww@windworld.com>
Organization: Stranger
Creek
Subject: Hi - grant/scott hirsch
>I *think* that Scott Hirsch at Stranger Creek Productions has plans for sale
>for several instruments. I know there's a publication on making instruments
>(flutes, mainly) out of PVC. Scott, what else do you have there?
The book you refer to is called Wind Instruments in PVC by John Edfors. Unfortunately Mr. Edfors does not have an email account. A few gifs of him can be found at an impromptu webpage I installed at http://windworld.com/edfors/ I have much more info to include that Mr. Edfors sent me, including many of his new instruments such as single reed PVC instruments and almost anything you can think of. Since he is a CAD engineer, he can provide plans for all of his instruments directly should one wish to contact him. (He is a nice man too!) In short, engineering an instrument in PVC can be an excellent way to advance your design before considering more difficult materials, if ever. Mr. Edfors is trying to also figure out how to make conical bored instrument with PVC which would greatly expand the opportunities.
The book, published in small quantity is available at Stranger Creek for $12 (plus $3 shipping and handling). 800-450-2502 I believe there are only a few copies left. Another edition will be in the works for 1997, but it maybe many weeks before it is ready to go to press.
Stranger Creek produced its first simple catalog in early 1996, which was a collection of material, books, plans and whatever we could find relating to wind making. Despite the gaffs that occur in our first attempt and despite the total lack of effort to advertise the catalog, it has been a big success. Our 1997 catalog is due out in the coming weeks and if anybody can suggest plans, books, kits or other items for wind instrument makers, please do send your ideas to Linda Saffer, Mgr. at wind2@concentric.net If you have instrument plans you would like to sell, this is the place to go. And you can request our 1996 catalog at the same place.
later, scott
--
Scott Hirsch 509-935-4875
Stranger Creek
ww@windworld.com
1513 Old CC Rd. #1 low-cost
provider
Colville, WA 99114
http://windworld.com/host/
Author: gdgreen@crl.com (Grant Green) at
SMTP
Date: 12/18/96 10:07 AM
TO: ww@windworld.com at
SMTP
Subject: Re: Hi - grant/scott hirsch
>The book you refer to is called Wind Instruments in PVC by John Edfors.
>Unfortunately Mr. Edfors does not have an email account. A few gifs of
>him can be found at an impromptu webpage I installed at
> http://windworld.com/edfors/ I have much more info to include that Mr.
>Edfors sent me, including many of his new instruments such as single
>reed PVC instruments and almost anything you can think of. Since he is
>a CAD engineer, he can provide plans for all of his instruments directly
>should one wish to contact him. (He is a nice man too!) In short,
>engineering an instrument in PVC can be an excellent way to advance your
>design before considering more difficult materials, if ever. Mr. Edfors
>is trying to also figure out how to make conical bored instrument with
>PVC which would greatly expand the opportunities.
How about a PVC octocontrabass clarinet? I'm envisioning the looped Leblanc contra, but with an extra loop. Of course, that probably puts at most one finger anywhere near its tone hole, but that's probably unavoidable for anything that size. Does Mr. Edfors design such things, or would he do so in collaboration?
Probably enough fantasizing for today ;-)
Grant
From: Måns Engman
<c92manen@und.ida.liu.se>
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996
15:51:09 +0100
Subject: subscribe contrabass-l
Hi,
I found the archives of this mailing list last night and stayed up until 4 am to read all of them. This is exactly what I've been looking for so I'd like to subscribe. I'll introduce myself later on when I have a little more time.
Great website by the way! :)
/Måns Engman
c92manen@und.ida.liu.se
Author: gdgreen@crl.com (Grant Green) at
SMTP
Date: 12/18/96 9:53 AM
TO: Måns Engman
<c92manen@und.ida.liu.se> at SMTP
Subject: Re:
subscribe contrabass-l
>Hi,
>I found the archives of this mailing list last night and stayed up until 4 am
>to read all of them. This is exactly what I've been looking for so I'd like to
>subscribe. I'll introduce myself later on when I have a little more time.
>Great website by the way! :)>/Måns Engman
> c92manen@und.ida.liu.se
Hi,
Consider yourself subscribed! Next digest should be out in a few days (hopefully sometime this week). Looking forward to your introduction.
Welcome aboard!
Grant
Author: school@epix.net
Date: 12/18/96 7:40
PM
Subject: Contra Digest
Ahoy, low ones!
My name is Chris Chappell. I'm a senior at Octorara HS in Atglen, Pennsylvania. I hope to go to a small liberal arts school next year -- Oberlin College students get conservatory access, so that's high on the list. Musical history: started on piano around age 9, and that remains my main instrument. My jazz theory is still weak but improving. ~Age 11: Soprano clarinet. Sophomore year I took up tenor sax, and was intrigued by the relatively low sound. But the real rite of passage didn't take place until last year when I played bass and contra-alto cl. in the band. Oh, the chest-rattlin' beauty! As high school low reeds tend to be the lower-ability players, I managed to make All-States (applied for All-East, but missed it by one slot), and just made first chair on Districts. Just before tryouts last weekend, I hopped on the web for inspiration, and lo and behold! I happen upon Mr. Green's extensive network of low instrument information. I thought my contra-alto was far out instrumentally, but I can see that I've barely scratched the surface. Sarrusophones, octocontrabasses, low flutes . . . I was overwhelmed.
Well, enough chatter -- the homework awaits. I look forward to future transmissions.
-CC
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 14:41:42 -0500
From:
SpeedCom@aol.com
Subject: BASS wind instruments
Grant,
A couple of weeks ago, I enquired about measurements for a Great Big Flute. You kindly volunteered that you had some and would send them to me when they turned up. Well, I'm still interested in that project, but something has come up with somewhat greater urgency for me.
I have an opportunity to play the bass line in a recorder consort here in the Houston area. I must say that inviting me shows great tolerance on the part of the group, and I expect the "restriction" to the bass reflects their opinion of what my passage work sounds like. (They seem to be as perceptive as they are tolerant!!)
What I really want to play is a sordune (they won't permit a crumhorn...I expect that their last crumhorn player overwhelmed the recorders). However, I have had no luck finding plans for that instrument. There are a couple of museum drawings for old instruments, but I'd have to put them in pitch, and I don't look forward to building two of these substantial instruments.
Here's my plan, with another request tacked onto the end. I intend to whip out a bass cornamuse over the Christmas holidays, using measurements from a neighbor's bass crumhorn. I then hope to find enough data to build a proper quart-bass sordune. Do you perchance have measurements for such an instrument? Or do you have a plan for your great bass. It's less troublesome to scale from a known (different)range at modern pitch than to scale from the same range at old pitch.
If you have anything that can help me, I would much appreciate it. Merry Christmas,
Don
To: SpeedCom@aol.com
From: gdgreen@crl.com (Grant
Green)
Subject: Re: BASS wind instruments
>Grant,
>A couple of weeks ago, I enquired about measurements for a Great Big Flute.
>You kindly volunteered that you had some and would send them to me when
Here's what I found, attached as flutes.txt. The end of the file has measurements for fingerhole spacing as a function of the length and diameter of the flute (if I remember right).
>Here's my plan, with another request tacked onto the end. I intend to whip
>out a bass cornamuse over the Christmas holidays, using measurements from a
>neighbor's bass crumhorn. I then hope to find enough data to build a proper
>quart-bass sordune. Do you perchance have measurements for such an
>instrument? Or do you have a plan for your great bass. It's less troublesome
>to scale from a known (different)range at modern pitch than to scale from the
>same range at old pitch.
Afraid I don't have plans for anything (apart from the formulas for flute hole spacing), nor a quart-bass sordune. I could measure my great bass, if that would help, but describing the angles for the tone holes might be a bit tricky (if I remember right, they're not drilled straight in or perpindicular, but at angles).
If I remember correctly, Hans Mons has built a number of racketts of different sizes. Would a rackett suffice? Hans, do you still have plans lying around (or plans for suitable substitutes)?
Grant
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 17:07:05 -0500
From:
SpeedCom@aol.com
Subject: Re: BASS wind instruments
Grant,
Thanks for the speedy and informative reply.
I'm trying to avoid the rackett because 1. it is too common, 2. I really like the sweet soft sound of the sordune.
You're right that measurements of the outside of a sordune are only approximately what is required to get the job done. I expect that If I can get measurements of the length, diameter, turn point, and hole location at the bore, I'll mock one up in PVC, tune is properly, and convert the measurements gained from it into a wooden version. Then the exterior measurements would be very useful.
What is the range of your instrument? Soes it have auxiliary holes like a rackett that you cover with the middle pads on your fingers? How many holes total/ How many of those art keyed? Bass keys or treble keys? How many are fingertip holes?
Thanks for the dissertation. Looks useful. I made a PVC renaissance flute last night from measurements taken from a Ralph Sweet model. It came out pretty good. I cut the tube in cold weather, so it ended up 6 cents sharp when I got it inside. I just tuned the rest sharp by similar amounts. Now I'll cut off the headjoint and make a coupler with about 6 cents worth of length. Great fun and good practice for my bass instrument. Next time I'll use the info you just sent me. Thanks again, and,
Cheers/Don
End Contrabass-L No. 68