I am interested in your opinions about Bass and Contrabass whistles/flutes in an “Ensemble” or session setting.
Would you be interested in playing these instruments if you could get them cheaply?
Do you think they would be easy to play with simple keywork or would you prefer keyless deep slanted toneholes, like older Bassoons?
Here are some pics.
Sub Contrabass Recorder
http://uk.geocities.com/geoffw27/Recorder/SubCb.jpg
Paetzold Square Bass
http://lachesis.caltech.edu/jayeaston/galleries/Unusual_instruments/big_flutes/recorder_F_contra_paetzold.gif
Big Bubba PVC Flute
http://www.romyb.com/graphics/gal_flute_8.jpg
Rare Double Fujara Contrabass
http://www.volny.cz/vico/koblicek/images/tibor_fujara1.JPG
Dale Wisley’s Super Secret Subcontrabass Prototype
http://corbie.com/images.organ_pipes.jpg
Tom, in certain circles you would be called a “size queen”. 
Does size matter? I have always maintained that it’s not so much the pen, but how you sign your name. 
Thomas
I’ve had a number of people show interest in ultra low whistles,
I hope to develop my basswhistle (Octave below Low-C) to have 6 normally open keys and 5 normally closed keys to make it fully chromatic.
I hope to start on in sometime in May or June this year. The prototype in PVC but there was a hollow wood tubing website mentioned here on C&F some time ago - using brass keys with some wooden tubes (probably cherry) will probably be the final version.
I’ve made some great improvements in my keying system since the first basswhistle prototype. I’ll probably use a similar keying like the chromatic
whistles that I’m building.
First Prototype:
Daniel Bingamon
Daniel,
is it this? http://www.brandnew.net/hollowood/holwood.shtml
Comes in outside Ø as small as 1", walls 1/8". Cool…
What kind of volume do you get out of these? I’m thinking they would be rather quiet…
N
The sound is pretty good except the lowest note lately is a little low volume - I need to fix a leak on it.
Yes, hollowood. That’s what I’d like to use.