Bass Whistles

Sam C · Post by **Sam C** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:04 pm

As seen at http://www.tinwhistles.us/jubilee/basswhistles.htm

Has anyone played one?
What do the really low notes sound like?
How high can you go?
How fast can you play on it?
Is it loud?

I'd be curious as to how they sound in a seisun, would they be drowned out?

That's enough questions for now

cavefish · Post by **cavefish** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:16 pm

well there not 440---so i would not think it is worth a session i am sure these babies are low that DWV sewer pipe he using

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:24 pm

I don't think they'd have much place in a session.

Sam C wrote:What do the really low notes sound like?
How high can you go?
How fast can you play on it?
Is it loud?

As for these question, the answer will vary depending on who is playing it. I don't think my fingers could manage one. I don't have small hands but they're not huge either.

Sam C · Post by **Sam C** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:32 pm

Well you never know.
C-Melody saxophone really rounds a session, if used on the right tunes.
I think that they are tuned correctly, he says "Tuning is standard equal temperment, based on A=440"

Well I can play quite fast on my Howard low D, like session speed, but would the keywork be up to it?

The frequencies he gives are those of the lowest notes on each whistle,
there's a list of frequencies here
http://www.contrabass.com/pages/frequency.html

shadeclan · Post by **shadeclan** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:51 am

straycat82 wrote: . . . I don't think my fingers could manage one. I don't have small hands but they're not huge either.

Stray, if you take a look at Daniel's website, you'll see that he will adjust the whistle to your hand size.

Scott McCallister · Post by **Scott McCallister** » Fri May 18, 2007 11:05 am

cavefish wrote:well there not 440---so i would not think it is worth a session i am sure these babies are low that DWV sewer pipe he using

Ya they are....

The odd freq's you saw there are the bell note frequency to help Identify the depth of pitch.

I still don't know what you'd do with them in a session... some sort of "consort" oompah playing maybe.

Sam C · Post by **Sam C** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:20 pm

What I mean is do the keys spring back fast enough, does anyone know?
I also think that they would look better straight, not curved and just taller. I'd say that in a grupa cheoil they'd add something else to it, fill up the low end, but only if they're loud enough to compete with everything else.

On the one sample he does give, the low low low d is a bit weak.

Can you imagine walking into the seisun with one of them under your arm?

tubafor · Post by **tubafor** » Sat May 19, 2007 10:02 am

Since I actually own two of these beasties (the purple one on the site, if it's still there, is mine...), allow me to clear up some of the speculation... FYI - The two I have are a Bass D (octave below low D) and a Bass G (G below low D).

A440 - they are tuneable, so yes - they can play at standard pitch.

Keys - they move quite well. You're not going to play a reel on them, unless you can circular breathe for an hour or more. But the key travel is quite long. You can shade and bend notes once you've got the feel of the keys. And, Daniel is MORE than willing to adjust the keys to suit your preference.

Softness - they are ghost-like in their softness, almost inaudible. Not really useful for any sort of performance. Recording them is a different matter...

Curved or not curved - the straight ones are pretty, but if you go low enough, they HAVE to be curved. My bass D (octave below low D) would not be reachable without the curve. It also has to be played with a bocal, so the playing position is awkward, but I'd imagine those contrabass recorders we've seen pictures of aren't exactly comfortable either.

Breath requirement - huge. One breath per note, depending on your capacity. And full support is required, otherwise the note ghosts more than it does normally. Like I said - live? No. Recording? Yup.

Practical for everyday use - no.

Cool for adding texture and sonic richness to a recording - absolutely.

Sam C · Post by **Sam C** » Sat May 19, 2007 12:35 pm

I was thinking maybe something where the whistle is straight, with a bocal going back halfway down it, for a more imposing instrument that looks less like it used to be part of a sink.

It might be good for the slow airs in the fleadh, they'd be sent out to the office to check. I once played the low whistle in the whistle competiteon, and they thought I wasn't allowed, they had to check. The year before I won the dublin miscellaneous on the low whistle, when I got to leinster they told me I shouldn't have been let through, anything with a fipple is a whistle

syn whistles · Post by **syn whistles** » Sat May 19, 2007 2:58 pm

I have had an experimental low low D (basswhistle) sitting in a corner and recieving some attention from time to time for a couple of years and am still finding the balances I am after between range/volume/breath requirement hard to achieve. At this stage, I can say that I have altered the prototype's breath requirements to play phrases almost as well as a high whistle and with good volume, but at this stage, the bell note does not have the strength I would like. The top of the bottom octave and the upper octave are strong and loud. Playing around with the airway dimensions is the clue, but finding the time to optimise the relationship is hard.
To solve the problems of ergonometrics? connected with playing such a large instrument, I added an adjustable spike to the bottom end so that you can sit on a chair and adjust the height of the body so the fingerholes and keys are comfortable position. There is a long curved tube from the top of the whistle down to mouth level to keep it all comfortable.
It's an excellent whistle for playing with a harp, volume wise and would probably also find a place in a slow session, but without a lot of practise, I think using the keys would slow you down too much for a fast session.
I regret that I have never played or listened to any other low low instruments for comparisons. Daniel's sounds as though he could spend some research time on the windway dimensions to overcome the breathiness, has anyone had any experience with the other types of instrument mentioned? I wonder just what is achievable and how close I am to it.

Sam C · Post by **Sam C** » Sat May 19, 2007 3:24 pm

I wonder how loud you could make one.
Out of curiousity what's the loudest regular low d you can get?,
I can play fairly fast with my saxophone in a seisun, which has clunky 1920s keywork, so it's possible. For me at least volume range and tone are the most important factors, that's why I play a susato.