My wife wants a bombarde!!!!

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:28 am

HEEELLLP!

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:33 am

one of these?

It kind of looks like a clarinet with a REALLY wide bell at the bottom. Why is it so bad if she wants one? Do they sound horrible?

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:34 am

I had to google that to find out what you were talking about!

It looks pretty cool...

http://www.alain-pennec.com/celtic_musi ... tutor.html

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:39 am

aderyn_du wrote:I had to google that to find out what you were talking about! It looks pretty cool...

I googled too, but they are at least interesting looking. I'd love to hear one

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:42 am

izzarina wrote:I'd love to hear one

Oh no you wouldn't.

aderyn_du · Post by **aderyn_du** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:47 am

jbarter wrote:
izzarina wrote:I'd love to hear one
Oh no you wouldn't.

A quote from a website:

"Another wind instrument that may be of particular interest is the Breton Bombarde, a truly hideous instrument that sounds like a cross between a Kazoo and an Indian market street!"

I was thinking it looked like a snake charmer's instrument....

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:53 am

It's a reeded instrument..sounds kazooish, maybe a bit bagpipeish without the drones.

They are extremely loud. As in "too loud to practice indoors". As in "too loud to play indoors at a loud bar where you drown out session players" too. No..i'm not bitter..

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:28 am

John,

I phoned my pipemaker today about another matter, but I asked him if they made bombardes because they make a lot of unusual french instruments as well as Uilleann Pipes. He told me that they don't on a regular basis but that there is a very good maker in Brittany. The name is Gilbert Hervieux & Olivier Glet. Le Val, 56350 Rieux. They don't have a website but the phone number, in France, is 0299919068. You just have to add the international code. According to my pipemaker this is quite a famous bombarde maker and many top players use their instruments.

Good luck!

-Paul

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:39 am

You mean this?

There sure are a lot of request for odd weapons lately

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:55 am

I have a Camac one in Bflat for sale if you're interested

if you want to outdo her I have a biniou kozh that I'd sell too.

mvhplank · Post by **mvhplank** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:08 pm

One of my favorite contra dance musicians, David Canteini, plays one. I've described it to people as "a bumblebee on steroids."

Oddly enough, when it comes in during the middle of a set, it gives the dancers a real lift and they go "woo!"

David went to Julliard to study oboe (he may be "Dr. Canteini" by now, for all I know) and plays all manner of woodwinds with his two bands, Swallowtail and Wild Asparagus.

I heard a Thistle & Shamrock interview with (I think) House Band and the bombarde player said it took too much wind pressure to play for very long. Indeed, David's face turns purple when he plays. The House Band guy said that in tunes that required a lot of bombarde playing, there would be several players, playing phrases in turn so no one musician would blow a gasket.

M

beowulf573 · Post by **beowulf573** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:20 pm

I actually like Bombardes, given proper distance.

Watching and listening to John Skelton play a reel on one is a blast.

On edit, the player from The House Band is John Skelton.

mvhplank · Post by **mvhplank** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:37 pm

beowulf573 wrote:On edit, the player from The House Band is John Skelton.

Thanks! My House Band CDs are all at home (or across the continent with my darling daughter) so I didn't have all my resources at my fingertips.

Doh! I could have Googled it!

M

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:50 pm

jbarter wrote:HEEELLLP!

Talk about backpressure!!!!!!
I hope she's got a good set of lungs because those take a tremendous amount of air.

I must admit I do like to hear a bombarde- but then I'm a piper too-what can I say? Perhaps the hearing loss accounts for that........ :roll:

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:04 pm

If you ever get a chance to go Breton dancing; take it. The steps are easy and it's a lot of fun.

~~

However, I was once at a party/benefit concert in Montreal which featured a number of local musicians. They'd played, and the party was really just getting underway when midnight came along and the sound system turned into a pumpkin--the guy from the rental company showed up and started unhookng things. He was going home!

The band--about five musicians, if I remember correctly--tried to soldier on so the crowd could dance, but they could only faintly be heard. Suddenly, a bombarde & binou (breton bagpipes) pair showed up in the doorway, and they had no trouble being heard. The musicians on stage hastily put away their instruments and joined the dancers. They were still going strong when we had to leave to catch the last metro.

~~

"Ear-splitting" is the adjective phrase I'd apply to the bombarde. I've never heard that quantity of sound come out of an instrument so small before.

Chiff and Fipple Forums

My wife wants a bombarde!!!!

My wife wants a bombarde!!!!

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