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 Contraforte - the NEW Contrabassoon!
Author: LeWhite 
Date:   2004-11-30 11:50

Definitely not on the topic of clarinet, but I'd just like to point out that the Contrabassoon has been redesigned and according to a few colleagues, will most certainly become a complete replacement to the original Contrabassoon: it has an extended dynamic range, better intonation, and is easier to play, not to mention that it can now actually be heard at all.
http://www.guntramwolf.de/instruments/modern/basebassoonforte/index_basebassoonforte_mod_e.htm

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 Re: Contraforte - the NEW Contrabassoon!
Author: Ken Shaw 2017
Date:   2004-11-30 15:27

Yeah, it's amazing. Actually, it may be too good. Composers and conductors expect the standard, blatty contrabassoon sound.

There has been a lot of discussion of it on the Contrabass list, http://www.contrabass.com, along with the Tubax, a narrow-bore contrabass saxophone.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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 Re: Contraforte - the NEW Contrabassoon!
Author: David Peacham 
Date:   2004-11-30 16:43

Anthony Baines's book on woodwind tells the story of a professional player who made a contra out of an old bassoon and some plastic pipes - and his colleagues thought it sounded better than a "real" contra. The wonder is, if the standard instrument is really so bad, that it hasn't been redesigned long since.

Personally, I like the old-style contras: folded just once, like a bassoon.

-----------

If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.

To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.


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 Re: Contraforte - the NEW Contrabassoon!
Author: diz 
Date:   2004-11-30 23:07

David Peacham said: The wonder is, if the standard instrument is really so bad, that it hasn't been redesigned long since.

Problem with the contrabassoon is, of course, that it's prohibitively expensive to make, let alone put any timeconsuming research and design time into.

Any bassoonist I've encountered whose ever played on one will always agree on two things

1) - they're "fun" and 2) beasts to play in tune.

I say bravo to this German company for having the balls to redesign and trial this beast, would love to hear feedback from anyone whose actually heard one.

Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.

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 Re: Contraforte - the NEW Contrabassoon!
Author: Terry Stibal 
Date:   2004-12-01 05:29

"Personally, I like the old-style contras: folded just once, like a bassoon."

I used to play one of those, a Heckel from the mothership of all German bassoon playing. It was owned by Washington University in Saint Louis, and occasionally I would get it out when an orchestral part would crop up, this being back in the very late 1960's - early 1970's.

The playing angle was hell on the neck without a seat strap of the right length, and my modified wide leather belt (a reworked reject from the wide pants era of the early 1970's) wasn't long enough to give the right "reach". It made for a contorted posture while croaking away...

Never did play the Sorcerer's Apprentice with it though; they needed me for the bass clarinet part on that one.

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