fiat_lux,

I have no idea if this is the same as the one at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra but for anyone else who was curious about the specs on this beast:

  • HEIGHT: 3.6 m (11.10 ft.)
  • LENGTH OF THE SOUNDBOARD (uppermost board): 2.06 m (6.76 ft.)
  • WIDTH OF THE SOUNDBOARD: 1.11 m (3.64 ft.)
  • LENGTH OF STRINGS: 2.18 m (6.56 ft.)
  • NUMBER OF STRINGS 3: (A-E-B)
  • DIAMETER OF STRINGS: 5/16 in. (7.94 mm). 1/4 in. (6.35 mm) et 3/16 in. (4.76 mm)
  • WEIGHT: 131,54 kg (290 lbs.)
  • NUMBER OF PARTS: There are hundreds of parts, of which 237 make up the complex mechanism of this precision instrument.
  • SPECIAL FEATURES: The octobass is the lowest-pitched and largest-sized instrument of the entire string family. The performer must climb up on a small stool in order to access the neck of the instrument, and it is only by means of levers and pedals - not with the hands that the strings can be reached and sounded. The octobass bow is longer and heavier than the bow of an ordinary string bass.

Apparently it can do as low as 25Hz. That would be badass to experience in person.

mhz,

Thanks for the stats

SubArcticTundra,
@SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml avatar

I wonder where they produce these things

snooggums,
@snooggums@kbin.social avatar

Holy hell, I thought this was a joke at first.

SkyezOpen,

It still can be, roll a bard that only plays it. Your party and dm will probably hate you but it’s a funny one-off, or if they’re fun you can try to work around the limitations together like making str/dex checks to get it through a narrow cave. Even better, make it a halfling that needs a step stool to play it.

snooggums,
@snooggums@kbin.social avatar

Basically as cumbersome as a one man band!

Pulptastic,

The YouTube said 16 Hz, infrasound. You can see the vibration mode.of the string, super cool.

Treczoks,

Man, that’s deep ;-)

I’ve seen a youtube video on that Octobass once, and it was amazing. Having to climb some stairs to play this absolute beast was something that shocked me. And the levers to play it.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar
Rayspekt,

Is this the instrument that does the dramatic horn sound that Christopher Nolan forced to use every 20 seconds in his movies?

VindictiveJudge,
@VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world avatar

Small chance it was used for the Reaper main cannon in Mass Effect.

jana,

There’s a size larger: the subcontrabass sax

bob_wiley,
@bob_wiley@lemmy.world avatar

deleted_by_author

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  • nilloc,

    At first it looked like a Contrabass Slide Whistle.

    I’m a bit disappointed.

    RamSwamson,

    These are all well and good but what does it take to get all these in the same room, playing at the same time?

    uis,
    @uis@lemmy.world avatar

    Counterbased

    dangblingus,

    You know homie is absolutely PACKING.

    mack7400,

    That’s one whisper you shouldn’t be careless with.

    dodslaser,

    Careful scream

    sangriaferret,
    KuroiKaze,

    Shit this is even the guy from the photo isn’t it?

    sangriaferret,

    Probably. I doubt there’s a lot of skilled octobass players out there. Shit, I doubt there’s a lot of octobasses out there period.

    nucleative,

    Here’s another that’s slightly less terrifying than the above sample youtu.be/jCEYPyUBDAU?si=4rhnEk6ZZhZrQgtq

    Treczoks,

    The only string instrument that can save more than two people in a flood.

    kool_newt,

    I’d market it as the Safe-T-Bass

    SubArcticTundra,
    @SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml avatar

    They’d have to plug the holes though

    squirrel,
    @squirrel@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

    Keyboard players: hold my beer

    1000007902

    Agent641,

    The violin she tells you not to worry about

    toastus,

    That’s awesome.

    That one plays in the same league as the hammer.

    ElBarto,
    @ElBarto@sh.itjust.works avatar

    There’s still hope I can fulfil my dream of playing in an orchestra!

    Madison420,

    Davie503 and rob scallion fucking about with one.

    youtu.be/rnk33YH3jLQ?si=UuVlMgZVl--WPTjX

    MrPoopyButthole,
    @MrPoopyButthole@lemmy.world avatar

    Of course Davie found the biggest base possible

    SkyezOpen,

    Hopefully he gave it the biggest SLAP

    Madison420,

    Indeed he did.

    Rhynoplaz,

    Very cool! Never heard of that thing before. Very impressive to see it in action!

    MBZzZzZzZz,

    Don’t drop that bass. It’ll surely break apart.

    SubArcticTundra,
    @SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml avatar

    The bass drop would be unheard of though

    Kolanaki,
    @Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

    Sad.

    It’s not being played by an octopus.

    FauxPseudo,
    @FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

    Primus sucks.

    GCostanzaStepOnMe,
    @GCostanzaStepOnMe@feddit.de avatar

    They could have been nice and put the levers a bit lower.

    JohnDClay,

    I don’t think you can actually hear the fundamental of the lowest note. It’s lowest note has a 16hz fundamental, and people can usually only hear down to around 60hz.

    Underwaterbob,

    Overtones. Bowed string instruments have a lot of harmonics. I can’t imagine it sounds very good, but I bet it’s interesting.

    JohnDClay,

    Yeah exactly. I thought it sounded pretty cool from the recording, but you’d probably need to be there in person to get the full low frequency effect.

    Underwaterbob,

    Near where I grew up there are these caves on a cliff side on the ocean. At the right time of day, the tide is such that the water rushes in and creates these amazing subsonic booms. You can’t hear them, but if you go down one of the walkways into the side of a cave, you can feel it. It’s crazy. Probably a similar thing.

    mojo,

    The giga bass

    ultratiem,
    @ultratiem@lemmy.ca avatar

    Dick measuring. Pure dick measuring.

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