And why is the "bell" pointing at the ground? Flutes aren't normally loud anyway.
Very little sound comes out the end of a flute, so it doesn't really matter where it's pointed.
The photo was taken at NFA several years ago. At that time, you could get a Kotato double contrabass for about $25K. According to Shozo Ogura's web site, it's $38K now. My wife has had her Kotato bass for about 3 years; she paid about $8500 for it--it's $11K now.
Few will admit this, but showing off is all part of being the full-fat bass in any orchestra
Could be the same with the tuba?
I did a double-take at the photo. It's made from PVC drain pipe.
"The thing was made with roughly hewn, filed and melted plastic; mouse-mat keypads cut with scissors and screwed onto plywood, and rusty bent wire keys and joints held together with twine and rubber bands."
Dean E
[S]tudy politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy . . . in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry [and] music. . . . John Adams (1780)
Dean E wrote:I did a double-take at the photo. It's made from PVC drain pipe.
"The thing was made with roughly hewn, filed and melted plastic; mouse-mat keypads cut with scissors and screwed onto plywood, and rusty bent wire keys and joints held together with twine and rubber bands."
There's a guy from Holland who markets PVC big flutes. They sound just like PVC drainpipes. One problem is that the big PVC flutes flex while being handled, which makes pad sealing a bit of a problem.
If you want to see some of these behemoths in action, come out to the NFA convention in Albuquerque, August 9-12. I'll be conducting the Fiesta Flute Orchestra on the opening morning for a performance of my "Four Pieces for Flutes" which I just added a contrabass flute part for...should be lots of fun!