what do y'all think of this gloriously deep-voiced clarinet?

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilXI7Z8oUzo[/youtube]
this, WP friends, is a one-and-only playable leblanc octo-contralto clarinet! it is pitched 3 whole octaves below the standard treble clarinet or "licorice stick." it's lowest note is roughly 20 cycles per second! it produces deeper bass than most pipe organs! it has a big brother [a BBBb octo-contrabass] that languishes unplayably in the leblanc instrument museum in france. the youtube vid does it no sonic justice, i know this because, having tootled on an "ordinary" contrabass clarinet, the air and floor vibrates on the low notes, which cannot be discerned in any video. I WANT ONE!! !

I love clarinets-but I was definitely NOT expecting that noise at all. I thought I was going to like it, but nope-not at all. Couldn't even finish the video.

I was expecting that sound, but I can't say I'm all that fond of it. Maybe if it's melodic.

there is also a duet between the octo-contralto and a Ab piccolo clarinet playing "dance of the sugar plum fairy."
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN4OX-yefbY[/youtube]
this is somewhat more melodic as well as definitively illustrative of the range of the clarinet family choir.

how 'bout this duet-
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN4OX-yefbY[/youtube]
do you prefer the piccolo clarinet? how low a clarinet can you abide?

Sorry, it isn't very attractive sounding to me. XD I imagine it would be useful for something in an orchestra though. To be fair, it is pretty cool.
It sounded too low for that duet.

I'm not a very big fan. I like bass clarinets, but I think this instrument is just too low.

i guess for a confirmed bassaholic like me, there can be no such thing as "too low." i heard an experimental hyper-octo-sub-contrabass clarinet that could play down to 4 cycles per second, i thought that was the neatest thing since sliced bread. for others on WP who would be interested in such low-pitched contrabass instruments, there is a neat website, (clicky)contrabass.com that i highly recommend.

It makes me a bit uncomfortable listening to it...either he's inexperienced at woodwinds (which his puffing cheeks lead me to believe) or that thing takes a heck of a lot of air to work

I actually didn't mind that one once it got started. I love the Nutcracker!

Edit: that being said, it still hurts my ears a bit, and if I had to work at a concert like this (I work at an auditorium utilized by the symphony), I would likely wear ear plugs during the show---not to block out the music entirely, but to prevent the really sharp sounds of both instruments from hurting my ears.

Ha, well see, that is why we differ: I am very anti-bass. I prefer more mellow performances like this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQzadYBREn4[/youtube]

I don't know much about the differences between clarinets, but I think this is just a regular one...whatever that is called, I do not know. After the video you posted--I love the MELODY, but my ears hurt for several minutes (not just because of the bass clarinet, but also because of the high-pitched one--maybe even moreso because of that one). I find this combination much more tolerable. I looooove the sound of the flute too, so it helps that that is mixed in.

Stooping to an alltime low, eh.

The first 4 bars the Octocontralto plays with the piccolo reminded me of the noise in Engineering on the USS Enterprise.

Last time I checked clarinets don't sound like fart machines.

I quite like it... in a curious kind of way.
It has an unusual sound.

i guess i am drawn to the unusual. i'd like to hear what pete fountain could do with that octo-contralto.