Octobass

(atlasobscura.com)

65 points | by keepamovin 4 days ago ago

14 comments

  • kjgkjhfkjf 8 hours ago ago

    Here's a video of one being played (sort of): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K3VdVbBOxw

    • esperent 8 hours ago ago

      Skip to 5:41 to hear it actually played. Although I assume you'd need very good speakers and I'm not sure if the YT audio compression is good for very low tones.

  • apricot 7 hours ago ago

    "The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is the only orchestra that owns one of these unusual instruments"

    They actually have three. https://www.osm.ca/en/octobasses/

  • BoostandEthanol 2 hours ago ago

    “Some of the instruments fall below the human hearing range, only the vibrations can be felt,” feels unreal to me for some reason. I can’t imagine a vibration rattling through me without hearing something at that power.

    • tpoacher 20 minutes ago ago

      Apparently this is a thing that was used in old horror movies.

      Subsonic music would play just before a scary encounter, creating a feeling of uneasiness to the audience without any consciously perceptible stimulous, and thus priming the audience for the horror to come.

    • keepamovin 40 minutes ago ago

      Sounds like something you’ll have to try! :)

  • ofrzeta 5 hours ago ago

    "Bass! How low can you go?" (Public Enemy - Bring the Noise)

  • leptons 9 hours ago ago

    The Musical Instrument Museum is one of the best things to do in Phoenix. It's also one of my favorite museums in the world.

    • nkrisc 8 hours ago ago

      That place is amazing. Went there once thinking it would be a 30 minute diversion before we did other stuff. We spent nearly 4 hours in there.

      Wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone in Phoenix.

    • tkgally 7 hours ago ago

      There's also a very nice musical instrument museum in Hamamatsu, Japan [1]. I really enjoyed it and would like to go again.

      [1] https://www.gakkihaku.jp/en/

    • mrbluecoat 8 hours ago ago

      Yes, definitely plan to spend a few hours - it's a massive museum packed with musical instruments and cultures from around the world. They give you positional-aware headsets that play music and information as you near a display.

  • JKCalhoun 9 hours ago ago

    I do remember this tall bass. A very cool and unusual museum, BTW. Phoenix is a fun town. The Botanical Garden too is not to be missed.

  • 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 4 hours ago ago

    "With a range so deep it goes lower than humans can hear"

    To be fair, the difference between "sound" and "air pressure" is vibes. A tire inflator is probably putting out infrasonic frequencies, too.

  • jpease 6 hours ago ago

    Saw it in Phoenix.

    Definitely big.

    Wouldn’t recommend for slap.