Xaphoon aka the bamboo sax

[Gandalfe]

Has anyone every played a Xaphoon (http://www.xaphoon.com/)? Looks like fun actually. Pretty pricy though for the buy and forget types.

http://www.xaphoon.com/Whole%20Family%202%20bamboo%204%20color%2010x7%2072%20dpi.jpg

[pete]

These are somewhat nicer than the ones I've seen. They used to have a clarinet mouthpiece, IIRC. It's now integral.

Sound samples. (http://www.xaphoon.com/MoreabouttheXaphoon.html) FWIW, I don't really care for the tone. Sounds like an out-of-tune clarinet trying to be an out-of-tune saxophone.

[pete]

$55 to $120 (http://larkinthemorning.com/search.asp?t=ss&sb=0%22&ss=xaphoon&x=0&y=0).

[Gandalfe]

Apparently they won a best in show category at the 2007 NAMM conference. It's all about making music any where, any time. :mrgreen:

[pete]

I can make music anywhere, anytime, too. It's called "singing".

Hey, pennywhistle folks might also have something to say about the "anywhere, anytime", too :).

[Saxagenarian]

They're great for recycling old tenor reeds!

[Gandalfe]

They're great for recycling old tenor reeds!Really, now that'd be very cool. I tend to use synthetic reeds on my rarely played instruments as they are always ready to go. :ugeek:

[saxismyaxe]

I had one, and as I have mentioned before (and yes I'm recycling the same joke), they are really a novelty sort of instrument, good primely for annoying the bejeebers out of one's cat more than anything. 8-)

[zagor]

I own a xaphoon... it’s fun to look, hear, but quite strange to play. my children love it!

[Gandalfe]

The Xaphoon certainly isn't something that you just pick up on the fly, it will take some time. Like the recorder the special fingerings disappoint me. Because it means that I will have spend a lot of time gaining fluidity. Like the QWERTY keyboard in typewriters, wouldn't it be nice to have the same fingerings on all instruments? Then you could spend your time on voicing and embellishments.

[zagor]

yes, fingering really sucks... but it’s quite easy to reach the tune you want even if fingering is not perfect by bending your lips. the xaphoon feels really free in that way

[SOTSDO]

Like the QWERTY keyboard in typewriters, wouldn't it be nice to have the same fingerings on all instruments? Then you could spend your time on voicing and embellishments.

You already have that ability with a wind controller. When confronted with the same dilemma while playing a bassoon (something that has occurred with alarming regularity during the spring musical season these last few years) I often think of that wind controller "option". But, why spend a thousand dollars when you can instead spend many more and deal with double reed problems in the bargain, right?

[PrincessJ]

yes, fingering really sucks... but it’s quite easy to reach the tune you want even if fingering is not perfect by bending your lips. the xaphoon feels really free in that way

That is what I love about instruments like this!
I just ordered one for myself out of curiosity and am excited to play it as it's right up my alley. It's a nice break from the fancy modern "mechanical" instruments, nothing takes me back to my roots in hand made tube-with-reed-and-holes instruments more than things like these. :D

[Gheorghe]

That is what I love about instruments like this!
I just ordered one for myself out of curiosity and am excited to play it as it's right up my alley. It's a nice break from the fancy modern "mechanical" instruments, nothing takes me back to my roots in hand made tube-with-reed-and-holes instruments more than things like these. :D

I bought one of the plastic ones for fifty bucks, maybe 2 years ago. It was not hard for me to play the first octave or so. I needed one in the lower range, so I made me one in G out of a piece of bamboo.

Funny thing: I always wanted a taragot, and about a year ago I was playing at a local dance house event (Transylvanian music), and when we took a break, I put down the viola and started playing my pocket sax. A Hungarian lady came over and told me "that kinda sounds like a tarogato. My son used to play, ten years ago, but gave it up". Long story short, they happened to live about half an hour from my house, so I went over one evening with a checkbook, and drove home with my first tarogato:)

George