The basswhistle, or great bass whistle, is a variation of the tin whistle/pennywhistle, known for large size, keys over the toneholes and low pitch.

The most common basswhistle is the "Bass D", pitched two octaves below the traditional D whistle. A whistle is generally classed as a bass whistle if its lowest note is the G below middle C or lower.
Bass whistles operate on the same principles as Low Whistles and High "Soprano" whistles, and are fingered in the same way as traditional pennywhistles, and therefore also belong to the same [[woodwind instrument]] family of end-blown fipple flutes.

==history==
The first bass whistle with fully functional keys was developed some time around 2001 by Daniel Bingamon. It was called the "Bathroom Great Bass" as the it was designed using PVC pipe and looked like bathroom plumbing. The keys were double acting levers with coil springs and very cumbersome to play. The incredibly expensive great bass recorders were the inspiration to develop such an instrument

After the first instrument was built, the improvement of the keys went from double acting levers to woodwind style "stack rods". The keys however were still kept in the normally open position by use of coil springs. It wasn't until the Spring of 2011 that woodwind style leaf springs were used. The 2011 model also came optionally with a piezo element with a 1/4" phone jack for recording.

Last modified 09/22/2011 02:56:42 PM by admin