Tubax

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A B♭ subcontrabass tubax (right). On the left, for comparison, is a tenor saxophone.
A B♭ subcontrabass tubax (right). On the left, for comparison, is a tenor saxophone.

The tubax is a modified saxophone developed in 1999 by the German instrument maker Benedikt Eppelsheim. It is available in both E♭ contrabass and B♭ or C subcontrabass sizes. It is a portmanteau between the words "tuba" and "sax."[citation needed]

Although the Tubax has the same fingering, mouthpiece, and reed as a regular saxophone, there is some controversy over whether it is technically a true saxophone since it has a much narrower (though still conical) bore. Some suggest this narrow-bore design makes the Tubax akin to the double-reed sarrusophone; however, the Tubax's bore is much larger than the corresponding size of sarrusophone's and its sound has a richer timbre and noticeably more acoustical presence. The first size of Tubax to be developed was the E♭ contrabass. It has the same register as a regular contrabass saxophone but is much more compact and thus more manageable due to its tubing being folded more times. It takes a baritone saxophone mouthpiece. While the timbre of the E♭ Tubax is more focused and compact than that of the full-sized contrabass saxophone, it still blends well with other sizes of saxophones and can be played with great agility due to its air-efficient bore design.

More recently, Eppelsheim also began making a subcontrabass Tubax in CCC and BBB♭. The B♭ instrument is equivalent in register to the subcontrabass saxophone proposed by Adolphe Sax but never created. The subcontrabass Tubax uses a baritone saxophone or bass saxophone mouthpiece. While several B♭ subcontrabasses are already in use, only one C model has been manufactured. It was sold to Thomas Mejer of Switzerland in July 2002; he has recorded on it with Peter A. Schmid as the "Two Tubax Duo."

[edit] Notable Tubax performers

[edit] External links

[edit] Listening

This article relating to woodwind instruments is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
v • d • e
Members of the Saxophone family
True saxophones
Tubaxes
†Contrabass tubax • †Subcontrabass tubax
† denotes saxophone not designed by Adolphe Sax• ‡ denotes saxophone proposed by Adolphe Sax