octo-bass

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octo-bass. A str. db. 10′ high invented by the great Paris luthier J. B. Vuillaume in 1849 and recommended by Berlioz. The stopping was controlled by levers operated by the left hand and the feet; the instr. was bowed in the normal way. It had a range of 2 octaves and a 5th. Failed to catch on but a conc. was written for it in 1984.