"The bass recorder is a standard  instrument for recorder quartets and recorder ensembles. It’s not possible to replace it with the Great Bass recorder. " - andreas1

This is not true.  The "Great Bass" is the name used for two different recorders, the quart bass in C and the contrabass in F.  The C instrument range is from C in the bass clef to approx. D in the treble, the contrabass is from F in the bass clef to approx. G in the treble. The so-called "bass" is an octave higher than the contrabass. Both "great bass" ranges overlap with the tenor recorder, so either could easily be used for bass parts. In fact the Great Bass will give a lower tessitura while still covering the middle bass notes as well as a richer tone which is probably why it is used in this ensemble.  

In German the names for recorders were until the 20th century not consistent (cf. Curt Sachs: Reallexikon der Musikinstrumente, Berlin 1913). At latest from the 70s there is a standard for the recorder names (cf. e.g.: Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart; dtv-Musikatlas; Sevsay: Handbuch der Instrumentationspraxis: Great Bass is in C3, the Bass is in F3. But there is an exception for Renaissance (and rarely for Baroque) music: Sometimes the “Great Bass” is called „Bass“. This is the cause of many misunderstandings about recorder names. I am not as familiar with the English instrument names, but I guess it’s like in German: cf. A. Stiller: Handbook of Instrumentation, University of California Press, 1985; or: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorder_(musical_instrument).

It’s true that the range oft he Great Bass overlaps with the Tenor. But for me is the Great Bass no alternative to the Bass because the difference in sound. Also I never would replace the Cello in a String Quartet with the contrabass.

Maybe interesting: Moeck is the biggest publisher for recorder music: http://www.moeck.com/en/publishing/sheet-music.html

In the catalogue are only a few compositions with Great Bass (abbreviated gB), but much more for Bass (abbreviated B).

Andrew Stiller wrote in his Handbook of Instrumentation about the Bass, that the Bass is usually available. About the Great Bass he wrote “very rare“.

I don’t understand the decision of VSL to take the Great Bass and not the Bass.

Instrument nomenclature is notoriously complicated and unreliable, depending on what source you reference.  However the comparison of distinctions between bass recorder vs. great bass to cello vs. contrabass is specious and disingenuous.  No composer in his right mind would ever substitute those strings for each other.  Not to argue it endlessly, however.  The recorder that was sampled is incredibly beautiful, in fact, I would rank it among the most beautiful of all VSL's sampled instruments, so I for one am glad they sampled that particular recorder.

Nevertheless I appreciate your making the distinction. 

A question for the VSL employees: Are there any plans to release a bass recorder?

Hi andreas1, 

A bass recorder is not planned in the near future. 

Best, 
Paul

Hi Paul,

there is also no planned piccolo ? There are some nice Vivaldi's concertos waiting for it ... 😉

Best.

Philippe.

Many thanks for your response. What a pity! Unfortunately because of that I can not simulate my quartet with Vienna Instruments. I have tried the Great Bass, but it doesn't sound good.

Hi Philippe, 

We are planning to record all the instruments we can get our hands on. It simply takes a lot of time to record and edit all of those instruments properly. 

So right now, there is also no piccolo at the horizon. 

And andreas1, I´m sorry that your quartet doesn´t sound like you want it to sound. Maybe it´s a good idea to hire a bass recorder player for that purpose?

Best,
Paul

This thread really irritates me.  This guy says the recorder ensemble is not good enough for him.

I don't believe it for one second. HE is not good enough for it. 

It is one of the most outstanding jobs of sampling yet done, far better than anything else sampled for recorders, and the fabulous player who did the recordings is an outstanding virtuoso that anyone using the library gets instant access to.   

I should not post here anymore because I get too irritated, but I find it disgusting - the total lack of appreciation for the outstanding beauty of the various libraries here.   The recorder is a perfected example of the ultimate expertise in sampling that VSL has achieved.  To just blow it off the way this guy does is very disturbing. 

@andreas1 said:

I have tried the Great Bass, but it doesn't sound good.

@andreas1 said:

I have tried the Great Bass, but it doesn't sound good.

Out of context the phrase sounds different than intended:

I mean: With the Great Bass my Quartet doesn’t sound good, because it’s the wrong instrument.

@Paul said:

We are planning to record all the instruments we can get our hands on. It simply takes a lot of time to record and edit all of those instruments properly. 

Great to hear!

@Paul said:

And andreas1, I´m sorry that your quartet doesn´t sound like you want it to sound. Maybe it´s a good idea to hire a bass recorder player for that purpose?

Thank you for the suggestion, but the effort for this is too large for the purpose.

I have no idea now why I responded to this thread - better just to work on some music with the great VSL samples.  I'll stick to that approach.