We worked with Giorgio Riolo and Daniele Bertinelli to capture the Octobass at Moneta’s private gallery in Milan, Italy. It was recorded using a close pair of large-diaphragm mics at the F holes to achieve a dry and intimate sound, and a wide-spaced pair of omnis at 2 meters for a bright and vivid chamber quality. The mics can be blended in real-time, and the instrument can be freely positioned on our virtual stage, featuring a huge menu of our custom environments, so it’s easy to mix into any arrangement you desire. The first Oktobass (also spelled “Octobass”) was built in 1849 by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, but it drifted into legend by the end of the 1800s, lost but not forgotten for over a century. Then in 1996, double bass player Nicola Moneta, luthier Pierre Bohr and bow-maker Piero Cavalazzi constructed the first modern Octobass. Moneta has gone on to play it in nearly 150 concerts around the world over the last 25 years, though it still remains one of only a handful in existence today. This 3.48 meter (11.5 ft) mammoth is played from a raised platform, using a row of mechanical levers to control the fingerboard. The cavernous instrument body produces a surprisingly nuanced character, with intense stereo movement and subtle mechanical ornamentation.
