Hi, all. We've just had a rather strange bass recorder donated, and I
wonder if anyone can provide some information about it. There's no name on >> the instrument, but on the removeable windway (I'll get to that) the name
"Koch" is stamped. It is a very short scale bass, with no keys, and a hand >> stretch no more than a large tenor! The range cuts off at the upper
register C, like some other basses I've come across. The strangest thing
is that there is a removeable piece of wood that has the windway and edge
built into it. This piece slides into a slot on the top of the instrument >> such that the player blows from the side and the edge is perpendicular to
the bore rather than parallel to it. Amazingly enough, it plays just fine >> and has probably given a lot of pleasure to the amateur consort player who >> donated it.

There is a description of this instrument in this article.
http://www.recorderhomepage.net/history/innovations-in-recorder-design/

Koch made some of the recorders Bernard Krainis played. I have one of
his altos, in cocobolo, and posted about it on Hanneke van Proosdij's
forum:

http://recorders.ning.com/forum/topics/weird-cork-arrangement-on-a-koch-recorder

and here:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.music.early/r7xddfQFgCw

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e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland mobile 07800 739 557 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

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