a.k.a., "The Bamboo Sax"
 

The Xaphoon is made by Brian Wittman, a Maui resident who invented the instrument more than 20 years ago.  

Uses a normal tenor sax reed and available in C or Bb. Supplied with instruction booklet.
Sample Songs:   Pink Panther        Yiddish Folk Song          El Condor Pasa

How the Xaphoons are made
The Xaphoon starts with raw bamboo stalk cut from the rainforests of East Maui. Each is slightly different in its dimensions, inside diameter and consistency, making mass production nearly impossible. The bamboo is cut down to the proper size and dried for at least six months before instrument making begins.

The mouthpiece is done first, formed by cutting the solid end at a fixed angle and then rounding it to a parabolic shape. The inside is then carved out with a great deal of skill -when the reed vibrates, it must form a tight seal with the mouth of the opening. Wall thickness and other variations have a tremendous influence on the quality of the sound.

All the bamboo pieces are slowly "roasted" over a flame, giving them the unique burnt finish.

Tuning the instrument is an art in itself. Without making any measurements, the length, inside diameter, and inside shape of the mouthpiece are examined, and the bamboo is pierced by a red-hot iron at the place deemed appropriate by the creator. A note is blown and checked against a chromatic autotuner. A perfect "D"!

Mineral oil and a varnish are then applied, and the instrument is then hand-sanded down to a flat finish.
	....and now the plastic Xaphoon or "Pocket Sax." Also using a tenor sax reed and precision made by a company that specialises in making high quality sax mouthpieces for different brands. Only available in C. Click here for Xaphoon Stories

Bamboo & wooden "saxes" hand made by Marc Meyer in Switzerland

<  And now from Switzerland "wooden saxes." Instead of being made from hollow bamboo these are made from various solid exotic woods hollowed out, so they are a little more expensive. They use a standard tenor sax reed and produce a warm ethnic flute type of sound.

Marc also makes a range of bamboo saxes including sopranino's, Bb. C and G. >

Pentatonic  Bamboo saxes - these have a simplified fingering system with just a very simple blues type range of notes making them easier to play, although more limited. Choose from a sopranino in E or Xaphoon in D.

< The Bambus Sax - handmade from rings of bamboo into a sax shape and uses a tenor sax reed.

Xaphoon - Bamboo, Wooden & Pocket Saxes Prices & Ordering.

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