Whats the difference in sound between the Bamboo and Plastic versions?
Believe it or not, they sound nearly identical! This sounded counterintuitive to me until I read a book about flutemaking, where the author proclaimed he made flutes out of glass and galvanized pipe, and they all sounded the same. Apparently materials don’t influence the sound significantly until you get to the lower frequencies, which is why didgeridoo makers are very sensitive to the materials that go into making their instruments. Having said that, there is still an individual variation between bamboo Xaphoons, given the nature of bamboo. But it still remains impossible to listen to a recording and be able to tell whether a bamboo or plastic instrument was used in its making. Overall, though, the Bamboo instruments, being handmade from only one artesian from Hawaii, definitely have a “cool factor” that is priceless!
