Jonathan Camps and Nicola Moneta: Amazing Grace with an Octobass

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume knew that you can never have too much bass, which is precisely why he created the octobass in 1850. The enormous three-stringed instrument reaches an octave below a standard double bass and is so large that it has to be played with special keys to change pitch.

This performance by Jonathan Camps and Nicola Moneta may at first glance seem like a strange variation on the “That’s not a knife” scene from Crocodile Dundee, but it’s actually a beautiful version of the traditional “Amazing Grace.” Camps performs the melody on his bass while Moneta provides accompaniment on the octobass.

As one comment on the video points out, the octobass sounds as “a distant rumble of sadness that follows the song” for a poetic feeling. Just be sure to boost your subs for this one.