The Xaphoon was created by a great Saxophone player called Brian Wittman in an island called Maui in Hawaii. Brian Wittman created his first xaphoon for a little boy that wanted to play the sax with him, he picked up a piece of bamboo, cut the right holes and length and he ended up creating something that could nearly simulate the sound of a Sax.
The xaphoon is pretty rare and 'new', but it's great for those days where you just want a bluesy sound and you don't want to carry a guitar or a sax - the xaphoon can cry and give you that raspy sound that any blue/jazz player enjoys.
The Xaphoon has many variations, since they are actually Handmade by Brian - you can find them in the tone of your liking.
The Plastic version comes tuned in C, and it's called "Pocket Sax" - the more recognized and normally sold on the website are "Bamboo Xaphoon in C or Bb". I have a Pocket Sax, the one on the title image. The sound of the thing is pretty cool, check this out.
It's like a clarinet, but it's like a sax... You can't really "hear" what it sounds like from a video, it's a pretty unique sound; but it'll at least give you an idea.
I like it, you need to use a "tenor sax" reed, and the fingerings are very similar to those of a recorder. If you're a recorder player, then this is a good addition to your collection - the only thing that would be "semi" hard is the fact that you have to learn how to bite the reed to make it sound, but other than that this instrument is a great conversation starter.
There's a lot of information on the main site for the instrument, including sound samples and a discussion forum with even more stuff by xaphoon players from around the world - check it out.
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