Oh hey I actually have something to contribute here.
Ok so here's a shitty video from 2012 of me jamming on the bass flute. This was before I got good at improvising and learned to just let go, so it's pretty embarassing. What you're really listening for is how fucking awesome the guy on the right, Peter Sheridan, is. He's an all around great guy - he's given me a few lessons over the years, and I've had a few other opportunities to work with him. He has an amazing energy and continues to be a huge inspiration to my music.
So now we'll go down the trail of big flutes, and specifically ones that I've played. Next up is the contrabass flute - an octave lower than the bass flute. A flute teacher I was working with got one in 2009, and was generous enough to lend it to me for a week. I took it to school, and was recorded giving a performance to some other students. At 50k views this is my most successful Youtube video by a really huge margin!
That piece was composed by Peter Sheridan, the guy from the first video. He actually composed it for a bigger flute he owns, and I transcribed it up on octave to the contrabass from a recording on his first CD. Here is Peter playing it as intended, on the sub-contrabass. This is another octave below the contra', so 3 octaves lower than the concert flute.
I've played that exact flute on a few occasions, in ensembles and just for fun when I've caught up with Peter at flute events. I think I have some recordings of flute quartets we were playing down 2-3 octaves at the Australian Flute Festival in 2011 kicking around somewhere. If memory serves they didn't come out so well though.
Now the big bastard of the family, the very unique chromatic hyperbass flute. As far as I know this is one of a kind. There are other flutes that can play in this range - lower than a piano for the record - but this is the only chromatic one. Made by a man called Jelle Hogenhuis, who made the contrabass I played and Peter Sheridan's sub-contra, this thing is so large that Peter's wife didn't fit in the car with him to the Australian Flute Festival 2013 and had to get a plane instead.
Unfortunately there are no good videos of it playing. It doesn't record well. Hell, it's a completely experimental instrument so it doesn't even play well. There are only something like 4 or 5 notes that speak well. Here is a photo of Peter with his flutes, the Hyperbass is in the middle.
Again, I've had a crack at making a sound on it but I don't think you can call what I did playing. I almost passed out! Just after a bunch of people failed to get a sound after me a 5 year old girl came along and got a really strong tone, better than anyone other than Peter himself managed. It was pretty insane.
So yeah. I should record some new bass flute improv for youtube soon.