Xaphoon de Catalunya
The Xaphoon de Catalunya is the “newest” Xaphoon. It was developed in 2014 by Brian Wittman in collaboration with Xaphoon Europa and is manufactured in northern Spain, approximately 80 km north of Barcelona, in the workshop of Francesc Sans Sastre, who specialises in the construction of traditional wind instruments. The wood for the instruments comes from the region and is primarily sourced from holly oak and olive trees.
This wooden Xaphoon is now the third Xaphoon generation that has been specially developed for the European market, in succession to the Maui Xaphoon and the Standard Xaphoon.
Xaphoon de Catalunya Oak
The oak for this instrument grows in northern Spain. It is the less expensive version of this Xaphoon. The tone is a little more powerful than that of the olive wood Xaphoon but still very resonant.
Xaphoon de Catalunya Olive
The Xaphoon made of olive wood is certainly the noblest among the Xaphoons.
Olive wood grows slowly. It creates wonderful structures and, when shaped into a Xaphoon, draws out a soft warm and full tone.
The Xaphoon de Catalunya is only manufactured in the C version at the moment. There are plans to follow this with a Bb version and several different types of wood at a later date.
Listen to sound examples here and play with the help from the fingering charts.