Thomas Bloch playing Cristal Baschet at the Festival de l'Emperi, Salon de Provence, 2007 (photo)

Salon of Provence Music Festival, August 2007. French percussion player b.1962. Cristal Baschet 54 chromatically tuned glass rods, which are rubbed with wet fingers. Its sound is close to that of the glass harmonica. But in the Cristal Baschet, the vibration of the glass is passed on to the heavy block of metal by a metal stem whose variable length determines the frequency (the note). Amplification is obtained by fiberglass cones fixed on wood and by a tall cut out metal part, in the shape of a flame. 'Whiskers,' placed under the instrument, to the right, increase the sound power of high-pitched sounds.