The heckelphone is a woodwind instrument, which is a member of the oboe family. In effect, it is a bass oboe, pitched an octave lower than the standard oboe. The instrument was created and built by Wilhelm Heckel, a German instrument maker whose company is still famous for its bassoons today. Rumor has it that the instrument arose out of a discussion with Richard Wagner, who was lamenting the lack of an instrument with the timbre of the oboe in the bass range. It is an exceedingly rare instrument which is rarely used today.