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According to Berlioz, the three open strings were tuned C, G, and C. This tuning gave it a low range one octave below the cello and equal to the modern double bass with low C extension. However, at the time when the octobass was invented, the double bass lacked this extension and could descend only to E or G. The mechanism enabled each string to chromatically cover the range of a perfect fifth and gave the instrument a high range to G. The instrument at the Musée de la Musique in Paris, which uses period-accurate gut strings, is tuned thus (though

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