The yidaki, a 16th-century double bass and a South American flute: finding Australia’s oldest playable musical instrument

Larry Gurruwiwi, keeper of the yidaki and heir to a long lineage of its guardians, says playing old instruments ‘feels different’ and slower than more modern ones. Photograph: Sophie Ansel

“Was it love at first sight?” asks Max Bibeau. “I would say no.”

The relationship between a musician and their instrument is always complicated. But for Bibeau and his double bass – tall, heavy and dark, with a distinctive mottled patina and floral carvings – it was a long journey from introduction to intimacy.