It is essentially twice the size of a regular (soprano) oboe so it sounds an octave lower; it has a deep, full tone somewhat akin to that of its higher-pitched cousin, the English horn.

Its lowest sounding note is B2 (in scientific pitch notation), one octave and a semitone below middle C, although an extension with an additional key may be inserted between the lower joint and bell of the instrument in order to produce a low B♭2.

Early bass oboes were modeled after bassoons, with a boot joint and bocal (such as the Triebert's instruments, which still had a bulb bell) and some holes drilled obliquely; later an enlarged English horn design was adopted.

The concept of the bass oboe as an enlarged English horn survived, and the hautbois baryton, redesigned by François Lorée, was introduced in 1889.

Frederick Delius scored for the bass oboe in six of his works: Songs of Sunset, A Mass of Life, Requiem, An Arabesque, Fennimore and Gerda and Dance Rhapsody No.

Percy Grainger includes the bass oboe in Children's March and The Warriors, which has a notable large solo for the instrument in the middle of the piece.