[6] The earliest known contrabass clarinet was the contre-basse guerrière invented in 1808 by a goldsmith named Dumas of Sommières; little else is known of this instrument.

Wieprecht, director general of all the Prussian military bands, and E. Skorra, the court instrument manufacturer of Berlin.

[9] None of these instruments saw widespread use, but they provided a basis for contrabass clarinets made beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by several manufacturers, notably those designed by Charles Houvenaghel [fr] for Leblanc, which were more successful.

In 1935, Belgian instrument maker Charles Houvenaghel [fr] at Leblanc built a single prototype B♭ octocontrabass, a full octave below the B♭ contrabass and standing 8 foot 2 inches (2.49 m) high.

[15] This instrument was restored to playable condition in 2011 by Cyrille Mercadier, and is also on permanent exhibit in the Leblanc museum.

[16] Although these enormous "octo" clarinets are mentioned in some texts (e.g. Baines, 1991) neither were manufactured by Leblanc beyond the prototype stage.

Beginning in late 2018, instrument maker and woodwind technician Jared De Leon began work on prototypes for B♭ octocontrabass and E♭ octocontra-alto clarinets, using PVC piping and salvaged keywork.

[19][20] In January 2025 he demonstrated a working E♭ octocontra-alto clarinet using a new 3D printed design, after he deemed his PVC prototypes ultimately unsuccessful.

[21] In 2023, German instrument maker Foag Klarinetten developed a fully working all-metal prototype B♭ octocontrabass clarinet, with range to low C0.

[22] At least three pieces of music have been written specifically for octocontrabass by Norwegian composer Terje Lerstad (Trisonata, Op.

In a video posted in December 2021, Jared De Leon cited the CLEX project as an inspiration for a new theoretical prototype octocontrabass clarinet that would utilize mechatronic keywork.

[27] Probably the best-known musician who has made significant use of the contrabass clarinet as a solo instrument is Anthony Braxton.

Other performers (most of whom use the instrument in the genres of jazz and free improvised music) include James Carter, Brian Landrus, Douglas Ewart, Vinny Golia, Mwata Bowden, Ernst Ulrich Deuker, Paolo Ravaglia, Hamiet Bluiett, Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Harry Sparnaay (NL), Armand Angster (F) and Jason Alder.

Leroi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band played a contrabass clarinet on the song "So Right" from the 2001 album Everyday and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants utilizes the contra-alto clarinet on their 2013 album Nanobots, as well as subsequent releases by the band.

Colin Stetson makes use of the instrument on his 2015 collaboration album Never Were the Way She Was with violinist Sarah Neufeld and Jochen Seggelke.

Some notable composers who have written for the contrabass or contra-alto clarinet include Alfred Reed, Vincent Persichetti, John Adams, Philip Glass, David Maslanka, John Mackey, Daniel Dorff, Franco Donatoni, and David Bennett Thomas.

[29][30][31][32] A catalog of compositions featuring the contrabass clarinet was compiled in 2017 by performer Sarah Watts and may be downloaded without a fee from her website.

Still, there have been occasional additions to the orchestral repertoire that feature the contrabass clarinet, including On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams,[42] Amériques by Edgard Varèse, and La Terre est un homme by Brian Ferneyhough, which all call for contrabass clarinet as a part of their expanded woodwind sections.