Hello bass clarinet experts. I am in hope that you might be able to help solve a problem I'm having with bass clarinet in the clarion register, specifically the notes at the top of the staff, especially F# and G. The horn is an old Selmer Depose, probably from the 50s (Q186), just the low E horn, which suites my purposes well. It's set up with leather pads and resonators. I am a multi-instrumentalist, play mostly jazz but some pit, all the saxes, but mostly tenor, soprano clarinet since I was a kid (approaching 60 now), flute, etc. Have a gig coming up this weekend with a feature on Bill Holman's arrangement of Peacocks. Unfortunately, I am making a few too many peacock noises in the range I mention, especially jumping from open notes to the clarion F#. I'm playing a Vandoren B46, tried all kinds of reeds, but the issue is helped by increased stiffness, worse with soft reeds. Plays best in that range on a 2 1/2 or medium tenor fibracell, at the expense of some timbre in the chalumeau compared to softer ones. Doesn't seem to matter much whether it's a bass clarinet or a tenor reed. I've had it in to my local tech a half dozen times, several problems corrected, but he can't find anything more amiss. I have to say he is a good man with personal experience playing bass clarinet, but doesn't currently have a horn or range of mouthpieces to experiment with. The squawk does seem better with his unknown small tip-opening mouthpiece, but the sound is too small for what I play. I think I'm dealing with mouthpiece/reed issues, but would appreciate any comments/recommendations from those more experienced with bass than I am - I've been playing the horn off and on for a few years. Not aware of any bass clarinet specialists in my area.
Ron
Olympia, WA
Ron
Olympia, WA