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My new Selmer Paris Bass Clarinet

(I'll point out you posted this twice, here, and on the decent bass clar topic of yours.)
It looks to me to be a very nice Series 9, it even has an Eb lever and articulated G#.
The bass I borrowed from my school before was rather similar to this, other than it's about 15 years older and missing the full Boehm enhancements yours has, (Alt Eb, articulated G#, and low Eb) along with yours having a different register keytouch more like my newer model 35. (speaking of that I should do something about to slight leak I have in the upper register key)
That should play extremely well, although low E/middle B might be a bit off intonation wise- that E is flat on both my 1990s horn, and the 1950s horn I used, so I'd imagine the ones in between would share that problem.
Wasn't the Series 9 low C a model 33 and the low Eb sans extra keywork a 30, with the extra keywork being a 32, or am I being forgetful?
 
Thanks again, I'm totally new to clarinet and even woodwinds in general, I've been learning about which mouthpiece and Reed I should get. Didn't know I would have to deal with all this option anxiety coming into woodwinds!

So bought myself a
Ridenour E203 Encore Mouthpiece
Vandoren Cork Grease
Legere Signature Reed Strength 2.5 (synthetic Reed (1) piece only)
Rovner S10 Light Ligature /w cap

I have watched several videos of how to fully assembled the bass and how to care for it.
 
As a new player, it's possible you may need to start with a softer reed. Rather than spending $30 - $40 each on a bunch of different strength Legeres, you might want to buy a few individual cane reeds ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 to judge where your comfort level is. Unfortunately, that adds a new dimension because cane reeds can be inconsistent. You could also try Fibracells for about $12 each. Not everyone likes them because they are a bit "buzzy", but they are very consistent in strength and they last a long time.
 
Was the peg missing? I use the peg on mine religiously. But you can use it with just the strap too.
Hello, replied to your post on my other thread on marketplace,

This one doesn't have a strap or peg, would it be too heavy to just hold it and stand without either support items? Never handled a Bass before.
 
Yes, you will need one or the other. I have both on mine but only use the peg.

Sorry, this forum went down the other day and I wanted to give an update to my situation.

I got the Selmer worked on at my local tech here in NYC.

Had some repadding, recorking and adjustments done.

Only thing it's missing is the lyre holder which is unnecessary,

the other thing that I gonna have installed on the future is the top join strap hook ring that somebody removed in the past. I'm gonna need that extra hook ring for more stability when I play standing up with the strap.

Anyone have any recommendations for a decent Bass Clarinet mouthpiece? I'm using the cheap RidenourEncore mouthpiece right now, it plays ok but I want to spend a little more on a decent one to start actual playing with.
I've looked at the Vandoren B45,B46 and the B50.
B50 looks pretty cool.

*Can anyone tell me the things to look for in a Bass Clarinet mouthpiece? What does it mean if a mouthpiece is too close?

Right now I using a Rovner light ligature and a Legere 2.5 synthetic Reed.
 
A couple of things come to mind for your situation.

First about your lack of a peg: Your clarinet did have one, but obviously it was separated from your clarinet at some point prior to you buying it. You should ask you tech if he/she has one in a old donor parts horn case that you could buy. It might not be a Selmer peg, but it doesn't need to be. All it is, is a piece of metal with a rubber foot that fits through the opening, and is held in place by the thumb screw at the bell.

I don't have a Selmer bass, so I don't know what the opening for that peg is, but with school instrument repair season being in full swing, there should be lots of horn pegs in the shops for techs to try out on your bass. Even if they don't have one in one their back room that fits your horn, if you could figure out which student model brand peg (if any) fits your Selmer, then if necessary you could always order a new brand X peg, and that would likely be much cheaper than getting a new Selmer one.

Why is it important you ask? Depending on what the angle of the neck is--and your horn is decades newer than mind, so it likely is somewhat better to start with--most bass clarinet teachers will tell you that a strap used in combination with the peg will help you get the mouthpiece at the optimum angle.

=============================================

Secondly, about your mouthpiece question: I know everyone says that Vandoren is the go-to bass clarinet piece. But you know what? I saved myself a lot of money by trying my tech's. It didn't work for me.

When I bought my bass clarinet from my tech just over a year ago--after not playing bass since university--it came with 2 mouthpieces: a Selmer HS* and the original no-name brand. I tried the Selmer, the no-name brand, and my tech's Vandoren--thinking I was going to order my own Vandoren. After trying his however, I found it didn't work for me nearly as well as both the MP's that came with the clarinet.

Then about 3 months ago I was looking through some boxes my tech keeps vintage mouthpieces in at his shop, and I happened across a Geo Bundy bass clarinet piece. I brought it home, and it is great on the Richard Keilwerth bass clarinet of mine. It plays beautifully even across the entire range of the horn, and intonation is simply a dream as well. Who would have thunk it?

The moral of this story is simply this: You have to try out a mouthpiece before you can determine whether it works for you or not. Based on what bass clarinet players all say, the Vandoren ought to have worked for me. It didn't. Now it could have been me; it could have been my circa late 1950s Richard Keilwerth-made bass clarinet; or it could have been a combo of the two. Whatever the case, mouthpieces whether for clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, or tuba, are a very personal decision. Play-testing before buying is always ideal. If that's not an option, then making sure the shop has a really good return policy is key to not being out your hard-earned $$.

One last thing about mouthpieces: Given that you're just starting out, have you found a teacher yet? It strikes me that finding a teacher would be a helpful step. He/she would be able to help you in eventually picking out a mouthpiece. At this point I'm not convinced you need one. Get the basics of embouchure; tone; breathing; breath control; etc, etc under your belt, then you'll be in a much better position to determine what kind of mouthpiece will work for you best.
 
Amazing tips, this has all been exciting for me!

I've tried a Vandoren B45 and so far it worked out great for me, more control in the upper register and it works better with my 2.5 strength reed. I just ordered one 3 days ago.
I need one more thing for my Bass, so the horn came to me without the upper joint hook ring for the strap hooks, looks like it was removed in the past. I've just gotten famaliar with handling a Bass with a neck harness/strap. However, the strap (2 hooks) can only hook onto the thumb rest hook ring which isn't really enough of a secure hold for me, I'm gonna need a hook ring on the upper joint too.
Does anyone know where I can find another hook ring for the upper joint or is anyone selling theirs? The insert hole for the hook ring seems to be a standard screw insert unless the Selmer Paris Bass needs a specific one?
 
Does anyone know where I can find another hook ring for the upper joint or is anyone selling theirs? The insert hole for the hook ring seems to be a standard screw insert unless the Selmer Paris Bass needs a specific one?
I think the bigger problem would be that "standard" screw insert. I'd personally like to have a tech do it for me, so if he puts a crack into the horn, he can buy me a new one.
 
Does anyone know where I can find another hook ring for the upper joint or is anyone selling theirs? The insert hole for the hook ring seems to be a standard screw insert unless the Selmer Paris Bass needs a specific one?
I think the bigger problem would be that "standard" screw insert. I'd personally like to have a tech do it for me, so if he puts a crack into the horn, he can buy me a new one.

If anyone has the piece I can just try it myself, I can manually screw it in by hand.
 
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