Klarinet Archive - Posting 000441.txt from 1994/05

From: Timothy Tikker <tjt@-----.ORG>
Subj: Re: Hi and Low
Date: Sat, 28 May 1994 15:52:39 -0400

Has anyone out there played Leblanc's B-flat sub-contrabass (AKA octobass)
clarinet? I've read descriptions through the years, tantalizing but all
too brief. Montague's "The World of Romantic & Modern Musical
Instruments" has a photo (p. 67) but hardly any description.

What is its actual lowest note? Does it use a different
mouthpiece/reed from the b-flat contrabass? Was more than one ever made?

"Woodwind World" magazine of Sept 1971 (p. 6) had a photo and brief
description of Leblanc's then-new E-flat OCTO-Contra Alto clarinet (i.e.
2 8ves below the E-flat alto). It had more than 12 feet of tubing. It
claims that the lowest pitch was the lowest C of an organ's 32' stop, but
then said that was 38 Herz. 32' C (I'm also an organist!) is 16 Herz,
and 38 Herz would be within the range of the standard B-flat contrabass
(around low E of the string bass).

Retail price for the OCTO-Contra-Alto: $3,700 (those were the days!).

Has anyone heard/seen anything of this size clarinet anywhere else?

I'm brand new too the network, so apologize if these topics have already
been covered before I arrived!