Klarinet Archive - Posting 000665.txt from 1997/02

From: Gary Van Cott <Gary_VanCott@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: bass clarinet over the break problem
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 11:19:40 -0500

Gary VanCott = NHIN
02/19/97 09:19 AM

Anneke,
I have recently rented a Vito bass clarinet and have had similar problems.
I have two suggestions. The first one is to try some other mouthpieces. I
got some Vandoren and Selmer mouthpieces on trial and ended up buying a
Vandoren B44. This resulted in some improvement in my sound. I have tried
Vandoren 2 1/1 and 3 reeds. I am not really happy with either. I will
probably try some tenor sax reeds, too.

The second problem I believe is with the instrument. Probably a really good
bass clarinet player could sound good on the Vito, but for me only the
lowest octave on the instrument sounds really good. One of the problems
with this instrument is that it has only a single register key opening. The
more expensive ones have two (like a saxophone) and it really improves the
middle range of the instrument. If you know someone who has a better
quality instrument, ask if you can play it with your mouthpiece. I had a
chance to play a decent Yamaha and it was much better than the Vito.

Gary
Las Vegas, NV

Gary_VanCott@-----.com