Klarinet Archive - Posting 001147.txt from 1997/11

From: Andrea Kellaway <ariosa@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: Bass Clarinet Necks
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 21:56:19 -0500

Okay Thanks Bill! You just answered my previous question!

Andrea Kellaway
ariosa@-----.ca
University of Victoria
Victoria, B.C., Canada

Bill Hausmann wrote:

> At 06:24 PM 11/30/97 -0600, Jennifer McKenna wrote:
> i played on a student
> >model bass clarinet for all those years, and the embochure for that one
> >was horrible, it was all wrong, and i'll tell you why. the neck!! if it is
> >shaped like a swans neck it is a tenor sax type neck that requires a tenor
> >sax type of embouchure. If the neck is shaped more at a 50-60 degree angle
> >it is a REAL bass clarinet neck and requires more of a clarinet
> >embouchure, it really all depends on what type of neck you have. the
> >better the neck the easier it will be to change back and forth.
>
> To the best of my knowledge, the STANDARD bass clarinet neck is the one you
> call a "tenor sax type neck." It does indeed come at you at an angle
> unlike that of the soprano clarinet. I have never had any problem making
> the switch. Maybe that is why taking up saxophone later in life was also
> relatively painless. Bay Woodwinds has been selling a modified neck for
> some time that is set at a steeper angle like you describe. Also, current
> production Selmer USA (formerly known as Bundy) bass clarinets have a neck
> with a similar angle.
>
> Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
> 451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
> Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
> ICQ 4862265
>
> If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.