Klarinet Archive - Posting 000031.txt from 2002/04

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: [kl
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 23:50:16 -0500

The question of what is the best basset horn is probably not universally
agreed to. But my experience suggests that neither Buffet, Selmer, nor
LeBlanc turn out good instruments consistently. One might be great, and
the next something awful. I am unable to say if the majority of any
manufacturer's out put is good or bad, but it certainly is spotty.

There is also the problem that, until about 5 years ago when I stopped
watching, Selmer did not make an American model basset horn (in terms of
designing it to work at an A@-----. What they did was build a basset
horn that functioned well at the French pitch and then simply provided a
different length basset horn, thus running havoc with the throat tones.
Getting one that played a decent throat b-flat was almost impossible.
And I had two Selmer basset horns.

Buffet has also been very spotty in their instruments. At least one
major opera house in the US, bought a pair and then gave up on them as
being insufficiently tunable in an American orchestra.

LeBlanc, despite some very important successes, has also been spotty.
Furthermore, they only make a large bore basset horn (as does Buffet
does now, also) and this requires a larger mouthpiece. There are
opposing views if the thing that LeBlanc makes is a basset horn at all.
Instead, the suggestion is that it is an alto clarinet pitched in F
whose sound character it emulates more than that of the true narrow bore
basset horn.

Wurlitzer did make a wonderful basset horn in the past but I don't know
if they are still making them. One could get them in either French or
German system and they were large bored.

Yamaha does not make a basset horn, or I should say they did not when I
last looked.

So disappointed was I in the current crop of basset horns manufactrured
by the big 3, that I had one made for me by Steve Fox of Canada. I
don't feel that I can make a statement on this instrument because, as
its owner
(and Fox has made only 1 narrow bored basset horn, namely mine) any
remarks might be seen as biased. Besides, I have not had it long enough
to comment.

Bottom line: almost any basset horn you might buy from the big three is
going to be problematic in one area or another. And the reasons are
many, not the least of which is that they don't sell enough of them to
invest in solutions to the many problems that exist.

AtlbassetHorn@-----.com wrote:
>
> What is the best make of bassett horn in F?
> Also, I'm an oboist who lives in Atlanta and I would sugesst that you contact
> Tom Hiniker. Covery probably will not work on a clarinet. He will only work
> on permium oboes also.
> John Chance
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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*Dan Leeson *
*leeson0@-----.net*
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