Klarinet Archive - Posting 000719.txt from 2002/11

From: "Willie Kercher" <res1b1nc@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Leblanc paperclip contra
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 23:59:07 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subject: [kl] Leblanc paperclip contra

I am no means an expert on the contra, but I'll share some of my
experience so far.
The EEb contra I now own has the orriginal (40 years old) mouthpiece and
uses the full sized contra reeds. The one I used before this was a school
horn and was equiped with a Selmer C* that used the bass sax or bari sax
reed. I found some bari reeds just a bit too narrow to get a good seal on
the rails but others, like the LaVoz bari reed was just a tad wider and
sealed much better though it wasn't exactly my first choice in reeds. I
found too that the Selmer mouthpiece only took 8 gallon lungs to play in
lieu of 10 gallon lungs for the full sized contra mouthpiece. However I like
the sound produced in the lower register with the old Leblanc mouthpiece
much better. This is what I'm using now till I can get a new one from Clark
Fobes. Have fun booming those low notes. Willie

> I know there are some contra experts on the list, and I hope you can
> provide me with some info.
>
> We dug out the U of Richmond's Leblanc paperclip contra for the band,
> since there is a dearth of Eb contra parts. The paperclip works OK - it
> has been a long time since it was last used, but it functions. There were
> Contra reeds in the case, but they were too big for the mouthpiece - the
> bari sax reeds used on the Eb contra fit better, and seemed to play
> better. I confess to not paying close attention in the past - I know this
> was discussed. Do we have the right mpc for this beast, or should we look
> for a proper contra mpc top get the best sound out of this instrument.
>
> Any help greatly appreciated, both by me and by my theater major
> clarinetist who is a good sport to play these.
>
> David
>
> David Niethamer
> dnietham@-----.edu
> http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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