Klarinet Archive - Posting 000266.txt from 2010/10

From: Wayne Thompson <wthompson7274@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Grant Green and Octocontrabass Clarinets
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:54:03 -0400

To acknowledge the comments on these subjects.
Grant, if you happen to read this or hear of it, thanks for the Contrabass =

Compendium.
=A0
Don Gross, perhaps I've met you at one of Margaret Thornhill's master class=
es?=A0 =

Anyway, thanks for giving me the term 'bottom feeder'.=A0 I wonder if this =
a =

genetic or learned peculiararity?=A0 I have some leanings that way.=A0=A0=
=A0 :)
=A0
Steve Heineman, your math about the frequencies looks ok to me..=A0=A0 =

You wrote, "According to the (probably incorrect, with apologies to all) oc=
tave =

designations I gave in my original post, what I played was a contrabass (wi=
th a =

low note of D1).=A0 However, I distinctly remember it being called an =

"octocontrabass," and that it was handed to me with great care and concern =
and =

the warning that it was a very rare instrument -- possibly unique, although=
that =

seems unlikely since it had a manufacturer's brand on it (LeBlanc, if I rec=
all =

correctly, which is evidently quite questionable)."
=A0
So you played one of the Leblanc contrabasses.=A0 If it was a low C papercl=
ip, it =

was a monster indeed and the low note was Bb0.=A0 These are very satisfying=
and =

fun instruments, but not really too rare.=A0 You can find a few on ebay usu=
ally =

for $3000 or so.=A0 =

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-LEBLANC-PAPER-CLIP-CONTRABASS-CLARINET-/3704481=
44425?pt=3DLH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=3Ditem56406e1829

I played a new one in the CSUBakersfield band a bit.=A0 Leblanc made them u=
p to a =

few years ago; the new ones had a black nickel finish, as someone has menti=
oned.
Perhaps the person that showed you this thing didn't know as much as you ga=
ve =

him credit for.=A0 As you know now from the discussion, the leblanc is said=
to =

have made only one prototype of the Octocontrabass, which is why I said it =
would =

be big deal if one was found laying around!!!
=A0
Wayne Thompson
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