 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2026-08-22 17:43
The fascinating thread titled "If you had to keep only one" was about a group of clarinets that included instruments pitched in A, Bb, C, D and Eb. Now I'm wondering, how many differently pitched clarinets do readers here own? How many are used or usable?
My list is modest: I've got my A and Bb R13's that I use, plus an ancient set of Buffet's from my grandfather that includes a C (all needing significant repairs.) So there's, tadaa, 3 out of, what, 20ish available pitches? (Counting both extant and obsolete clarinets, and various bass and piccolo pitches?)
Does anyone - a museum, perhaps - have a substantially complete pitched set?
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Author: davyd
Date: 2026-08-22 17:58
I own Bb and A soprano and Bb bass in reasonable condition, and C soprano that is less so.
Over the years, I passed up opportunities to buy refurbished Eb piccolo and Bb contrabass. O well.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2026-08-22 22:54
Bb, A, Eb, C (the last 3 don't work anymore....).
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book -- Songburd Music (paper and digital)
Search title. Amazon.com (search Tom Heimer).
Boreal Ballad solo -- Songburd Music item -- search title.
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Author: farabout
Date: 2026-08-22 22:58
3 x Bb, and one each of Eb piccolo, C, A & Eb alto. All played regularly.
Post Edited (2026-08-22 23:20)
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Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2026-08-22 23:55
13 Bb sopranos (playing, from pro to student)
Eb Alto
Bb Bass
A soprano
- and a handfull of Bb project clarinets that I will probably never get to. (I had money and sort of went nuts on wanting to learn about all thing clarinets when I returned to playing a little over ten years ago.)
As for how many I actually use, I have two Bbs that I play regularly in concert band and one "outdoor" clarinet I use there for the rare outdoor gig. A couple of the student clarinets regularly sit out on a peg for when I just want to pick up one and play. The alto I used in band for awhile and hope to again. The Bass is aspirational. I have one Bb that I consider a curiosity/collectors item. The A I bought when I was exploring playing in a volunteer orchestra; I don't play it anymore but lent it out to a friend who used. Most of the others get played occasionally just to practice, occasionally experimentally in band, and to continually explore them and tweak the setups. I have found great pleasure in experiencing different clarinets, comparing them, and tweaking them to find the optimal setup for each.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2026-08-23 09:22
If you mean the ones that are really used... one.
Including the ones that are sitting in a closet for years... or decades... or used once in the last twenty years... then two.
If you consider that an octave apart is a different pitch... four.
If this thread came up slightly sooner... five.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2026-08-24 03:23
One of my goals is to collect one of every size of clarinet ever made. So far I’ve had good luck with eBay and making a few sizes of my own such as a G bass clarinet and a Bb piccolo clarinet. I have even gotten chances to play some of the oddball sizes. I recently performed at ClarinetFest with an Eb octocontra-alto clarinet I designed and built myself.
https://jdwoodwind.com/clarinet-family
So far I have every key clarinets have been made in except for B natural, I do have a high pitch Buffet that plays in B natural but I don’t count it. From research these are the other keys that clarinets have been documented to have been made in and so far I have at least one of each.
A, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G.
-JDbassplayer
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2026-08-24 04:33
Hi jdbassplayer. I saw your webpage earlier and failed to connect it with you. It's an excellent page. The rarities are intriguing.
Wow. I doubt anyone will surpass your count of different pitched clarinets. Your site seems to show you not having an F clarinet, so maybe it's out of date?
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Author: Michael E. Shultz
Date: 2026-08-24 14:44
Just 2 pitches for clarinet:
2 Bb Sopranos
1 Eb Alto
For saxophone:
1 Eb Alto
1 C Melody
And then there is the piano in the key of C.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2026-08-24 23:39
Philip,
Unfortunately I still haven't found an F sopranino clarinet, at least not one for a reasonable price that is tuned to modern pitch. I do have an F basset horn further down the list, I was very lucky and found it being sold as an "alto basset horn clarinet" for a low price. I did manage to find another O'Brien primer clarinet in F, but since it is not fully chromatic I do not consider it a true clarinet.
-JDbassplayer
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2026-08-25 02:01
One for each and every day of the week ending with a Y.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2026-08-25 02:25
Two metal Eb soprano (I need to sell one or both)
Two C sopranos (I need to sell one)
Several Bb sopranos (I need to sell a few)
One A soprano
One F basset horn
One Eb alto
Two Bb bass (one plastic, one wood)
One Eb contra alto in rosewood
One Bb contrabass in metal
I keep trying to like Eb sopranos, but I just don't. So I swear I'll never play it again, then I see one that I'd like to fiddle with. I bought my current two from one person and refurb'd them both. I have also owned an Ab sopranino, and loved the idea of it, but it was just way too small for my fat fingers to play and I resold it for a tidy profit.
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Author: Klarnt
Date: 2026-08-26 08:53
2 Bb Sopranos
1 Eb Alto
1 ?? Ever Buree
1 Bb Bass
One of my sopranos is plastic and is my most functional instrument. The other is metal and while playable, is very sensitive to squeaks even after an overhaul, so I rarely play it. My alto is currently being overhauled. My bass is okay, but I prefer to play alto or soprano.
As for the key of the ever buree... its complicated. People say that it is in the key of F. However, in researching its history a while back, I have a feeling that its "key" is based on its lowest note, which is unusual. For example before 1989 its lowest note was a G, so (assuming no translation issues that) it was in the key of G. Using that logic, since the 5th generation (1991) its lowest note is a concert F, so its in the key of F.
On the other hand, that is a crazy way to define a key in the western clarinet tradition. Looking at the book that originally came with my ever buree, it refers to fingerings using concert pitch. So as I am learning the notes I basically treat it as the key of C.
However normally the most open-note on clarinet is an open G. If there is a fingering system where this is not the case, please feel free to correct me. As an american I am only familiar with the boehm fingering system. If we assume that an open note will always be a G, then the ever buree can be in the key of G.
Regardless of what key it is, despite its advancements they are still poorly made instruments and there is only one maker in the world (what we call a monopoly). If you want a tenor voice clarinet, youd be better off getting the incongruously named "alto" clarinet.
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