 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jalen94
Date: 2026-06-11 21:26
Hey i'm buying my first bass clarinet and basically I want whatever Eric Dolphy plays which from my research is a Paris Selmer Series 9 Low C.
So does this listing make sense for me?
https://reverb.com/item/92521588-selmer-low-c-professional-wooden-bass-clarinet
I called the shop and they said the serial is Bxxx
I tried to research that serial and came up with it being a Series 9 Model 33. Don't know if I fudged that up.
It costs 8k which I don't know if that's alot for that?
Or should I just get a used priviledge for 10k?
Anyway, any help would really be appreciated
Thank you!
Post Edited (2026-06-11 21:32)
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2026-06-11 21:59
a decent dolphy selmer to low eb can be had for 3000$. thats a huge savings . to my knowledge dolphy used an eb model and its far easier to play standing up. low c is not needed for jazz playing.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2026-06-11 22:02
A used Privilege will definitely sound and tune better than Series 9.
Also, the keywork on a newer clarinet will be more precise.
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Author: ebonite
Date: 2026-06-12 13:04
In God Bless the Child, Dolphy goes down to low D in a few places. So he must have used a low C (or maybe even low D?) bass clarinet
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2026-06-13 10:04
Eric Dolphy supposedly played a few different bass clarinets, sometimes low Eb and sometimes low C. You can get a similar tone on almost any (good) bass clarinet, and especially on any Selmer. It's 99% him and his mouthpiece/reed setup and not the instrument.
>> It costs 8k which I don't know if that's alot for that?
>> Or should I just get a used priviledge for 10k?
If those were the choices, I would without question get the Privilege. It is far better than the other bass and for a relatively small difference in costs (in comparison with the price of a good bass clarinet). Unless you are in the small minority of players who happen to just prefer that specific older model, but that's subjective and no one else's opinion is relevant in that case. Objectively there's no comparison, Selmer has made huge improvements since then, especially in the mechanics and evenness of the range.
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Author: JMrnr
Date: 2026-06-13 13:54
A Backun Q bass is also an excellent choice at that cost, or even an Alpha bass low C much cheaper.
Post Edited (2026-06-13 13:55)
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