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Re: alto clari vs. basset horn

Author: graham
Date: 2003-06-26 17:15

I have not done a direct comparison between a buffet alto and a buffet basset horn, or the Buffet BH and, say a Leblanc BH, but one thing seems clear from comparing my Buffet BH with both my clarinet and my bass clarinet, and that is that the ratio of tone hole opening to wood in the bore is very different.

The tone holes on the BH are smaller relative to the bore. On many notes (including higher up the instrument), the venting is through two small holes where the bass and the clarinet use only one. If the holes were drilled for "acoustical perfection" then they would be bigger and usually match the number of holes on a clarinet or a bass clarinet. This must have a substantial impact on tone.

I think the biggest reason why a Buffet BH would sound different to a narrower bore basset would be that it is tuned to work with an alto mouthpiece. But, as Beejay says, with a carefully chosen mouthpiece you can make an alto mouthpiece sound similar to a smaller b flat mouthpiece. The standard B 40 that comes with the buffet package is a nice mouthpiece for sure, but is designed to play an alto clarinet. When I shifted to a close facing (1.3 mm) alto mouthpiece it sounded much more like a basset and people asked whether I was playing on a particulalrly narrow bore authentic set up!

I think you could probably elicit an alto sound from a Buffet BH, but then that would be your choice. It is better suited to sounding like a basset horn, which is precisely what it is.

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alto clari vs. basset horn new

big fat lyre112

2003-06-24 20:07