 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sömeone
Date: 2003-09-17 03:27
That day while cleaning up the drawer at school i managed to find a box of old rico tenor sax(1) reeds. Since it was a bit boring after a long day of marching practise sessions, i made my bass clarinet colleague play on one of those....we compared it with the conventional bass clarinet reeds...they seem to look the same in terms on size and thickness....then came the playing...WOW....
he said that he had never played so much better....and that now he could reach the upper register easily even with the help of only the half hole...well....
does that sound logical at all? he did sounded much more better in terms of tone.....
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-09-17 05:04
Tenor sax reeds will work fine on bass clarinet, however they might be a bit more reedy sounding. Maybe also a little too free-blowing, but go on and see how they do. My middle school band director had me play bari sax reeds on Contra-Alto when I was in 7th grade.
Allen Cole
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Author: ron b
Date: 2003-09-17 05:14
I've found that one plays as well as another and no matter which one I use, it always sounds fantastic -- no matter what the neighbors might tell you.... opps! there's another brick - with a note attached ![[frown]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie2.gif)
- ron b -
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-09-17 12:31
Hi,
When I play bass clarinet, I always use tenor reeds (too cheap I guess). They work fine and are readily available. On one of the sax BBs, they are always talking about the Rico Orange Box (they were the brown, simulated wood in my day) reeds with some reverence; I can agree because they are cheap, seem to work without much fuss, and produce a reasonable tone.
HRL
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Author: William
Date: 2003-09-17 14:23
Tenor sax reeds always worked fine for my old bass clarinet and VD B45 mpc with a custom "tenor sax" facing I got from our local universities jazz studies professor (and former NYC freelance bass clarinetist). However, now that I have my new low C bass and a Walter Grabner tweeked Selmer mpc, I am finding better success--sound and range wise--with VD 3.5 BC reeds (and an occassional Legere 3.0)
But what is the right reed for you?? Answer--whatever works and sounds best FOR YOU. Just enjoy--bass clarineting is such pure fun!!!!!
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-09-17 20:20
I've mentioned this before (so why again already?) Tenor Sax Reeds and Bass Clarinet Reeds are, for all practical purposes interchangable. The PLUS advantage for the Tenor Sax Reeds is that there is a much greater selection of those available (especially in a rural area or maybe even outside the USA) and the price is a bit more reasonable.
Bob A
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-09-17 21:01
Bob A,
You took the words right out of my mouth! How many times to we have to tell these young whippersnappers that tenor sax and bass clarinet reeds are essentially identical and interchangeable? (As are alto clarinet and alto sax reeds, in case anyone cares....)
Dave the Donkey Boy
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-09-17 22:02
Hey Donkey Boy, wazzat you I saw on Springer?
The things a good makeup man can do!
*******
History will teach us nothing.
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Author: aaron_diestel
Date: 2003-09-17 22:14
Do NOT use tenor sax reeds on Bass clarinet. The cut of the reed is completely different and prodouces a not pleasent sound. Please use bass clarinet reeds. They are just as cheap as tenor sax reeds so there should be no reason why you would have to use sax reeds.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-09-18 00:48
AD,
I just checked the WWBW catalogue and you are correct about the price, it is exactly the same. Can you cite some dimensional differences between BC and TS reeds?
HRL
Post Edited (2003-09-18 01:39)
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-09-18 02:18
i reccently performed on Tenor sax with the Auckland Chamber orchestra, using Bass Clarinet reeds (the other way around). This sort of worked ok, but i wasn't very happy with the performance. When (the next day) i opened some Tenor sax reeds and played on them, i was kicking myself for not having done this before the concert as they played much better than the bass clarinet ones.
i will measure 3 or 4 of each type in the perfectareed, average out the readings and see if they are of similar dimensions- i am inclined to believe the advice of people such as David Spiegelthal but my own experience (on more than just this occasion) would have me agreeing with Aaron Diestel.
donald....
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-09-18 12:44
I compared a number of Rico (both the orange box and the older brown box) bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds side by side.
The thickness of the blank at the heel was the same, however, in each case the scrape of the tenor sax reeds starts further back towards the butt end. Thus the profile of the bass clarinet reeds is more forward towards the tip than the tenor sax reeds.
My assumption for the difference between the two is to accomodate the varying types of tenor saxophone mouthpieces - some with very long facings ...GBK
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-09-18 14:36
Guys (and ladies): There are far greater dimensional and cut differences between, say, two different brands of bass clarinet reeds or two different brands of tenor sax reeds, then there are between the bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds within a given brand. So get a few different brands, try both the tenor sax and b.c. versions if they are available, and make your own decisions. I'd bet any one of you a fresh tube of cork grease that if you follow this procedure without any preconceived bias, you'll find yourself playing on a mix of tenor sax and bass clarinet reeds in the end.
Dave the Donkey Boy (awaiting a call from Springer to appear on his show)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-09-18 19:10
I always use TS's on my bass cl MP'S, Pomaricos, and have had compliments on fine tonalities. What comparisons I've made are that some TS's are slightly wider than some BC's, and [to me] more completely cover the mp [refaced] rails, which is more accommodating to mal-positioning of reed on mp. Makes sense to an engr!! I like Rico Royals and Symmetricuts. Dave S, I'm trying to weave a bit of Donkey [On the Trail] into my solo on HiHat. Will See tonite. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-09-20 23:24
Ok Don, we are waiting with great expectation. Did the Donkey fit the HiHat solo?
Bob A
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2003-09-21 07:23
aaron_diestel wrote:
"Please use bass clarinet reeds. They are just as cheap as tenor sax reeds"
don't you mean just as expensive.
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