 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2004-02-03 19:19
I have a contra alto which I would like to learn to blow well enough to fully evaluate the finer points. It is an oddball, an all-metal Linton model, looped in the manner of a baritone sax.
My questions: has anyone played one of these things? And, any hints on fingering? The system seems to be an abbreviation of what I know as Boehm, with a cluster of 3 keys under the left pinky, and 2 under the right pinky. There is a mystery key that is to the right of the tone holes, between the middle and ring fingers of the right hand. And the register key is two keys, forming a triangular cluster with the L thumb F key.
The instrument seems to be in good condition, so I was discouraged to learn that I was unable to sound many of the notes. A trip to the repairman and a session with my bass clarinet teacher will undoubtedly help, but I was hoping to figure most of it out on my own.
Read on if you're curious:
Linton is now known as a maker of student oboes and bassoons which have a poor reputation with some repair people. However my machinist's eye tells me that this thing is at least mechanically sound and quite sturdy. I was able to learn from Mr. Jack Linton that the company made a variety of instruments in years past, and that the clarinets were made largely in France and completed in Elkhart. This arrangement continued into the seventies - my contra is from around 1972. He said the contra altos were their own design, intended to be compact and robust. The concept was to use a larger bore to reduce the tube length, and a neck geometry that doesn't necessitate the complex cross-linkages of the Leblanc paperclip design.
John
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-02-03 19:53
John -
Current Linton contras are Bundy stencils. They're easily recognizable from the wide metal gand at the top of the body.
Earlier Linton metal contras come up on eBay from time to time and have been discussed here. As I recall, they have "Albert" system (German) fingering. Most of them had their own mouthpieces, some of them enormous. I have no idea what the "mystery key" does. What hole does it open?
If your instrument doesn't have a mouthpiece, you should find a large music store and check their Eb and BBb contra mouthpieces to see which one (if either) fits the neck socket. If neither does, you may be out of luck. I'll try to remember to measure my mouthpieces tonight and post the tenon diameters tomorrow.
For reeds, check baritone sax and bass sax as well as contrabass clarinet. These large reeds always warp down the center of the bottom, so they leak like mad. I buy the stiffest ones the store has in stock and sand down the bottom perfectly flat. This reduces the strength, which should be as soft as you can use without getting a "flapping" sound on the low notes.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2004-02-03 20:38
Thanks, Ken. This does indeed have an enormous mouthpiece. I adapted a baritone sax mouthpiece just to see if it would work, but it seems more reluctant to blow that way - not surprising with the big mismatch in the bore. The big mouthpiece requires a wide reed, so I guess I'm stuck with those $5 Vandoren contra reeds. I'd be interested to know if someone is using a contra mouthpiece that takes baritone reeds.
If an expert tells me another mouthpiece is indicated, I'll also be looking at Fobes' acrylic contra model, which is reasonably priced.
regards
John Morton
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Author: Contra
Date: 2004-02-03 22:08
I've never heard of one like that. Mine is a straight Leblanc with almost the exact same keys as the bass clarinet and Bb clarinet.
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-02-03 23:40
John, are you able to provide a photo of the beast? thanks.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-02-04 00:22
OK, the standard tenon diameter for an Eb contra-alto mouthpiece is 32 mm., or 1.26". For a BBb contrabass, it's 35 mm. or 1.4". If your Linton mouthpiece socket matches one of these, you can use a different mouthpiece, which will be an advantage, because almost all contras come from school bands, and the mouthpieces get very beaten up.
By the way, for my Eb mouthpiece (which is a reworked Selmer C*), Vandoren bass sax reeds fit nicely. For my BBb mouthpiece (also a C*), the Vandoren contrabass reeds fit.
There's been a good contra discussion on the (Yahoo) Bass Clarinet board lately.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2004-02-04 15:41
Attachment: lintoncontra.JPG (48k)
Attachment: registerkeys.JPG (43k)
My tenon socket measures around 1.46", so a little more cork on a contrabass mouthpiece would do it. The neck bore is around 1.65", also a decent match for a contrabass.
The "mystery key": I've found a use for it, the "fork" B/F#. In fact that is the only clean and stable chalumeau B I can find. (It opens a hole just above the R middle finger on the underside.) The key does not appear on the Albert/Oehler fingering charts at woodwind.org.
I'll attach a photo of the instrument, and another which shows the cluster under the L thumb: a round pearl key over the hole, a lozenge-shaped bar and a goblet-shaped key. I have made no progress so far in implementing these, and again they do not appear on the charts I've seen.
thanks
John
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-02-04 16:09
Had a steam radiator in my last apartment that looked just like that. Darned thing was no good in the altissimo register, though.
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