 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jack
Date: 2000-02-04 19:31
Hey, are there any "listeners" out there who play dance orchestra and jazz gigs on clarinet? I played tenor sax for about thirty years semi-pro after dropping out of college. And, now I am enjoying playing again, thanks to a friend loaning me his clarinet. I am looking at purchasing a "Pete Fountain" style horn, and I would like comments/suggestions. I am comfortable with the Portnoy BP02 mouthpiece on my friend's Selmer CL200 woody and, like on sax, I play hand selected LaVoz and VanDoren reeds. The Leblanc "classic" has been recommended for it's large conical bore. Thanks in advance, Jack.
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-02-04 19:40
I believe Leblanc still produce a "Pete Fountain" clarinet with a big bore. Here in Paris, most jazz players seem to use Selmer because of its big sound.
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-02-05 03:24
I dont mean to be obtuse but if a clarinet had a conical bore it would be a single reed oboe.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-02-05 04:04
Rick2 wrote:
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I dont mean to be obtuse but if a clarinet had a conical bore it would be a single reed oboe.
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Or a soprano sax ...
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Author: Donn
Date: 2000-02-05 14:14
I play a Pete Fountain LeBlanc, and think it's great. It is right on pitch all the way up. Even the mpc that came with it is great.
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Author: Frank O'Brien
Date: 2000-02-05 17:47
Dear Jack,
I bought a used Foutain from Wichita Band Inst about a year ago. I found it a very nice machine. It had some years on it and the gold plating was gone in places, but it has a nice deep reedy sound. The key mechanism makes playing some combinations easier.
I use a Greg Smith Kasper [+1] with the Fountain and a "3" something VanDoren reed. I either use a B&G
Revelation [with the gold coloured metal on the inside of the black fabric] or a Spriggs [all stainless steel and graphite]. I find the Spriggs the most sensitive of any ligature I have ever used. [See his address on this BBS.] I use the B&G when a reed is a bit too lively.
I just bought a Selmer Signature from Wichita. I find that it has a much cleaner tone than the Fountain and that it is
very consistent throughtout all registers. I still use the same mp and ligatures.
So, why the long answer? I will keep the Fountain because it has a juicy sound. I will work with the Signature for now because it cuts through background. My teacher who is a professional jazz musician of long standing in Cork [Ireland] thinks the Signature is a far better horn. But my ears are not as good as his, I guess, and I like the Fountain still.
The Signature also has a key improvement: one can play Eb on the staff with either the right or left pinky.
I am nowhere near experienced as you describe yourself and accept what I write here in that light. The interesting problem I am raising is whether or not there is a need for an expressly jazz clarinet. Mouthpiece, reed, and ligature can do a great deal to make a sound that is jazzy.
Best wishes,
Frank, a Yank in Ireland.
beejay wrote:
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I believe Leblanc still produce a "Pete Fountain" clarinet with a big bore. Here in Paris, most jazz players seem to use Selmer because of its big sound.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-02-08 16:39
Yes, LeBlanc has sold the Pete Fountain models, silver [17/6] or gold [18/7] plated key structures , 15.0 mm [.590 in.] "nominal" bore size to jazz players for years. There is [was?] a Dynamic - H , as in Hovennagle [sp?] also 15.0 bore, as my old wall-poster-ad says, named for its designer, who prob also designed the P F's. Ask Tom Ridenour, he likely knows all the stories! I worked on an H a while back, yes, its also a big-sounding cl, very similar to the Selmers of that big-band jazz era, my playing time! Others and I have found that LeB's of 14.8-.9 bore work well in all kinds of music. Don
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-02-08 19:38
I forgot to mention, Jack and others, to suggest reading the posts under the thread "Polycylindrical Bore" below on this BB, quite informative. Don
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