 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2005-11-17 22:00
Hi single reed lovers, Benedikt Eppelsheim, the genius woodwind maker in Bavaria, has revised his website.
www.eppelsheim
Check out his outrageous yet delicious instruments: Soprillo, Bassax, Tubax, and Contraforte (with Wolfe).
Willy
Post Edited (2005-11-17 22:21)
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2005-11-17 22:17
That Guy is making some pretty crazy stuff, the saprillo has got me interested, Tubax in Bb looks like a lot of fun as well,
Ben
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2005-11-17 22:26
He also designed a modern ophicleide, but someone else is building this new invention, not sure who.
He told me lastly that he is currently working on 2 new projects, both are single reed instruments, wouldn’t say what though. Got me thinking of a possible Eppelsheim contrabass clarinet …
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-11-17 23:29
Shame the pictures of the Soprillo are reversed!
And I couldn't help noticing - what's that thingy on the crook with the wire coming from it? Have they all got transducers fitted as standard?
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-11-18 16:04
On the Bb Tubax page, http://www.eppelsheim.com/tubax_bb.php?lang=en, one of the shots shows the lower part of what looks like a plastic Bb contrabass clarinet. It's rather cheap looking, which the Eppelsheim instruments are definitely not, so it probably isn't made by him.
There's been lots of enthusiasm on the Contrabass list about Eppelsheim's instruments, particularly the tubaxes. Jay Easton has at least one of them and plays it frequently.
The Contraforte is a perfected contrabassoon, with a true melodic voice, but the sound is different enough from the contrabassoon that no one seems to be using it. The price is probably astronomical.
The problem is the same as with double basses. A simply increase in size makes the instrument too large for the human body to operate. A true full-size double bass is about 8' tall and needs a mechanical system to finger the strings. I think Villaume made one. I've seen a photo of one, but couldn't find it today.
A full size contrabass clarinet would have a mouthpiece too big to fit in the human mouth and would take a greater than human lung capacity. The reason the tubax is viewed as a triumph is that it has a tiny bore, much smaller than the equivalent saxophone, yet produces a good tone.
Ken Shaw
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2005-11-18 16:18
Hi Ken, great to hear from you on the contra side of business. Can you please clarify which picture shows the Bb tubax having a cheap looking part? I looked carefully at the pictures and can’t see what you are referring to. Willy
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-11-18 16:18
Guntram Wolf's own site (guntramwolf.de) lists the Contraforte being:
Contraforte (without case) €21,982.75 export or €25,500.00 inc. VAT
Case €775.85 export or €900.00 inc. VAT.
So around £18,000 in the UK after tax, and probably around the $26,000 mark.
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Author: DressedToKill
Date: 2005-11-18 16:32
I just looked...it's just sitting on a stand next to a plastic contra. It appears to be in a music store somewhere.
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2005-11-18 17:25
I can see the Eb Tubax playing a valuable role in symphonic wind ensemble or concert bands: it can play string bass parts in a snap.
Simply read the bass clef music as treble clef, add 3 sharps or subtract 3 flats, and voila, you will be dead on with the string bass in pitch and register.
When you try this trick with baritone sax or Eb contra clarinet as it’s commonly done, after the above transposition trick, you also need to transpose down an octave to be in the correct sonic range as originally intended for string bass. The Eb Tubax, being pitched an octave lower than the bari and Eb contra to begin with, puts you comfortably right into the string bass range! No need to transpose down an octave!
For this use alone, it's worth more than the Bb version. I can definitely use an Eb Tubax daily. Only wish I had 20 grand : (
Willy
Post Edited (2005-11-18 17:30)
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