Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-04-04 13:46
As long as you can "settle" for a low Eb range horn, you should be able to do pretty well. Other than dents and dings in the neck and bell, bass clarinets are pretty robust in structure, and most problems can be corrected with a rebuild.
In the late 1960's, I found (literally) a Buffet bass clarinet (Albert system, to low E) buried in the horn storage room of Drury College in Springfield MO. So old and decrepit that it wasn't even on the inventory, it was a tarnished, moth eaten mess. (From what could be learned, it dated back to the early years of the Twentieth Century.) Three weeks later (and with a lot of care and consultation with my repair guru in Saint Louis, it was a hell of a hot playing horn again. It didn't look like my silver plated Selmer Model 33, but it played about as well.
Also, I'm the current custodian of a Conn bass saxophone that was (when purchased) a wreck. Shipped unsupported on a train in a large wooden box, the horn had basically collapsed upon itself when it was received. However, with a lot of careful restoration, it again works pretty much like it was intended to.
Used is the way to go. Move carefully, and make some educated decisions, but don't hesitate to mine the after-market. Once the horn is in your hands, get it set up right and you'll be able to prevent it from further degradation.
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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The Clarinet BBoard
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