Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-09-07 15:34
I'm nowhere near being in Larry's league as a performer and I've never taught, but I'd like to offer my experiences as both a bass clarinet player and repair tech as they differ somewhat from his:
I got through high school on a plastic Vito bass and college on a wood Noblet; both served me well. When I graduated college to go into the Navy (knowing there would be little opportunity to play bass clarinet on a nuclear submarine) I sold my Noblet bass to the then-professor of clarinet at my university.
Since then I've played and worked on many Bundy (Selmer-USA 1430) and Vito plastic basses, recently a Yamaha plastic bass, and many of my personal-favorite Kohlerts (in all three of the materials they were made in, hard rubber, wood, and metal). My observations, for what they're worth:
Bundys are very rugged and stay in regulation pretty well, but have sort of a "honky" sound to my ear. Unlike Larry I would never attempt to play one with an orchestra!
Vitos are not too different, may sound slightly better but are not as sturdy.
The Yamaha plastic bass I recently worked on (a new one which is a Yamaha design, not a Vito clone like the older ones) played surprisingly well, better than any other plastic instrument I've tried. It would probably be on par with the Vito with respect to regulation and ruggedness.
Wood Noblets (and the nearly identical Leblanc-branded 'mid-pro' basses) generally seem to have a nice lower register, but not so good in the clarion. They are rugged and well-made and comfortable to play, though.
I have no experience with the WW&BW or Jupiter student basses.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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