 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2009-04-19 18:53
I have just picked up an old tenor sax (because it was cheap, not because I needed it). I note that my bass clarinet reeds fit the mouthpiece. Apart from the physical size are there any other difference between bass cl. and tenor sax reeds ? Thanks for advice.
Alan
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2009-04-20 00:04
Ooops, my English was bad. The physical size is exactly the same. I was wondering if there is a difference in the way they are filed, thicker or thinner heart, etc.
Alan
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-04-20 00:32
In my experience Tenor Sax reeds are longer and thicker, especially at and near the bottom. But that may differ from one brand to another. The tip is about the same size. Some bass players prefer the tenor reeds because there's more wood but I prefer bass reeds myself. ESP
http://eddiesclarinet.com, check it out.
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Author: LyricClarone
Date: 2009-04-20 02:44
I switched from bass clarinet to tenor sax reeds almost 30 years ago with no regrets. Every now and then I'll buy a box of bass clarinet reeds and try them, just for laughs. Haven't had a bit of success with them so I have no plans to switch back. In the same vein, I also use alto sax reeds for basset horn. Works well for me.
Linda Baker
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Author: Bill G
Date: 2009-04-20 03:04
I haven"t had any recent occasion to make a comparison, but for a time commencing about 65 years ago I found a very interesting situation as to plastic reeds. A travelling tenor sax player recommended that I try plastic Enduro bass clarinet reeds on my tenor sax. They worked great and I used them for several years. They were never great as to tone, but they were uniform and easy to use in all other ways. Enduro sax reeds, on the other hand would not work for me at all on sax.
In comparing the bass sax reeds to the tenor sax reeds I found that the vamp of the bass clarinet reeds was longer than the vamp on tenor sax reeds. What is the usual comparison on cane reeds now?
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-04-20 09:49
I would often use tenor sax reeds on my bass when I lived in Australia just because there was more chance of finding them in a shop!
I wonder how the new Vandoren V12 alto sax reeds will go on my basset horn? Bother, another experiment to do...
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-04-20 18:06
Ah, here we go again..........
The following reeds are fit-interchangeable:
Alto sax - alto clarinet
Tenor sax - bass clarinet
Baritone sax - EEb contra-alto clarinet
Bass sax - BBb contrabass clarinet
Depending on the brand, the sax and clarinet 'versions' may or may not be cut differently; and even if they are, it may not matter to the player.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2009-04-20 18:24
On some bass clarinets, the flange of the neck socket is large enough to interfere with long tenor saxophone reeds, making it necessary to saw off the reed about an eighth of an inch or else use only bass clarinet reeds. What fun!
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-04-20 20:53
> On some bass clarinets, the flange of the neck socket is large
> enough to interfere with long tenor saxophone reeds, making it
> necessary to saw off the reed about an eighth of an inch or
> else use only bass clarinet reeds. What fun!
I recommend a pair of anvil secateurs.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-04-21 14:44
I'd never heard of "anvil secateurs", had to look up the word! Evidently they are a type of pruning shears. I'd be concerned about using any sort of shears or snips to lop off the back of a reed, because of the risk of the cane splitting down the middle (lengthwise) --- been there, done that! Hacksaw, coping saw, or "Dremel" motor with a cutting wheel all work well, and the back can even be ground shorter on a bench grinder.
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-04-21 22:19
I on the other hand would be more worried about the stress the back-and-forth movement of a handheld saw would cause to the wood! YMMV, anyway. :-)
Of course cutting small bits of wood cleanly is what secateurs are for. I also hadn't heard of anvil secateurs until someone suggested them to me for the purpose - they're like pruning shears except instead of two blades they have a blade and a flat base. I often carry them around for period clarinet reeds since often they have to fit a much shorter table.
(I actually didn't know the word in English until I looked it up. Ambossschere, if you're ever in a German hardware store. Yes, with three esses.)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-04-22 01:09
We're using a tenor sax in the BSO this week and I compared his Vandoren tenor sax reed to my Rico Grand concert bass reed. They appeared about the same thickness but the sax reed was slightly longer with a slightly longer vamp. He said he knows some sax players that prefer bass clarinet reeds, go figure. By the way, many players use Bb reeds on their Eb clarinet but have to trim the back first to make them a little shorter. I've had a lot of success doing that. The Bb reed is a bit wider then the mouthpiece but that seems to be a plus for me. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: graham
Date: 2009-04-22 07:20
The only direct comparison I have tried is Alexander Superial Classique. The tenor reed is cut differently to the bass clarinet (external dimensions are however identical). The tenor reed has a larger area of tip that appears to be thin and pliable, but a thicker region just behind that tip. It produces a softer more woolly sound than the bass, except when playing above forte, when it becomes very reedy and looses coherence (that is, on my bass clarinet). The bass reed is more coherent but does not go as loud and has less soft padding to the tone in general.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-04-22 11:07
Some brands of reed are only available in tenor sax 'size' (e.g. Olivieri). When I was younger, before there was an Internet and online shopping, I had to buy reeds at the local music store so I'd get whatever was available -- very often I had to use tenor sax rather than bass clarinet reeds because that was all they had in stock. It's no big deal. If you're a good player (I FEEL THE FLAMES COMING!) you're going to be working on the reed with a knife or rush or ATG machine or whatever anyway, right? Just buy a half strength harder than the desired final playing strength, and go at it.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2009-04-22 11:54
Hi.
I use alto clarinet reeds on alto sax but have found them (La Voz) to be a tad smaller in width but they do cover the MP window just fine. They play great and I bought 40 boxes (yes, 40) at $1.25 each on eBay.
Same goes with tenor. Since I play a very open MP, the 1 1/2 and 2s that you see for bass clarinet are what I use (maybe $4 a box when I buy in bulk). But on bass clarinet, I use 3 tenor or BC reeds. Depends on what I find at a good price.
On bari, I use contra-alto reeds as DS indicates.
Alto and tenor size reeds seem to be much more forgiving but on clarinet, I stay with Rico Grand or VD. Clarinet is a whole different situation.
HRL
Post Edited (2009-06-17 12:19)
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-04-23 19:04
"If you're a good player (I FEEL THE FLAMES COMING!) you're going to be working on the reed with a knife or rush or ATG machine or whatever anyway, right?"
No flame as such - but I think I can honestly say I'm a decent player (at any rate I make my entire living from playing the clarinet) and I use my reeds either as they come out of the box or not at all.
Not at all to suggest that knowing how to manipulate reeds isn't worthwhile, or even that I don't wish I could do it myself (I do!). Just to cite myself as a counterexample in case someone out there thinks that all professionals do this stuff.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-04-24 02:01
I stand corrected, Oliver! Please accept my apologies, no offense intended. Still, imagine the money (and perhaps time) you could save by working for just a few minutes a night on some of those reeds that don't play perfectly right out of the box, if you could make them playable! (And you can make many of them playable with just a few strokes of the knife, after a bit of experimentation). Still, you're a full-time professional clarinetist and I am not, so it's rather presumptuous of me to preach at you......
![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2009-04-24 11:14
Differences between bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds may depend upon the brand.
For the last 4 years I've been using Legere reeds exclusively. With Legere there are noticable performance differences between the two reeds. When I tried a Legere bass clarinet reed on my tenor saxophone it seemed wimpy to me. Then, when I tried a regular Legere tenor reed (not the Studio cut) on bass clarinet I'd describe it as unresponsive. While the length and width of the bass clarinet and tenor saxophone reeds are the same, there are differences in their profiles.
Roger
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-04-24 20:18
"Please accept my apologies, no offense intended. Still, imagine the money (and perhaps time) you could save by working for just a few minutes a night on some of those reeds that don't play perfectly right out of the box, if you could make them playable! (And you can make many of them playable with just a few strokes of the knife, after a bit of experimentation)."
Oh gosh, no offence caused, sorry, I should have used a smiley! :-)
Coming to grips with this area of things is certainly a project for the near future - partly because I'm working a lot more with period instruments and reeds for that need rather a lot more tweaking. As I said, I don't think it's a waste of time, and I wish I were doing it already. If I worked on a more unforgiving setup or in a more unforgiving environment, who knows, maybe I would indeed be doing it already...
A friend I respect completely in all matters reedy has suggested the Ridenour set - anyone have any thoughts, or other suggestions?
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Author: Chris J
Date: 2009-04-24 20:46
The Ridenour set is the ATG system, and as such as many posts associated with it in various threads,
I play purely as a hobby, and a hobby that has got a bit out of hand, as I have saxes SATB and Cmel, as well as clarinets sop, alto and bass.
Imagine the waste in the duds of a box of reeds, and times it by 7!
So I bought the ATG system. It is a very simple system, and the "system" purchased is more the theory and technique than the equipment itself.
But simply put - it works, and works very well. It is a rare reed that I can't get to work very well - and within a minute or two adjustment.
My teacher, a professional player and teacher for decades was sceptical - he had never successfully adjusted a reed reproducably. He put any previous success down to chance and luck!.
I asked him leave out a dud reed for the next lesson. He now has the system himself.
In short, where as traditional knives, scraping, sanding, cutting and filing seems like a dark art of smoke and mirrors and no doubt works with experience and patience - the ATG system is simple, logical, reproducible and consistently successful.
Chris
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2009-04-25 01:50
I have used the ATG for many years. Suddenly, I have all sorts of playable reeds.
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-06-16 19:13
So!
I did indeed order the ATG kit - around the time of my last post above I had just (for pretty much the first time) had the proverbial 'one usable reed in a box' experience and thought: I don't really have anything to lose here.
The box arrived and I perused the book and watched the videos. I've been on tour for a couple of days so today was my first chance to have a go at it. Pretty much my first serious go at adjusting reeds in what's now (gulp) 26 years of playing the clarinet.
All but one, maybe two of the reeds I couldn't use from the aforementioned box sounded clear as a bell after at most a minute's tweaking and are now in the case, on rotation.
It all seems very simple. Perhaps I've missed something. I hope not!
Er, to get back on topic - I'll try some bass reeds in the next couple of days.
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