 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: blazian
Date: 2009-07-13 22:36
I recently acquired a B&H Edgware bass. Some of you may have seen it on that auction site a few weeks ago. Do you think it's a keeper? It plays nicely and has a good double register mech. All it needs is some pads and cleaning. I have two problems with the neck though:
The mouthpiece receiver is too small for my usual C*. I filed down an old Vandy to fit but it's such a horrible mouthpiece that I need a different solution. Any ideas?
The tenon on the neck that goes into the body is too long. I don't know if it was made that way or what. It looks funny and was thinking of cutting off some of the tenon for a perfect fit. Is that okay?
I'll add pictures and measurement in a bit.
- Martin
Post Edited (2009-07-14 20:01)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-07-14 08:09
I'm wondering if the crook has been replaced at some point - it does look ill-fitting.
I tried an old Imperial bass a while back and my mouthpiece fitted fine in that, so I would have thought a standard French-style bass mouthpiece would fit an Edgware bass.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-07-14 09:26
The neck looks like German-style, and it would fit only something that's roughly between an Alto and a Bass mouthpiece.
David Spiegelthal might be able to shed some more light on this.
--
Ben
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-07-14 16:39
Your neck is from a "Winnenden"-era (early 1950s-late 1960s) Kohlert bass clarinet, which is a double-vent design but the upper vent is on an extended upper body joint, not on the neck like on most brands (I think the Kohlert design is superior). So the neck is short and tightly-curved, with no octave vent. And yes, the mouthpiece socket is somewhat undersized --- I always open mine up using a Dremel motor with a round sanding drum attachment, go inside 'round and round', stopping to measure the ID periodically, until you've got it where you want it.
In my experience the Edgware-labelled bass clarinets were made by Malerne, a totally different design (are you SURE you have a double-register vent system??), in which case you have the wrong neck for that instrument. Please provide some photos of the instrument itself (especially the register key area) and we'll be able to positively identify what you've got.
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Author: blazian
Date: 2009-07-14 20:15
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Oh great Dave. I already started taking it apart! I'm fairly good at using Dremel tools. Did a custom fit for my wood piccolo headjoint so this should be easier. When I bought this bass it was advertised as a Kohlert stencil. I compared it and I'm pretty sure that it is. Remember I have that Malerne Four Star? This Edgware is definitely different from that. I do have a wood Lacroix bass that looks like a Malerne stencil.
Added: The body and bell say made in Germany. Idk if that's standard for B&H Edgware clarinets. There are more pictures at
http://cgi.ebay.com/KOHLERT-Bass-Clarinet-Made-in-Germany_W0QQitemZ260431273651QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca2e9deb3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1|66%3A2|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A2|294%3A50
- Martin
Post Edited (2009-07-14 20:25)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-07-14 20:49
Don't panic, Martin! You're fine, the instrument itself is indeed a Kohlert, one-piece hard-rubber body. I have the exact same instrument at home, they play great (other than a stuffy 'pinch' throat Bb which can be corrected by a longer register tube).
Not sure why your neck tenon is too long. Wait a bit before you cut anything off. My experience with these horns is that they tend to play sharp -- so you may find the extra length beneficial. You could put a spacer around the upper part of the tenon to close the gap and reduce 'wobble' (I found that an Alfa Romeo fuel injector rubber seal works well for this, but you might not have any of these lying around.....)
But if the instrument plays flat overall, especially the throat tones, then you may have to cut off the extra tenon length. Wait and see how the whole setup (including your favorite mouthpiece) tunes, though.
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Author: blazian
Date: 2009-07-16 20:00
Ok I've opened up my mouthpiece socket up and all of my mouthpieces (including my favorite) fit well. I left the rest of the neck alone.
Dave, I'm curious about the longer register tube. Did you pull the original one out a little and fix it there or did you use a different one? How far does it protrude from the body? And did you have to adjust the key that goes over it?
- Martin
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-07-16 20:57
Martin, as far as the register tube, once again I'd advise you to proceed with caution -- get the instrument/mouthpiece combination playing well together first, then see if you have a stuffy throat Bb. At that point, you should try raising the opening height of the lower register vent pad --- sounds simple, but with the Kohlert's mechanism there's a whole series of adjustments and sometimes modifications (filing/grinding) that are needed just to effect a simple increase in the opening height of that pad.
If that fails, then I'd try replacing the existing register tube with a longer one that protrudes farther INTO the body -- but has the same length of tube sticking out, otherwise you'd have to totally re-regulate the register system. I've made my own register tubes for this purpose, out of copper tubing of the appropriate inner diameter.
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