 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2013-01-23 16:13
4 months ago I purchased a German bass clarinet mouthpiece from Ed Pillinger, as I have hungry for the German sound for quite a while. Just this week I finally got the entire working perfectly. This multi-part Q & A thread is to answer your most common questions, as well as encouraging everyone of you out there to try it.
1. Q: As some of you already knew I play a student Yamaha, so how do I get the mouthpiece to work?
A: I bought a adaptor from Stephen Fox. It connects the German mouthpiece to the French neck. As far as I know the adaptor is offered only by Stephen Fox in his online catalog, though I believe some workshops in Germany, such as Schwenk und Seggelke, should offe similar adapting parts in a custom basis.
2. Q: German bass reeds are far narrower than French ones. What is the quickest way to obtain them?
A: Actually German bass reeds are very close in size with alto sax/alto clarinet reeds, just 2-3mm narrower than the latter. So this is what I did: I bought some alto sax reeds back, and filed them to desired width with the smooth side of my Brazillian carborundum stone(which is the same way Ed Pillinger himself did). Higher quality equipment made specially for filing reeds should be able to do the same(though I can not guarantee that, as I use my carborundum stone to do all the filing, as it is far cheaper).
Okay, gotta go to bed now. Part 2 coming tomorrow!
Josh
Post Edited (2013-04-11 12:35)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-01-23 17:59
Good for you, Joshua! Here are some data points for your research:
For a few years now I've been playing (part of the time) an excellent F. Arthur Uebel Oehler-system bass clarinet acquired from our friend Ben ("tictactux"). It came with its original (orange-colored hard rubber!) German-type mouthpiece. As received, the mouthpiece was unplayable for me --- much too close and resistant, I could barely get a tiny little stuffy pianissimo wheeze out of it.
Since then I've done much experimenting with reeds and (more significantly) mouthpieces. I now have three mouthpieces worked up to the point where I'm comfortable performing on any of them (depending on my whim, or what reeds I happen to have handy):
--The stock Uebel hard-rubber mouthpiece, significantly refaced to something approaching a standard French-style facing (a slight bit shorter but much more open than the original German facing) and with the baffle and chamber deepened quite a bit; with this I use a variety of reeds, including Steuer German-size bass clarinet reeds, plus Marca, Vandoren, Glotin and other reeds sized for alto clarinet or alto sax (sometimes I narrow the sides of these a little, but it isn't really necessary).
--A refaced Pomarico crystal alto clarinet mouthpiece bonded to a short section of copper pipe acting as an adapter to match the bore (~.75") of the German bass clarinet neck. The facing was lengthened and opened to something more like a French bass clarinet facing. With this I can use any alto sax or alto clarinet reeds, but not the Steuer German-system reeds as they are a bit too narrow.
--A refaced Pomarico crystal tenor sax(!) mouthpiece with the shank cut off, bonded to another copper-pipe adapter, and with a facing applied that is similar to that of the other two mouthpieces. With this I use any standard French-style bass clarinet or tenor sax reeds.
Forget the Lamborghinis, but don't give up on Fiats or Alfa Romeos (the affordable fun Italian cars).
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2013-01-23 18:37
I play both German (1969 Fritz Wurlitzer, and 2011 Schwenk & Seggelke) and French basses (Selmer 67), and also have one of the Pillinger German mouthpieces with a Fox adapter. I have a number of other German mouthpieces, but the one that has suited me the best was made by Richard Hawkins at Oberlin. You might contact Richard about him making one for you as well (he has the dimensions for mine too): hawkinsrg@oberlin.net
Schwenk & Seggelke also make excellent German bass mouthpieces.
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2013-01-30 16:25
Sorry, my grandad has passed away, along with other work I had to do, so I didn't have time. So anyway, here's Part 2!
3. Q: Do your file reeds always work?
A: This can not be guaranteed. As we always say:'through trials and errors', it is an accumulation of experiences. Sometimes it might not work, but you'll gradually gain experience and learn this skill, and it won't be a matter to worry much.
4. Q: What about ligatures?
A: German reeds were supposed to be tied with strings or shoelaces. However, I discover that a bunch of hairbands(at least 3) can do the same while saving a lot of time and money, and I use 4 headbands to tie the reed to the mouthpiece. But for those who wish to have a real ligature or something a bit more fancier, there are some choices of ligatures open:
-Rovner softsingle-screw alto clarinet, suggested by Ed Pillinger.
-BG leather alto clarinet, tested by me, though the tone was rather dull.
-Vandoren Optimum tenor sax, also tested by me, a slightly brighter tone than the BG ligature.
-Theo Wanne makes various sizes of ligatures, a few bore sizes for each type of sax alone. As these ligatures are essentially fancy rings with screws, it shouldn't be difficult to get the right one out of them. This is only my hypothesis, however, as I never actually played any of them.
-Charles Bay makes regular custom ligatures with attractive patterns. He should be able to make one for German bass mouthpieces.
-Stephen Fox stated that he uses a Rovner ligature on his German bass, but he isn't sure which model it is.
5. Q: After saying all these stuff, why would I prefer the German sound more than the French sound?
A: Well, this is rather a subjective opinion. The horn which aspired me to play the bass clarinet was a Uebel, a German bass, from the Wiener Philarmoniker in the 70s. I love its distinct focused sound. At first, I was not aware of the existence of the German bass. I was wondering why the Buffets sound so different, but after finding for a year of searching I finally knew. From then on I had been favoring the German sound over the French sound, and choose it to be the sound for my future horn.
6. Q: Finally, where can you buy a German mouthpiece?
A: You usually buy them from German makers, such as Zinner, Playnick, Schwenk und Seggelke, etc. However, some makers outside Germany also offer German mouthpieces. Mine was made by the great Ed Pillinger in London. In addition, Ed offers a modified alto clarinet and German bass hybrid to give a bigger sound. This mouthpiece can be made to fit either the alto or German bass clarinets. He also makes even more special ones to fit alto sax/clarinet reeds.
I have to go to sleep now. I'll try to reply all your comments as soon as possible.
Josh
Post Edited (2013-04-11 12:03)
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2013-04-11 12:33
An update:
After a few more experiences, I discovered that hairbands cannot hold reeds in place as steadily as the ropes, shoelaces and ligatures do. Therefore, I tried to find a true ligature. After a few trials, I concluded that the best ligature is the Vandoren Optimum alto clarinet ligature. It is best metal ligature for the German bass mouthpiece in the market.
David, I'm interested with your modified Pomarico alto mouthpiece. That oughta be something I should get, as I prefer alto clarinet reeds and Rico Hemke reeds. Do you recommend any brand of non-crystal mouthpieces for modifying into such a design? Also, can can a rubber ring be epoxied to the tenon instead as an integral adaptor?
Bill, is the Hawkins German mouthpiece offered in a custom basis? I don't see it in his catalog.
Josh
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2013-04-12 22:43
Hi Joshua:
Just write Richard. He will make one for you. He has the specs. from my mouthpiece.
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