 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2013-04-05 16:34
Recently I have been considering to try an Oehler system bass clarinet. However, as you all know Rome was not built in a single day, I need an amount of time to get used to the fingering. As I am an ABRSM Grade 5 student, Do you fellas think I should take a try with the Oehler system?
Josh
Post Edited (2013-04-05 16:35)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-04-05 16:56
This is not necessarily a move to be taken lightly. Though similar in many raw fingerings, there are many more aspects that are involved such as mouthpiece, reeds, overall approach to creating the sound, style (it helps to be a German or taught in Germany). So if you are thinking of playing an Oehler just part time or using one instrument and jumping to another in Boehm - DON'T DO IT !!!!!
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-04-05 17:39
I play both systems, and my favorite bass clarinet is the Oehler-system one (by F. Arthur Uebel, via a certain "tictactux" fellow).
As Paul mentions, it's very tough to find suitable mouthpieces for the beast, but it can be done. I've had to make significant modifications to my mouthpieces to make them playable for me, and to use readily-available reeds (standard French-system alto sax/alto clarinet or bass clarinet reeds, depending on which mouthpiece I use).
As for overall approach and style, I have none of either, so it doesn't matter. I manage just fine on the Oehler bass.
The fingering differences are not that big a deal really, although it took me a couple of years of casual practice on the Oehler-system instruments to really get comfortable on them. Now I can go back and forth between Oehler and Boehm without even thinking about it.
All that said, I'm probably the wrong person to advise you on this matter, because I've demonstrated that (a) I'm a flaming eccentric and (b) I have no common sense. For instance, automobile-wise while most of the people around me are driving late-model Hondas and Toyotas or SUVs with automatic transmissions, I'm driving stick-shift Italian cars from the 1970s. Clearly I'm too far out of the mainstream to provide meaningful advice to a young player 
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2013-04-05 20:16
Ah, still up because of insomnia...
Well David, as you might remember, I'm already using a German mouthpiece regularly on a French bass via an adaptor. It's my main mouthpiece. Yep, not a normal kid's habit! You see, I ain't sane either!
Well Chris, The thing is that the Uebel Boehm bass is a French bore, unlike its Oehler counterpart, which is German bore i.e. my preferred bore which inspired me. You know the reform Boehms are out of my budget!
Josh
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Author: Noqu
Date: 2013-04-07 18:32
Here in Germany it is not uncommon to play a German A/Bb and a Boehm bass clarinet (simply because German bass clarinets are so much more expensive). From what I hear, that seems to work pretty well, though I never tried it myself.
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2013-04-08 10:05
James, as I mentioned, the Uebel Boehm is a Boehm bore aka French bore.
However, a long time ago, Uebel made a Reform Boehm model. Too bad it is not available anymore.
Josh
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Author: Fraeulein Klarinette
Date: 2013-04-08 13:00
One key thing you need to consider, besides fingering etc, is intonation. Most Oehler clarinets are tuned higher than the 440Hz used in Hong Kong, some older ones (before the 80s) were tuned even higher at 443-445Hz. Also modern mouthpieces (Wurlitzer etc) may not fit the bore of older instruments. Other practical considerations include finding reeds, teachers and technicians - I am yet to find someone who can repair German clarinets in Hong Kong!
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-04-08 13:30
Re: Fraulein Klarinette's post, my Uebel German-system bass clarinet was in fact tuned to somewhere around A-442 or even higher when I received it. I had to lengthen the neck slightly and reposition the throat G# and A toneholes to make the whole instrument work at A-440 where I needed it to be.
Having done that work, the intonation of the Uebel is outstanding from bottom to top, it's a fabulous instrument.
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