 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bassclgirl92
Date: 2016-06-19 23:42
Hi all,
After struggling with a Yamaha YCL 221ii that is simply way too sharp, I'm making the decision to pick up another student model until I finally decide whether or not I want to go pro. So, I'm wondering what the consensus is on the 1430LP.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2016-06-20 00:06
Bassgirl22,
A used Selmer 1430?
If you are getting a new 1430 bass why not consider the Ridenour 925e? I have one as the backup for my classic Selmer Model 30. The 925e does not give up much.
HRL
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-06-20 00:11
Also try the Jupiter bass if you get a chance. It has the low Eb key on the body instead of having a separate bell key and the bell has a vent hole for the low Eb, so you won't have to worry about the bell being lined up as precisely as basses with a bell key. Other than that, the design is fairly similar to the Vito and Yamaha 221 bass.
There are also Vito basses stencilled as Yamaha USA before Yamaha began making their own 200 series basses. The plastic Normandy basses are the same as Vito basses.
If the Selmer 1430LP is basically the same as the Selmer Bundy/Buescher Aristocrat/B&H Regent bass, then their build quality is far more crude compared to the Vito bass.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: CEC
Date: 2016-06-20 03:44
If you're going to get a used Bundy/Vito/Leblanc and find a good price, it's worth considering (especially if minimizing expenditure is a goal). If you're looking at buying new, I'd get a Ridenour.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2016-06-20 08:22
>> the 1430LP, the Leblanc 7168 and the Jupiter 675 are of identical design. <<
Do you mean they are all the same instrument marketed under different names? Or just very similar? I haven't tried very new plastic Selmers and Leblancs, but the new Jupiter I tried felt significantly better than older ones.
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Author: bassclgirl92
Date: 2016-06-20 08:30
I was looking at Ridenours, but for now I'm just mostly interested in getting something used that's both solid and free of the horrific tuning issues of the Yamaha. I have a mouthpiece/ligature/reed combo I'm confident in as well.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2016-06-20 16:20
There are a whole lot of used Low Eb bass clarinets for sale out there. I hope you can find a good used one no matter what the brand?
You may want to contact Eric Satterlee at Meridian Winds and tell him that I sent you (I have no business association with this company). He has several used student model bass clarinets that he took in on trade recently; all of these should now be in excellent playing condition.
HRL
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-06-20 17:34
I've got an older Leblanc low Eb bass with nickel plated keys to work on and despite the pinned top joint and what I suspect is a Bundy bell, it's in excellent shape. The joints have been locked together with a long metal plate screwed to them at the middle joint (and a screw going through the middle into the socket ring) that's also nickel plated, so maybe it was either made like this or someone had it plated to look better than unplated brass or nickel silver.
I did read on Facebook that as school instruments in the US are largely funded by the tax payers, there are many that are considered beyond repair and just lying in warehouses, but no-one can touch them to either restore or scavenge them for parts due to them effectively being public property. If that's the case, then why can't they be sold on through public auctions to raise revenue? That's what happens to most military band instruments when they're considered 'uneconomical to repair' or 'have depreciated in value and are now worthless' even though they're often '50s era MkVI saxes.
But pawn shops often have some surprises in older pro level instruments that are in desperate need of repair, something a full overhaul would usually sort out, so if you know what to look for and have the funds to both buy and have something fully restored, you'll end up with something good and very likely at a fraction of the cost of a new plastic bass clarinet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2016-06-20 18:32
Chris P.,
In the US, a lot of those instruments get back in circulation through auctions by the school districts, sealed bids for lots, or through trade-in to a dealer for newer instruments.
In many cases (like the Selmer Model 30 I have which came as a trade-in by a state university) you can really get a gem that may need minor things like a new case, a little tweaking, or a repad. In other cases, the instruments have had a hard life but can often be cannibalized like your LeBlanc.
Someone like yourself though who knows what to look for can really come up with some nice opportunities.
HRL
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Author: tripler
Date: 2017-11-23 04:21
Thanks for all the great suggestions; the Ridenour sounds interesting, but I didn't see any used ones offered for sale. I'm looking for one under $1,000 since I probable would only play it when my Yamaha YCL622II is being repaired (in my area it takes 2 or more weeks for even a simple repair). By the way, I have no significant intonation problems with my Yamaha.
Also, a few years ago I rented a Jupiter which I played a couple of months, but found its clarino register sound to be unacceptable.
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