 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-09-19 20:22
Could anyone suggest a list of bass clarinets with low C? Old as well as new models. I know of a few, but it's sometimes difficult to find spec sheets for old instruments.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-09-19 20:41
Yamaha have kept the same layout of the low note keys on their basses having a LH low D lever, RH thumb low D, Db/C# and C keys with the low Eb key for the right pinky as normal. Fully linked keywork, so you can slur from low G to low C with one touch.
Buffet have changed the layout over time, but they have the LH low D key, RH thumb low Db/C# and C keys and the low Eb in the same places. They added a front (RH) low D touch during the '90s and the 1999 onwards model has a right thumb low D key (so three low D touches in total). The Tosca has an extra low Eb key for the right thumb (where the thumb low D key is on the Prestige). Again, fully linked keywork, so low G-C slurs are done with a single touch.
Selmer, Selmer, Selmer ... what a mess. They went though more keywork changes than most and low C basses from one era won't have the same layout as others, so choose wisely. I'll list the various changes when I have more time as I'm a bit pushed right now. They do have in their favour (besides the anomalies) the fully linked keywork, so low G-C slurs are done with a single touch.
Leblanc have kept it simple - they have a LH low D lever, low Db and C keys for the right thumb and the low Eb in the usual place for the RH pinky. I think they also have a front low D touch as well, but on Leblancs the low Db and C aren't linked to the rest of the mechanism so you need those low D touches held down to get low Db and C.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2016-09-20 04:40)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-09-19 20:51
Forgot to add, the new kid on the block - the Uebel Emperior - that has pretty much identical keywork to the post 1999 (ie. current) Buffet Prestige, but it comes in under all the other pro level low C basses in terms of cost (had Leblanc still been making basses).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-09-19 21:02
B&H Imperial Bass was available as both low Eb and low C models.
The low C was essentally a low Eb with a separate joint that could be added between the lower joint and the bell.
This meant that one could chose the mode depending on whether the gig needed low C.
Low D, Db and C were all provided by thumb keys on RH joint.
I believe several German low C basses use a similar approach to keeping all extra notes on the RH thumb.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-09-21 21:48
Many thanks to Chris and Norman for this information. It's wonderful to have such a fund of knowledge to draw on.
Tony F.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2016-09-22 18:01
Not yet mentioned is the 'mid-priced' Amati low-C bass clarinet, which has a slightly smaller bore than the usual suspects (Selmer/Buffet/Leblanc/Yamaha/Uebel), and has the "four-dots in a square" pattern of keys for the r.h. thumb like the narrow-bore German-system instruments.
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Author: N.D.C.
Date: 2017-01-02 18:33
I purchased an O'Malley Low C Bass clarinet mid-2016 and have been very pleased with it. I use it in a community band, replacing a Vito low E-flat.
Based on pictures on the internet, it seems to use similar keying to most of the much more expensive Low C basses. It uses three r.h. thumb keys (D, C#, C) plus a l.h. D lever. (The l.h. F lever, now "squeezed" next to the D lever, was a bit difficult to find at first.) I was pleasantly surprised to find the addition of a very useful l.h. G# lever.
Occasionally I tweak the screws that adjust the pads closed by the thumb C key, and this helps all of the three lowest notes to speak clearly. But even after tweaking, I find the adding any F, E, or E-flat levers helps. The D lever is such a stretch that I almost never use it, and then it usually works only with the "help" just mentioned.
I have seen complaints about moving between the thumb keys because of their "large throw". I have had success by using the thumb as high as possible (near the joint) for D - and then just bringing it down from there for C# or C. Thus moving to or from D only requires a rocking motion, and moving between the other two notes only requires a rolling motion. Note that this use of the thumb can avoid the need for using the l.h. D lever.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-01-02 22:14
I didn't know there was a bass clarinet maker in Ireland!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Hurstfarm
Date: 2017-01-03 16:05
Ridenour 925C - in ebonite and in a different price bracket from most of the competition.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2017-01-03 17:59
The "Irish" O'Malley is akin to the "by German Engineering" and "by French Engineering" clarinets on the market. As Chinese as they come.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2017-01-04 08:20
Better than "Franch Engineering" or "Made in Frence"... both of which I've seen...
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