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Re: Anyone have a Buffet Prestige basset horn?

Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2020-02-13 03:33

Thanks Chris, I though I remember reading a post on here a few years ago where you said your early Selmer basset horn had some flaring in the lower joint near the last few toneholes? The reason I’m asking is because every small bore basset horn I’ve ever fixed has had intonation problems on the 4 lowest notes. It seems to me that the lowest toneholes on most small bore basset horns are too small and positioned too low. I’ve seen some instruments (Buffet) where there is a small flare in the tenon and some (Selmer) where there is just a jump into the 19mm bore of the bell. I have a theory that modern small bore basset horns were based off of instruments with a flare at the bottom of the lower joint, which would explain the position of the toneholes.

This also got me thinking about the size of the toneholes themselves. On the Buffet Prestige bass clarinet I have access too some toneholes are almost the size of the bore itself. I wonder if this is also true on the Prestige basset horn as well. It seems to me that manufactures in the 20th century possibly tried to use smaller toneholes to better mimic the sound of classical instruments, which had tiny toneholes by modern standards. I’m wondering if enlarging the toneholes on some of these older 20th century instruments to almost the size of the bore and possibly adding a flare to the lower joint could make them play better and more in tune.

-Jdbassplayer

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