The Clarinet BBoard

Massive 1st register sharpness on Tosca basses?

Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017 Date:   2026-10-31 14:24 You who are playing or have tried out Tosca basses, do you/did you have massive sharpness in the first/Chalumeau register? With written C4 as reference, I got the following results (just from a single test on each mouthpiece, an average of multiple tests would probably change the results a couple of cents up or down - but you get the picture): Vandoren BD5 on a Tosca bass (Vandoren and Buffet products should usually be higly compatible): C4 +10 C#4 +13 D4 +15 E4 +10 F4 +9 F#4 +12 G#4 +8 A4 +12 A#4 +19 (The 2nd register is a dream, just D5 and C6 pops out with -7 and +9 respectively, but the whole 3rd/altissimo register up to G6 goes 10-16 cents sharp.) Hawkins Signature RH on a Tosca bass (the best one, with least way sharp notes in the first register): B3 +15 C4 +16 (Also here the 2nd register is a dream, just D5 is -7 and C6 is +9, as well as the 3rd/altissimo register with everything up to G6 within +/- 5 cents.) Backun Vocalise G on a Tosca bass: F#3 +7 F#3 +11 G3 +8 G#3 +8 A3 +7 A#3 +13 B3 +17 C4 +30 (!) C#4 +25 (!) D4 +18 D#4 +13 E4 +17 F4 +14 F#4 +16 G4 +12 G#4 +12 A4 +12 A#4 +20 (Even here the 2nd and 3rd register is a dream, with just C5 +8 and altissimo G6 -10.) As a comparison, the Backun Vocalise G on my Backun Alpha: C3 +13 (this one is way sharp on every mouthpiece) C#4 -8 (this one is also very fuzzy, and both tuning and clarity would be greatly improved with a mechanical remodeling á la Buffet, allowing for a larger opening of the key pad in question) E4 -9 (I manage with an added Eb/Bb side key, also improving clarity) F4 -8 (same as above) ---------- 2nd register B4 +9 C5 +7 C#5 +7 E5 -8 ---------- 3rd register E6 +10 F6 +7 Besides the above mouthpieces, I've tried out the Tosca with a Vandoren B40, Selmer Concept and Focus, Pomarico 3, Clark Fobes San Francisco CF, RR and AP facings, Selmer C85 115, PlayEasy, Zinner 4, PlayNick Ravel and Fun. They all have similar massive sharpness in the 1st register, as the BD5 and Vocalise G above. An interesting sidenote is that while the Hawkins Signature RH was the by far best one on the Tosca (with only B3 and C4 way sharp), it's massively flat on the more or less whole 1st register on my Backun Alpha (thus it kind of evens out on the Tosca, perhaps it's even designed for the Tosca and other similar basses instead of the Backun ones?). So other Tosca bass players, what's your experience? Is there perhaps great variation in tuning between different specimens of the Tosca basses, and I just encountered a dud? If you tune well, what is your setup? Other possible recommendations about tackling the 1st register?

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