 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LoreeoboeNeh
Date: 2007-01-22 19:26
I recently heard of these bass clarinets. The brand Arioso is new and the clarinets are designed by Tom Ridenour. I am interested in one of these bass clarinets, has anyone heard of this brand and have a comments on them. Im usally a oboe and EH player, but play clarinet as a side instrument, and a new low C bass for $1650 attracted my attention. I would appreicate your opinions.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-01-22 19:35
I'm sort of your opposite, I'm a bass clarinetist who occasionally plays oboe. The Arioso bass clarinet is to a professional bass clarinet, as my older Robert Malerne 'simplified Conservatory system' oboe is to your Loree. Does that make any sense?
Use the 'search' to find other posts about the Arioso bass clarinet; there have been several.
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2007-01-25 04:18
Tom's first Arioso low C bass came out about two years ago. I believe I read a quote here from him that he was pleased enough with the acoustic of it, but because of unreliable keywork he had discontinued it. I play one and feel competent to adjust the mechanism; I bent some keys for better fit and I occasionally tweak other bits and it plays well. (I have little experience with a 'pro' horn, but I played a new Selmer at NAMM last week and it was Wonderful!) I did not speak with Tom, but he had a prototype at NAMM for a new model and I saw that it had addressed some of the keywork issues that had bothered me. I did not play this prototype.
WT
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2007-01-25 14:11
I played around with (but did not play due to not having a mouthpiece and reeds during the hurricane evacuations of a year and a half ago) one of these, and the keywork felt so "soft" and spongy in my hands that I would not have considered the horn at any price.
Two of the long keys on the bottom half did not function at all (out of the box) and one of them (a long key on the left hand side) did not engage its contact point at the bottom of the horn - a major fix it item for a working instrument.
I'll probably get raked over the coals for this, but the keywork reminded me of that found on the various CSOs available at a Wal Mart near you.
It may have had the world's best bore (which I could not confirm or deny, not having the tone generator to test it at the time), but the metalworking was definitely "substandard", at least on the one I got to handle.
(For the record, I sort of feel the same way about the current Selmer top of the line model. Too many rods replacing old style keys (the trill cluster), while reversion to a lever key (for the LH low F fingering) where a rod has worked just fine for a hundred years or so. Strange...)
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: scott kurtzweil
Date: 2007-01-27 20:11
We carry that same bass clarinet but market it under the Allora name. It is a good clarinet for a high school or even a show doubler. Wayne is correct about the keywork though. It tends to be a little soft and difficult to keep in adjustment.
Every year the Chinese instruments get better but they are not yet of the quality that a professional players needs. If you are looking for a budget low C bass, you may want to look at Amati. It offers a good core sound and holds up pretty well to being banged around. If you are looking for a high end professional quality bass, the only options in my mind are the Buffet 1193 or the Selmer 67.
Best -
Scott Kurtzweil
Kurtzweil Musical LLC
www.kurtzweilmusical.com
269-340-9013
scott@kurtzweilmusical.com
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-01-27 22:11
I would say Scott has hit it right on the nose. Yamaha makes a professional-priced bass clarinet also, but it is the design of which Ridenour's instruments are a cheaper copy, and unfortunately the Yamaha design is mechanically and acoustically inferior to the Buffet and Selmer instruments. Leblanc makes only one pro model worth considering (the 430 with its double-register-vent design), and few folks other than Larry Bocaner play them, as far as I know.
I tried Graham Golden's demo Amati low-C bass about 7 years ago (I think!), which may not have been the very latest model, and although it seemed pretty decent, and not a bad value for the price, it wasn't in the same league as the Selmer 37/67 or Buffet 1193-2. Worth a look, though.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2007-01-29 15:20
I tried to learn bass clarinet a while back and discovered that it's really hard to find a good quality instrument. That seems to be what I'm reading from this board. My good friend (who owned the music store) told me they were mechanically a "mess." This came from his 40 plus years supplying schools and individuals with bass clarinets from student quality to professional. I bought a new Vito and ended up taking it back because I couldn't keep it in adjustment. He recommended the Buffet or the Leblanc pro models because they were the best on the market mechanically. Extremely expensive, but the best.
He had a couple of used Selmers that he said were pretty good, but both needed overhauls. I decided not to pursue the bass clarinet and stick with the Bb.
But, you all have my best wishes for finding and playing a great one.
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