 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ashley91489
Date: 2006-10-18 23:16
I'm looking for one that has a nice deep but also vibrant tone with *very* good projection. I'm currently using the cheapie that came with the clarinet.
Any recs?
Thanks!
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-10-18 23:48
Hi Ashley - We've had many discussions of bass cl mps, as well as for the sop Bbs, and some info from our archived Search may apply to your desires. Many of us have had "basic" mps refaced by some of our experts to be superb, the "refacer's" names will appear in their posts. I have had good Pomarico glass mps refaced, becomming excellent, and surprisingly some Bundy 3's [also refaced] are nearly as good [for me]. So, what have you now, inst and mp, so we can help a bit. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2006-10-18 23:54
If you use Vandoren reeds about size 3.5 I would reccomend Walter Grabner. He makes terrific bass mouthpieces and just great mouthpieces for the whole clarinet family. Best thing about his mouthpieces is that they have great power but you can also play really soft without loosing focus in your tone. They also seem to be more reed friendly than any other mouthpieces I have tried. And the best thing is that they aren't that expensive.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-10-19 16:19
Selmer BC mouthpieces have good design and good materials, but 99% of them have uneven facings and need work on the baffle. Unless you have someone to do this, stay away from Selmer.
In addition to Walter Grabner, you should try Clark Fobes's student BC mouthpiece, which plays better than many professional ones. He doesn't sell direct, but almost all mail-order sources carry them.
Roger Garrett http://sun.iwu.edu/~rgarrett/RogerGarrett/Clarinet%20Mouthpieces.html also has a good reputation, and his prices are low.
Bass clarinets spring leaks if you just look at them. Even a small leak (particularly in the double register mechanism) can take all the energy out of the tone. Even if you're using a school instrument, it's worthwhile to take it to someone who can make sure everything's covering tight.
Any leak around the reed will also kill the resonance. Most bass clarinet reeds warp on the bottom, down the center. Start with reeds harder than you like, put a piece of 400 grit wet-or-dry (black coating) sandpaper on a flat surface, put your fingers on the bark of the reed and sand down the bottom until it's shiny all over.
When you put the reed on the mouthpiece, set the reed tip slightly above the mouthpiece tip (the width of a pencil line). If you don't, the reed will leak at the tip when it bends along the lay. Make sure that the reed seals all the way across the tip, particularly at the corners.
Getting a deep, vibrant tone with good projection on bass clarinet depends primarily on good support of the airstream -- MUCH more than on soprano. You have to sit tall and forward in the chair and breath down to your hips, expanding your sides and back as well as your abdomen. You'll get hyperventilated the first few times you do this, and it can be exhausting until you build up the muscles.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-10-19 16:40
From reading posts from Ken Shaw before, it seems he has really a lot more experience than I, but here is some things that I found.
"Selmer BC mouthpieces have good design and good materials, but 99% of them have uneven facings and need work on the baffle. Unless you have someone to do this, stay away from Selmer."
My backup mouthpiece is a regular Selmer and it just as "good" as my main mouthpiece (Fobes). By good I mean, work perfectly and doesn't cause any problems at all. The sound is different obviously but it isn't a problem (I like it that it is not identical). So the Selmer doesn't need refacing at all, I like it very much just the way it is.
"When you put the reed on the mouthpiece, set the reed tip slightly above the mouthpiece tip (the width of a pencil line). If you don't, the reed will leak at the tip when it bends along the lay. Make sure that the reed seals all the way across the tip, particularly at the corners."
I usually put the tip of the reed exactly (as exact as possible) with the end of the mouthpiece, or slightly above like Ken suggests. But, when I don't, I don't notice any problem. It has the usual effect of making the reed slightly softer but that is it. I never noticed the reed leaking like this or anything like that at all.
Other than that, I really recommend Fobes mouthpieces which are excellent.
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2006-10-19 16:58
IMO, Clark Fobes makes the best Bass Clarinet mthpcs in the business - they're certainly worth a try. He's a performing professional Bass Clarinetist at the highest freelance level in SF (and that's saying a ton) so he certainly has real life experience as to what goes into making AND playing Bass Clarinet mouthpieces.
Gregory Smith
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-10-19 17:51
Ashley - You have received $1 M M of good advice from the above 3 posts, they say what I've found to be "my way" of good B C playing, the only diff., is I prefer my refaced GG [Pomarico glass] MPs with soft reeds. That works for my Alto cl also. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: clarinetmc
Date: 2006-10-19 18:57
I've played on a Clark Fobes for a while...but then I tried Richard Hawkins' bass clarinet mouthpiece and fell in love...it is truly amazing.
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2006-10-21 09:17
I play on a Clark Fobes San Francisco Model, RR Facing and I love it. It's helping me get as much as I can out of my plastic bundy, and I can't wait to try it on the Selmer Model 33 that we have here at school (UC Santa Cruz), since that's the same model that Clark uses.
If you don't want to spend as much money, look into his "Basso NOVA" mouthpiece. I would bet that anything he puts out with his name on it is a high quality, consistant, and beautiful-sounding product. Definitely worth looking into.
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Author: bufclar
Date: 2006-10-21 15:32
I also suggest Clark Fobes Bass Mouthpiece. I play on one of his bass mouthpieces and it is fantastic. Clark is the first call Bass player in the San Francisco Opera/Ballet Orchestra as well as bass clarinet in the California Symphony(which is the top regional orchestra in the Bay Area) and like Greg Smith said, he really knows what is needed in a bass mouthpiece and has a lot of experience he brings to making them. I've played with Clark a couple of times as a freelancer and he is an outstanding player and person. I would give him a call.
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2006-10-21 23:44
I'm curious, how well do Legere reeds work on a Fobes San Francisco bass mouthpiece?
One reason I was originally drawn to the Grabner LB model is that Legere reeds work especially well on it....as they do on the Grabner K14 that has become my primary mouthpiece on Bb soprano clarinet.
I've been extremely happy with the LB on bass. I've found some interesting differences between Walter's pieces. He described the first LB I received as "dark and mysterious". That it is! Stunningly beautiful clear dark sound. Then, the second one is not quite as dark and its response is like a very expensive high performance sports car. It's truly an exceptional mouthpiece. I'm equally impressed with both pieces.
Thanks, Roger
Post Edited (2006-10-21 23:52)
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