 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Don Gross
Date: 2008-08-03 15:30
Whenever our alto clarinet/basset horn player has to miss a rehearsal of the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir, a crucial "inner voice" is missing and it really affects the entire group. So...I found a superb early 60s vintage Noblet alto on eBay and, with (1) minimal tweaking by the repair folks at RDG Woodwinds in Los Angeles and (2) getting a custom alto mpc from Roger Garrett at Illinois Wesleyan, we now have a backup. However, I really do NOT like playing either bass or alto with a neckstrap. While I've improvised a "floor stand" using black ABS drain pipe components, it just ain't the same as a floor peg.
I've tried unsuccessfully to find a floor peg assembly to be soldered onto the smaller alto clarinet bell that's made expressly for the alto clarinet and not a cut-down bass clarinet assembly. Calls to Leblanc via Eli at Pro Winds and to Rodney at Buffet have not been returned by the factories. The locals folks in Los Angeles haven't been able to find an alto floor peg assembly either.
If anyone knows of such a beast, or can point me in the the right direction, I would be most appreciative. Playing a concert with your alto clarinet sitting on top of a black ABS drain pipe is not the most stimulating visually.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-08-03 16:20
Hi Don - I play my Selmer alto with a double hook neck strap, and have wished often to have a peg like my bass cl has. For an older bass cl I "jury-rigged" a peg using 1/4 or 5/16" steel rod from a Lowes' store and found a "clamp" tube, had it silver-soldered onto the back of the bell. Using a rubber"foot" on the peg end, and 2 elastic [rubber?] thick washers [or other] to hold the rod in place, had moderate success with it. I f you look around at a Lowes or Home Depot or other well-equipped hardware store, you may find workable pieces to "make your own peg. A "do it yourself" ingenious repairer should be able to help. AM thots, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-08-03 16:58
As long as you can sit where the audience can't see your floor peg substute and get the giggles if they recognize it, try this:
Buy a toilet plunger, the kind with a rubber cup on a wooden stick. (Some hardware stores carry these in black: less obvious than red rubber.)
Cut a piece of 2x4 or other strong wood to a length that will let you rest the alto clarinet on one end in a comfortable playing position while the other end of the wood touches the leg of the chair you normally sit on.
Leave the wooden stick on the plunger, but cut the stick short, to just the right height so that, when you set the stick-end of the plunger on top of the piece of 2x4, the cup, with the concave side facing upwards, holds the bell of the alto clarinet at the right height for playing. Using 4 metal L-brackets of 2 different sizes (so that screws will not collide in the middle of the plunger stick), screw the plunger stick firmly onto the piece of 2x4 with the plunger cup facing up. Paint all the wood and metal black.
Now measure a strong band of elastic (this can also be had in black, at fabric stores) so that it will fit around your chair leg with room to attach the ends of the elastic to the sides of the 2x4. Attach one end of the elastic permanently to the 2x4. On the other side of the 2x4, screw in a screw with a large head, but leave the head of the screw sticking out enough so that you can fasten the loose end of the elastic to it with either a loop or a buttonhole that you sew or otherwise create in the loose end. When you play, loop the elastic around the chair leg. (You can also fasten both ends of the elastic permanently to the board, a quicker way to create the stand, but the ability to fasten and unfasten will prove more handy, in case you ever need to sit on those folding metal school chairs that have the front and back sets of legs made as one unit each of bent metal, instead of as separate legs.) Bracing the stick against the chair leg this way improves stability and reduces the chance of the clarinet and/or stand sliding across the floor. For more stability (drag), you can glue rough fabric to the bottom of the piece of 2x4. For even more stability, use a strap that won't stretch instead of the elastic--but that option has the disadvantage that you can't make small changes in your position as easily while playing.
You now have a portable alto clarinet support that will not mar the bell.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2008-08-03 17:10)
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Author: Don Gross
Date: 2008-08-03 20:13
Attachment: Alto Clarinet Stand 004.jpg (114k)
Lelia,
I've attached a photo of the stand I built based on essentially the same design principles you suggested. The top "joint" of the stand is simply a 2" ABS coupling. For the "body" I cut various lengths of 2" ABS drain pipe (depending on chair height) which fit into a 2" x 4" ABS reducer which is glued into a piece of 1" x 6" pine after cutting out a 4" diameter hole with a jigsaw. With black ABS pipe and fittings, only the base needed to be painted black. All the joints can be separated and adjusted "slightly."
The bell rests in the 2" ABS coupling and is free to rotate in all directions. Being soft plastic, it does not mar the bell in the slightest. The only "improvement" I would suggest is perhaps a larger base for stability.
While it "works," I still would like to get a real floor peg designed specifically for an alto clarinet. I also have tried a Neotec strap but I'm just to used to floor pegs on my bass, contra alto, and contrabass clarinets.
Thanks again for your suggestions!
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-08-03 21:49
that looks like an accident waiting to happen....
i'm an alto player, but probably nowhere near the l.a. clarinet choir's capabilities. when's your next concert coming? i'll try to attend that
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Don Gross
Date: 2008-08-03 23:09
The next concert by the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir will be Saturday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m. at La Crescenta Presbyterian Church in La Crescenta, California. We'll be performing the same concert on Saturday, September 22, at 2:00 p.m. at the Santa Monica, California public library. In the meantime, you can view/listen to us on YouTube (search on Los Angeles Clarinet Choir) or follow the LACC links on our director Margaret Thornhill's Website, www.margaretthornhill.com.
P.s. We're also in need of one more Bb soprano clarinet player. If you or anyone else you know might be interested in auditioning, please e-mail Margaret Thornhill at: clarinetstudio@ca.rr.com to set up a time.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-08-04 04:22
>> I've tried unsuccessfully to find a floor peg assembly to be
>> soldered onto the smaller alto clarinet bell that's made expressly
>> for the alto clarinet and not a cut-down bass clarinet assembly.
But does a bass clarinet assembly work? It isn't completely clear from your post, but it sounds like this could possoblt work but you are against the idea for some other reason?
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-08-04 12:09
Wow, Don, your stand looks a *lot* nicer than mine! Still, I have to agree with C2thew that it
>>looks like an accident waiting to happen....>>
The advantage to using the toilet plunger cup and attaching the stand to the chair leg is stability that still allows for some freedom of movement.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-08-04 12:13
Lelia Loban wrote:
> The advantage to using the toilet plunger cup and attaching the
> stand to the chair leg is stability that still allows for some
> freedom of movement.
No pun intended, of course ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) ...GBK
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Author: Don Gross
Date: 2008-08-04 14:21
With regard to modifying a bass clarinet peg assembly, the curved portion of the assembly that holds the rod and is soldered to the bell would have to be re-shaped to match the reduced curvature of the alto clarinet bell. Also, the "solderable" length of the alto bell is only 11/16" versus almost 1" on most bass clarinets. Hence the "body" (with the tightening screw) would hang over by 5/16" unless it was somehow "shortened" but it could be made to work. I'm just saddened by the total lack of response from the major instrument makers of alto clarinets and basset horns -- Leblanc and Buffet -- that indeed come standard with such floor pegs.
With regard to it being an accident waiting to happen, I have used the stand for upwards of 10 rehearsals and played two full (one-hour) concerts and have had no tipping problems at all. After the first few rehearsals, I also stopped using my Neotec "insurance" neckstrap.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-03-31 01:00
only my bundy has the 2 hooks for use with a double hook strap. my malerne and noblet do not and both get heavy on my once broken right thumb. i am on a quest to get a floor peg somehow for my alto but no one makes one that i know of.
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2022-03-31 16:12
Jared De Leon installs them for $100.
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-01 03:10
thank you mojo do you have contact info for him?
Post Edited (2022-04-01 03:20)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-04-01 03:24
A Bundy bass one can easily be adapted and soldered onto the bell socket on an alto clarinet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Hurstfarm
Date: 2022-04-01 10:55
Agreed. I had a Bundy bass clamp soldered onto my Selmer alto and it’s fine.
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2022-04-01 15:42
If I remember correctly, I have also seen peg mounts that were screwed to the body of the clarinet, rather than soldered to the bell. Always seemed like a bad idea to me, though.
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2022-04-01 16:51
Jared is on FB and often on this forum. He should chime in soon.
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: Chris_C ★2017
Date: 2022-04-02 00:16
I play a Bunday alto with the two rings, and a Selmer neck strap with the two hooks to go through those rings. That arrangement spaces the instrument away from the body and is a MUCH better configuration than when I have seen people trying to use a sax strap with one hook.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-02 00:25
i agree the bundys strap arrangement is better than most but its still a bundy you are playing. my noblet is a far better instrument than my bundy and i want to play it more but its weight bothers my once broken thumb after a while. i am getting a peg no matter what soon.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-04-02 00:42
Just get a Bundy floorpeg fitted and that'll be it sorted.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2022-04-02 01:54
Attachment: 90B4813C-B529-46B4-BBB2-F5CFD00610A7.jpeg (837k)
Jared here,
Yes you could get the Bundy floor peg for $80 and try to DIY it, but it is by no means an easy solder job as you have to make sure the solder fills the entire back of the mounting plate while simultaneously trying to make sure it doesn’t run out the sides. You can bend the tabs it but you can’t bend the large block so there will be a gap that solder loves to flow out of if you are not careful. You also have to make sure you don’t get the solder joints on the bell brace and the bow too hot. Above is an example of my work. If Dan feels he can get a solder joint that clean then by all means I encourage him to do it himself. otherwise I have done dozens of alto clarinet floor pegs and I’m happy to do one more.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-02 02:43
i can silversolder but not an expert by any means. i will have jared do it
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-04-02 04:11
You don't need to silver solder anything. That will only do more harm than good what with the excessively high temperatures involved. Anything soldered to metal sections of woodwind instruments (sockets, pillars, braces, thumbrests, sling rings, 8ve/speaker vents, etc.) are usually soft soldered so they can be removed easily should they need to be. Only companies like Selmer like to spot weld or silver solder things to their sax bodies which makes repair work on them a pain.
Getting a Selmer Paris or Selmer USA/Bundy bass clarinet floorpeg fitting baseplate to fit onto an alto socket requires narrowing the radius of it by bringing the sides in and then some filing or grinding out of the centre to make it a nice close fit against an alto socket, then it can be soft soldered on.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-08 01:42
well i decided to take a chance on a noblet alto with the peg attachment allready on it. for 230$ i got a working ex school horn wooden noblet with peg and it plays! needs new joint corks and has 2 very minor cracks . pads are in execelent shape. all told a good deal
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-17 03:54
got the noblet with rare stock peg back from recorking today. what a difference playing on a peg vs strap. no more sore right thumb! now have to come up with a stand for it while on its peg. may have to buy another kand m bass stand
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Author: Djudy
Date: 2022-04-17 17:06
I bought a Hercules sax stand and put a velcro loop around the foot where the bell end rests, to block the peg, and an elastic strap at the upper end to prevent slips. I usually slide the peg up a bit if its going to be on the stand any amount of time so the bell sits in the rest cup but if its just to put it down to free up my hands for a moment I leave the peg long and hook it in the strap, the bell wont reach the bell rest but the elastic at the top and the loop on the peg stabilize the instrument at an angle so it wont slip. Either way works great !
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-19 06:44
whatever stand i use i need to keep the peg extended . i switch back and forth often between the bass and alto and no time to fiddle with the peg
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-20 17:47
first rehearsal using the noblet with FACTORY peg went amazing. i am hooked ! i can play more aggressively and not worry about jumps and squawks as much. this noblet is much older than my other one and plays far better despite its ex school horn status and battered appearance. 230$ well spent. selmer c* and legere american cut reeds with bg tradition lig
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The Clarinet Pages
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