 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-08-17 12:00
Over the years I think I've tried virtually every maker of alto and basset horn mouthpiece and have a drawer with at least 20 of them in it. That's a lot of trials! I kept that many because on occasion I would use one of them for a special effect or to cover some problem (like some notes up in the register). Some of them were kept because they were the best I had at the time. These include VanDoren, Hite, Pillinger, LeBlanc, Selmer, Grabner, Fobes, and several others. I was looking for one that would really make these horns sing. For a long time I had used the Hite alto mouthpieces and 3 of the 20 in my "keepers" pile are their mouthpieces with one of these one I have thought the best until the last few days.
For some reason I had not tried the Lomax mouthpiece even though I do own one of their Eefer mouthpieces. Mike sent me two, a #3 and #4 the other day and they blew me away. The sound is VERY big on the #3 and a little less so on the #4 but the #4 sounds great on the LeBlanc basset horn and #3 sounds great on the alto. These especially make the lower notes strong while allowing the high notes not to sound wheezy or thin. That seems to be the hardest combo on a single alto mouthpiece. The Lomax gave very good sound up to written C7 on the Buffet Prestige alto.
With these new mouthpieces I also "re-auditioned" the best of my Hite and other mouthpieces, changing reeds (VanDoren Java sax, VanDoren alto, Gonzalez sax and Rico Royal) and ligatures (Rovner inverted and VanDoren Optimum). While the Hite mouthpieces sounded better with the VanDoren Java reeds, the Lomax sounded better with the Gonzalez or Rico Royal reeds. On most the VanDoren Optimum ligature was better, allowing a little more crisp attack than the Rovner. The Rovner may be a bit better on basset horn than the alto.
Although I know this is not a scientific study and involves only one player with two instruments, I feel those of you who are looking for more oomph to your sound on basset or alto should give the Lomax a try.
Eefer guy
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2012-04-15 06:12
I have been using a Hite. Just got a Grabner and prefer it. I use a velcro ligature and at the moment have liked VanDorn alto sax reeds in preference to the various alto reeds that I have accumulated. All are old and maybe that is the problem.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-04-16 07:29
This doesn't apply to your basset horn, but for my Selmer basset horn with a small bore, I like the Selmer C85 with a large opening.
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2012-04-19 01:35
Other choices for basset mouthpieces are Morrie Backun and Richard Hawkins. I have a Lelandais that I like quite a lot too.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2012-04-19 02:39
Wes,
I just bought a Selmer basset horn and am not happy with any of the Bb mouthpieces I've used with it. The Europa 3 of Clark Fobes plays the best but the sound is still very stuffy compared to the sound I was getting on the Lomax with my LeBlanc. I still use the Lomax on my Buffet Prestige alto and it really SINGS on those horns.
What reed/ ligature set up do you use besides the C85 mouthpiece?
Bill, are there specific models of the Backun and Hawkins that you have found work on your baset horn?
Thanks for your opinions!
Eefer guy
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Author: dclarinet
Date: 2012-04-19 17:38
I have an old Selmer small bore basset and I find that my Eaton 1010 mouthpiece (with a cylindrical bore) really works well. I tried it because the Boosey 1010's that I own have a large bore ( over 15mm) and using a cylindrical bore mouthpiece on a large bore horn seemed logical.Ebclarinet1 wrote:
> Wes,
>
> I just bought a Selmer basset horn and am not happy with any of
> the Bb mouthpieces I've used with it. The Europa 3 of Clark
> Fobes plays the best but the sound is still very stuffy
> compared to the sound I was getting on the Lomax with my
> LeBlanc. I still use the Lomax on my Buffet Prestige alto and
> it really SINGS on those horns.
>
> What reed/ ligature set up do you use besides the C85
> mouthpiece?
>
> Bill, are there specific models of the Backun and Hawkins that
> you have found work on your baset horn?
>
> Thanks for your opinions!
>
> Eefer guy
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2012-04-19 18:48
Hi eefer guy:
The Richard Hawkins is a S model. I think Morrie only makes one, from a Zinner handcrafted blank. I had a Selmer basset and disliked it. I sold it and got one of the new Buffets, a big improvement.
Bill
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-04-19 22:53
The mouthpieces for my Buffet Bb clarinets just were not responsive on my Series 9 Selmer Basset horn so I first used a very old rubber Selmer #3 mouthpiece that I opened up a little, as I have refaced many mouthpieces. Then I tried the C85 Selmer 115 mouthpiece and it is pretty good with a Vandoren V12 #3, probably sanded a little.
Most of my other Bb clarinet mouthpieces did not really work well and were thin sounding on this basset horn but the C85 sounds good to me. My instrument takes a long time to warm up to play at A440 so I made a shorter neck from hardware store copper pipe fittings if I should ever have to play with it cold. Now, if I could only find a gig! Good luck!
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