 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-09-24 18:53
Just picking up bass clarinet over the past month and a half. Coming from years of Bb playing. I am having trouble playing the notes below C4. I can start at C and play every note down to low Eb if I slur. But...starting out cold or tounging a note in this range, I end up with something that sounds like an octave and a little bit higher. What gives?
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-09-24 21:53
Sounds like something is leaking or one of the register key is not closing all the way. Check out my website for hints on playing the bass clarinet. ESP
http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-09-25 00:28
This is a rental, and it plays very sharp. Since Ed told me to look for a leak, I noticed that when I pull out at the neck to tune, even just slightly, I lose the low notes. Neck has to be pushed all the way in, apparently to stay sealed.
It's not a corked neck, so I thought maybe to test this theory, I could wrap the bottom with a thin layer of tape and then stick it into the body of the instrument. Maybe that would eliminate the leaking?
There is no name brand on this horn at all, but it is in a Selmer Bundy case which seems to fit it well. I always thought that the logo was engraved on Bundys, but there are no markings at all.
I am awaiting the arrival of a used Evette-Shaffer, described as being in playable condition, with very minor imperfections in the bell. An oldie, but hopefully a goodie (or at least an oldie worthy of being tweaked by my tech).
Not sure if it will be better than this rental, but I can't wait to send the rental back. Already have a piece of cardboard taped under the register key so that it doesn't travel so far and open up both register pads every time. No wonder middle schoolers struggle so much.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-09-25 00:52
Well - just have to report this in defense of the Bundies. I've come across some other "intermediate" (at least) basses, but my good old Artley (Bundy clone) still is the best, despite the missing 2nd register key and all that. (some Bundies are engraved while some others have a decal-type logo on it that gets washed away over time)
Sore spot #1 with those monsters (ie basses in general) is that they appear to go out of regulation quite easily, especially the two-part-body types, because there's inevitably stress on the keywork upon assembling and disassembling. Even if it is clumsier to carry around, I consider a one-part-body to be less vulnerable to keywork misalignment, especially for rental instruments. So there...
In your case, I'd suspect a leak near the throat - could be the register key assembly, could be the A/Ab throat keys that are out of whack, maybe even one of the trills (rather rare IME).
Re rentals - I agree, it's a shame what comes out of certain establishments these days. A properly set up instrument is the best advertisement one can make for the own shop, as an end-of-rental customer is likely to pick something else, possibly to buy. But if you end up with a useless clunker in your hands, would you seriously consider calling on again, this time with your shopping bag?
--
Ben
Post Edited (2009-09-25 00:54)
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-09-25 01:25
Just to say, I'm not trashing Bundy instruments...it's just that this rental may be a Bundy as its case indicates, and a Bundy out of adjustment at that. I think my bottom-line problem is that it is a rental that has probably been in the hands of kids who are just learning to care for their instrument. Because it's a rental, it is less likely to be cared for with the same level of concern that one would have for their own horn.
There are some screws that have obviously been replaced, as the heads are too large to sit flush with the keywork, so there are several dangerously sharp and scratchy places. I have some white pads, some of the brownish-orange ones, and a corked one or two. As I mentioned before, the register key has a small piece of cardboard from a cereal box attached with scotch tape, and I'm about to try the tape on the neck experiment. This is just some sort of Frankenstein bass clarinet. Placed in the hands of a kid with no experience or knowledge that the horn isn't performing as it should, I can certainly see why frustration level causes many kids to lose interest in their instruments. They think they aren't good musicians, when in fact it is the equipment's fault.
The Evette Shaeffer that is being shipped to me, I believe, is hard rubber and is one piece, so that's fine with me. I'm just anxious to give it a whirl and compare it to this rental, which seems problematic at best.
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-09-25 23:01
Okay, so here's the funny thing. I lined the top of the clarinet where the neck goes in with clear packing tape. Now I can pull the neck out to tune, it stays snug and there are no leaks affecting the low notes. Will probably last two or three assemblies, but maybe by then my "new" old instrument will have arrived.
I am sure that others here have repaired their instruments in creative ways. That would be a funny thread.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2009-09-26 11:32
>>Placed in the hands of a kid with no experience or knowledge that the horn isn't performing as it should, I can certainly see why frustration level causes many kids to lose interest in their instruments. They think they aren't good musicians, when in fact it is the equipment's fault.>>
So right. The first alto clarinet I played, in junior high school, came on loan from another school because my new school's large instruments hadn't arrived yet. That poor old neglected honker! The band teacher knew how to adjust it, and did improve it enough to make it playable, sort of, but there were limits to what he could do with such a wreck. I hated alto clarinet until I had a chance to play one that was in good condition.
A theory about that rental: It sounds like a marriage. Someone took two damaged instruments, scrapped the ruined parts and made up a clarinet from the usable parts. That would account for the lack of any manufacturer's logo, because the usable bits happened to be sections without logos. That could mean they're from different brands of instruments, or at least from different decades, because typically the manufacturer keeps on stamping the logos in the same places over the years. Take a close look at the keywork and the tenon bands and see if the contours and the other details all match. I bet they don't.
If the bass is a marriage, most likely it needs a divorce. It'll never play in tune because the various manufacturers adjust their intonation compromises differently (ratio of length of neck to length of sections is slightly different, with corresponding slight differences in hole placement, etc.). With clarinets, opposites do not attract!
Good luck getting a whole bass soon. Look at it this way: You'll appreciate the good one all the more by comparison with the junker.
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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