 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2015-02-06 06:27
My belief that the only thing that affects woodwind technical performance is the exact shape of the bore has been shaken by a new bass clarinet neck from Switzerland. I have compared the response of the Blashaus neck on a recent low-C Buffet bass clarinet vs. the stock Buffet neck and the difference in response and power was not subtle but huge. Using calipers and micrometers, I could not detect any difference in the inside diameters of the thick walled Blashaus neck- it was identical in every measurement that I could make. If you accept the notion that the Buffet neck is made of sturdy enough material so that it does not measurably expand with the small amount of air pressure a human can put into it, then the thicker material of the Blashaus neck should not matter. But, something IS definitely going on here to make such a difference in the tremendous increase in volume output. I had a very experienced bass clarinet player obtain the same results. I'm baffled. Can anyone offer a valid technical explanation?
Jerry
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Author: Jeroen
Date: 2015-02-06 12:26
Valid technical explanation? Not that easy.
From empirical experience I would say that material does matter (a lot).
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2015-02-06 13:31
unlike the thick body of a bass clarinet, its neck is far from being inert. You will notice vibrations that normally aren't easy to feel on the body. So, yes, the sheer weight differences of an otherwise identical neck may have an influence.
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Ben
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-02-06 17:37
I've never seen the Blashaus neck, but reading these posts so far for me begs a question: aren't you still talking about measurements (thickness of walls) rather than material (are they both metal? same metal?)?
Karl
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2015-02-06 18:37
Dang! Now I'm have to think about trying (& buying $$$!) an aftermarket bass clarinet neck. Here we go again.
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2015-02-06 19:38
kdk- the neck material appears to be brass with either a brushed silver or brushed gold finish. I tried the gold finish. Clearly just by the considerable weight of the neck, the wall thickness and bracing is thicker than the standard Buffet so it must be stiffer. But again, the Buffet neck doesn't seem to be weak in any way, either.
See www.blashaus.ch for the company; however, the site does not mention the neck.
Jerry
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2015-02-07 00:40
The usual stuff- medium wall thickness brass with a nickel plate.
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2015-02-08 02:51
I've listened. Very nice playing but the difference in tone ?
Nothing to write home to mother about.
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2015-02-09 18:17
Thinking about this a bit, and feeling my neck & mpc while I play, I notice the mpc end vibrating (not much but some) more than the top joint end. I'm considering surrounding the mpc end with a weight (>=Blashaus) and see what happens. If it helps, it would be cheaper than a new neck.
Any thoughts or anyone try this already?
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