 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: DevanS06
Date: 2021-11-27 05:08
Hello. This is my first post, and I am making it because I need help with my new bass clarinet. I just recently (few days ago) purchased a brand new bass clarinet (Giardinelli GBC-300 I believe) and the instrument tunes insufferably sharp. Without any adjustments, the mid C note tunes about 55 cents sharp, and reads on my tuner as a Db. When I pull out the neck all the way (to where its just sitting on top of the instrument and not actually secured in), it gets to about 30 cents. If I pull out the mouthpiece a scary amount with it, the mid C tunes to about 5 cents, which is manageable with embouchure changes. This trend follows with most of the other pitches. I am wondering if this may be because I am using the stock mouthpiece and reed (while I wait for my yamaha 4C mouthpiece and Vandoren blue-box 3.0 reeds) or if it is just the instrument itself. Thanks!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: m1964
Date: 2021-11-27 07:23
Strange behavior- if anything, it should be relatively in tune with the stock MP.
If the new MP does not change tuning I'd ask for an exchange.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hurstfarm
Date: 2021-11-27 16:07
I’m not familiar with the Giardinelli bass, but I’ve come across people having a similar issue with Buffet basses where they don’t realise the neck itself is extendable. It’s not necessarily immediately obvious from looking at it. Does yours have an extendable neck?
Normally it should be possible to tune by adjusting the length of the neck without having to pull out at the sockets.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2021-11-27 17:20
I believe these are Chinese copies of the Bundy. You can pull the neck out a bit from the upper joint but 55 cents is insane.
It looks like these cost $1700 new. I would strongly recommend returning it and getting a used wood bass. For that price you can get a Leblanc or a Noblet which are well respected intermediate/semi pro level basses. Save up even more and you can get a Kessler with a low C.
-Jdbassplayer
Post Edited (2021-11-27 18:02)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-11-27 17:53
try a different mpc first as suggested. i recently bought a batch of bass clarinet mpcs from a company that went under and half of them tunned way sharp . upon visiual inspection of the sharp ones-i discovered they were shorter than the ones that tunned correct. there may be a different tunning standard for the shorter ones at play here. perhaps your supplied mpc is for this differtent tunning pitch also. a440 vs a442. the shorter ones are like you said insanely sharp on my leblanc 400 and i cant pull out the neck enough to get to a440. i bet when your yamaha mpc arrives -it may solve this issue for you
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2021-11-27 22:05
I'm not sure which C you are referring two. Whichever it is, the tuning is extreme and the instrument is probably defective and should be returned.
That being said, the "middle" C (upper register) is usually sharp, so it is not a good note to tune the instrument with. If the C and the F (register below) are both sharp they can be tuned down. The notes at the bottom of the instrument are the least affected by the neck and the mouthpiece. Some players need to pull out between the upper and lower joints.
In summary, some notes might be able to be improved, but it sounds like this instrument needs to be returned.
If you're in my area I'm happy to help.
Steve Ocone
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2021-11-28 00:23
Devan, I wonder about your tuner showing your C as a Db. If the tuner shows concert pitch, your C should read as a Bb on the tuner. A +55 Db would thus mean more than a minor third sharp, right? On the other hand, if your tuner is set to "Bb-pitch" (and thus your C should read as a C), a 55 cents sharp Db reading would mean that your C is about one and a half semitone sharp (and equal to a 45 cents flat D). Both sounds very strange.
Does your tuner give accurate readings on other instruments?
Post Edited (2021-11-28 00:27)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DevanS06
Date: 2021-11-28 01:25
The tuner reads perfectly well and normal whenever I play my saxophones or my Bb clarinet, so I don't think that the tuner itself is an issue. I have it set so that it reads in the key of Bb.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DevanS06
Date: 2021-11-28 01:53
Also I have another question: Is the Yamaha YCL-221 a good alternative to this one? It's a little bit more expensive, but I've heard good things about it. Or, if I'm already reaching that price range, would I be better off with the Kessler low C bass clarinet?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2021-11-28 02:07
I have the same problem you are describing on the Yamaha, it’s just too sharp for clarinet players. If you can get the Kessler it’s really a great value, the low range means you can use it even into your professional career if you choose to go that path. Otherwise the Bundy does not have the same sharpness problem and I greatly prefer it to the Yamaha.
-Jdbassplayer
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-11-28 04:14
yes the yamaha tunes way sharp also. there is a thread about it here somewhere. there are ways to get the pitch down some but not a whole lot. muncy winds sells tunning rings for the middle joint and i experimented with one of the sharp mpc from my batch. i made tunning rings for the neck where the mpcs goes into the neck. this enabled the mpc to be pulled out a ways and this got the pitch down to a440. but seeing how this is a brand new horn -you shouldnt have to go tru all this and would be best served returning it. wait and see what the yamaha mpc does . it took both sets of tunning rings to solve my tunning issue . mid joint and mpc/neck
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2021-11-28 09:58
It's not that likely but still possible the problem is the mouthpiece. Stock mouthpieces on Chinese instruments vary a lot and often they are terrible. I would first check with the Yamaha mouthpiece when you have it to verify.
If it's still bad, I would probably return it. It's a not a little sharp, which is normal (even in countries where 440 is "normal" instruments should be possible to play at 442, so having a 442 instrument is preferable generally). Yours is more than a quarter tone sharp. In Hertz, it's like tuning to A=454.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2021-11-30 23:39
It's unlike the mouthpiece. If you're pulling out as much as you say the throat tones should be extremely flat. I don't know the instrument but try pulling out the middle joint as much as possible and even the bell and see if that helps, if not, it's problem with the bass. I'm not sure which register you're actually talking about, The break notes, the C below the staff?
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
