Author: bassclar
Date: 2022-11-06 21:44
On 2011-06-24 LarryBocaner wrote: "Second register key, referred to by Dave Spieg is for optional use for better intonation and quality on the long B -- also useful for playing a very good Bb (3rd line) in the second register. Not a difficult addition for a talented tech to fashion for you."
Not trying to put words into Larry's mouth, but let me try to paraphrase this decade-old post, because I think there is some confusion.
Before modification, Larry's model 517 had a single automatic register key, opening two vents (one at a time) determined by linkage from the right hand. He added a 2nd register key, opening a 3rd vent, not linked to the original register key, which he uses for long B (but the original register key still works, for technical passages) and for long Bb. It shouldn't be too hard for a tech to add this 2nd key and 3rd vent, though as David Spiegelthal mentions, it's not trivial to determine exactly where the 3rd vent should optimally be located. [end paraphrase]
IMHO, Larry's horn would be considered a "pro" model even without the modification. But perhaps I'm biased, because I own a very similar horn.
I bought my own Leblanc bass clarinet brand new in 1984. It has range to low C, double automatic register key, and fork Ab/Eb. I'm not sure what model it is. The ssn list at https://tinyurl.com/ChesnutLeblancSSN says model 417 was discontinued in 1982. It's possible that my horn sat in the music store for 2+ years before I bought it. However my horn's ssn is 14822 which, according to the "400,415,417,425,430,325,330" ssn chart, is near the end of 1984's run. (I'm pretty sure I bought my horn in the _spring_ of 1984, though, which doesn't quite jibe.) I guess that means (?) that my horn is the model 430.
A few things about my horn (which might be Leblanc model 430):
* It originally had a very stuff throat Bb (using the standard "pinch" fingering). All through high school and college I would use an alternate fingering for this note, fingering throat A and adding the 3rd side key. (For fast passages I would obviously use the standard fingering.) I took it to a tech in the early 2000s who actually messed up the horn pretty bad (had to take it to a different tech to get it back up to snuff) but somehow this tech removed the stuffy throat Bb, even though that's not what I asked him to work on. Ever since then, the standard "pinch" fingering sounds no worse than A+3rd-side-key, though old habits die hard and sometimes I find myself using A+3rd-side-key anyway.
* Long Bb (finger low Eb and add the register key) sounds decent on my horn, even though I don't have Larry's custom 3rd register vent. I wouldn't necessarily call it "very good" as Larry calls his, but it's decent. I will use it sometimes when it's technically easier (coming from other notes in the lower clarion, say), or even for timbral reasons (such as slurring from whole note B to whole note Bb).
Before Dave Spiegelthal examined my horn, I believe he was unaware that any Leblanc basses had an automatic double register key. My horn was completely overhauled by Wesley Rice in 2016.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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