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Re: basset clarinets

Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-12-13 20:38
Attachment: P1010016 (1).JPG (684k)

I've got a Leblanc basset clarinet in at the moment for a service which started life as a full Boehm A clarinet, then had the basset conversion added and the keywork silver plated more recently.

What was once the LH Ab/Eb lever is now the LH low D lever. It has the low C#/Db and C keys for the thumb and a vent hole for low C instead of the usual practice of having low C issue directly from the bell as Buffet, Leblanc and Selmer basset clarinets had.

Normally basset clarinets are relatively basic instruments with the low C extension, but this one has the extras found on full Boehms plus an additional Db-Eb/Ab-Bb trill linkage where the C#/G# key holds down the LH2 ring key so the trill can be done by trilling LH2 only whilst fingering C#/Db or G#/Ab.

The only interval it can't do smoothly is a low Eb-Ab slur as the LH Ab/Eb lever is now the LH low D lever. Although Leblanc basset clarinets as they were from the factory never had the LH Ab/Eb lever anyway.

The owner finds it an awkward instrument to play comfortably because of its weight, so I've suggested she tries out some floor peg attachments to take the weight off her right arm. There are some that velcro onto the lower joint or bell which would be much better than a fitting that's screwed into the wood as they'll eventually work themselves loose, unless fitted to a metal band that clamps around the lower joint or the bell socket.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Post Edited (2022-12-13 20:44)

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2022-12-12 23:48