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The awkward combination

Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2012-11-24 11:37

After my ABRSM grade 5 exam, I decided to upgrade and improve the tone of my clarinet. All this time ever since the early days in 2009 I have been using everyhting of student quality, a Yamaha 250, along with a mouthpiece(4C), barrel and ligature made by the same company. In April, I switched to a Bay Avant- Garde lig. In October,I had to choose between a Buffet Moennig barrel and a Cannonball Countess, and I chose the Buffet partly because of the lower price. And today I bought a Rico Reserve X5 mouthpiece. Originally I wanted a Vandoren B40, but it wouldn't be availible for some time. But then I saw some Rico Reserves for sale. I tried out all of them and the Rico Reserve X5 got the sound I had been finding. Although the tone is not really that near a complete professional grenadilla Buffet would sound, it still has improved a lot and I'm really happy with it.
Similar upgrades are made to my bass too. I decided to go for the sound of the German bore bass. Stephen Fox makes adaptors for German mouthpieces to fit on a Buffet, Yamaha, etc. I got a German mouthpiece from Ed Pillinger in September,but its ratio of chamber to length is strikingly different, as well as a more conical shape. In fact, the reeds(not included) it would have used are about 2mm narrower than alto sax reeds, while the bore is about the size of a tenor sax mouthpiece and the length is the same as the French bass mouthpiece. So I had to buy alto sax reeds and narrow them into the desired width, and it seemed that it can give a few normal squeals itself. My Stephen Fox German French adaptor should anytime soon. Ligatures are still under selection. And when my bass, a Yamaha 221-II(Yep, Dad never expected me go that far into music) comes back from repairing, I'll put the entire gear together and see what's the result.
Have you fellas ever made such bizzare combos? Feel free to share!

Josh

Post Edited (2012-11-24 16:35)

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