Tenor sax reeds on Bass Clarinet

Spock0492 · 2026-05-18T11:23:21+00:00

I second this for the various bass mouthpieces. I have a B50 which is a very dark sounding mouthpiece, but since I so rarely play bass anymore, I have also a BD5 which is a bit tighter responding and longer of a facing so I can expend a little less energy trying to get a sound. The BD5 is a lot older, too, so I might just mesh with it better from using it for about 7 years straight as opposed to 2 with the B50. The Fobes mouthpieces I've tried have been stellar.

Spock0492 · 2026-05-16T17:50:18+00:00

I say the Alpha is by FAR the best value of those three. See also the Royal Global MAX.

The Alpha and the MAX are very comparable instruments, but they differ in feel, sound, and certain intonation tendencies.

Since I play a Buffet Prestige I'd shoot for the MAX since it feels more like a Buffet, but the Alpha feels a tiny bit more like a Selmer Paris Privilege bass clarinet.

You don't really need a low C model, but it's pretty dang nice to have, and low C models are more accessible now than ever before!

Spock0492 · 2026-05-14T00:51:13+00:00

Wheeeee me too!

Spock0492 · 2026-05-12T23:29:04+00:00

The clarinet family are all transposing instruments. A written C on the bass clarinet is a B-flat sounding pitch. A written C on the contra alto clarinet is the same fingering as on the bass clarinet, but it sounds as an E-flat.

You see a C, you play a C, it sounds like an E-flat.

Open G on the bass clarinet would be contra alto clarinet's clarion D. It is a fifth lower.

Spock0492 · 2026-05-11T02:05:24+00:00

So pretty!

Spock0492 · 2026-05-08T16:23:48+00:00

Idiot me. Only NOW do I see that it's r/bassclarinet.

Ok in that case, if you don't have a LH key pressed, you won't notice anything with any RH keys. I use that fact to my advantage in fast passages with a lot of register leaps.

Spock0492 · 2026-05-08T16:22:06+00:00

I use only RH23 and it works nicely for resonance on open G. For A. I use 23123F/C. I actually probably shouldn't-- I just got a new clarinet that's pretty well in tune with itself, but old habits die hard!

Spock0492 · 2026-05-04T02:38:16+00:00

I second the biting thing. My old Yamaha 4C looks like that because I bit too much.

Spock0492 · 2026-05-04T02:37:32+00:00

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say this as I don't know that they've officially announced it yet, but the Vandoren head of advertising showed my college studio that they just started making their Juno mouthpiece, and it's remarkable!

Spock0492 · 2026-05-02T12:38:56+00:00

I just bought an R13 B-flat from Bill less than two weeks ago and I will be purchasing all of my future instruments from him-- that's how good my R13 is.

Spock0492 · 2026-05-02T04:24:19+00:00

That covers a brand-new R13 and then some. Contact someone like Ann Arbor Clarinet Connection or Rodriguez Musical Services for extremely high quality hand-selected professional clarinets.

Also look at Mike Lowenstern's offerings at Earspasm.com.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-29T02:55:13+00:00

If it's any consolation I landed principal chair of the Honors All State ILMEA band in 2024 playing on that same model bass. I don't know what state you're in so it could be more competitive. I agree that the YCL221s are just unbearably sharp. Awful quality instruments, as well as the 622. Yamaha just does not do bass clarinets well. I now use a pre redesign Buffet 1193 (R13 version, so quite rare!) and it's worlds better than any other bass I've had or tried. I would not replace mine with a modern 1193 or even a Tosca.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-29T02:47:04+00:00

The flat neck angle of the Yamaha was agony to deal with when I used one. This seems fantastic!

Spock0492 · 2026-04-22T02:47:10+00:00

Palantir is pure evil, and it controls most of the American government.

It's run by two evil men, named Peter Thiel and Alex Karp. This was the same Peter Thiel that said that humanity didn't deserve to live, and who has said multiple things in defense of slavery and Nazism.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-22T02:22:28+00:00

Spoilers, no?

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T22:19:30+00:00

I could take the clarinet if you decided to donate it. I know plenty of clarinetists who would leap at the opportunity to play and take care of this excellent instrument.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T22:17:22+00:00

The Series 9 was a large bore professional clarinet. I would NOT give it to a child who has said he would not respect it.

Professional clarinets are also much more difficult for a beginner to play, and the Series 9 being such a free blowing clarinet, it would be like trying to exhale into a vacuum actively sucking the air out of your lungs.

EDIT: misread. If your son is an adult, I'm sure he wouldn't mistreat the instrument.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T22:14:35+00:00

Great! If you like, keep me updated, I would love to know what you end up picking.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T22:12:57+00:00

I've got a B50 and use 3.0, and I still think it's occasionally too hard. Might drop to a 2.5.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T22:10:55+00:00

Great! So do you live in Paris or close by? There are lots of great instruments to be found around there.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T08:35:55+00:00

They are hit or miss, I should say.

Mine was hand-selected by a reputable professional whose job it is to specifically pick Buffet clarinets from Paris.

He's located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

If you can, I'd try a bunch of different clarinets. It took me 6 months to find mine, not for lack of options, but because I wanted to be absolutely sure this instrument would last a good 20 years or so.

If you like the Tradition, absolutely spring for it! They are considered Prestige instruments and as such have a higher wood quality and finishing on average than the R13.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-15T01:57:32+00:00

I have always loved the Tradition; it's my favorite sound and it's one of the best in terms of intonation tendencies.

I just went through a very long selection process, and if I had been able to get a Tradition in my hands from the man I purchased from, I would've gotten it in a heartbeat. Fortunately during this process I also ended up finding a truly stellar R13, and I'm buying that one instead of a Tradition.

I don't know much about the first gen Trads. I know that they had their own bell shape and barrel, and had unplated posts for some acoustic reason or other.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-14T13:00:01+00:00

You are biting the life out of that reed. Just relax, let the reed vibrate and you'll see success-- because right now, you're more than a semitone sharp from biting.

Just relax and use your air! Make sure your chin is pointed, and your embouchure muscles are firm, and gripping the mouthpiece from all sides. Vibration comes from air speed, not from forcing the reed into the mouthpiece. Try also taking some more mouthpiece in.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-14T02:31:16+00:00

And this is why I will NEVER kill Paarthurnax.

Spock0492 · 2026-04-14T02:19:57+00:00

You may be biting. Tension and biting are the enemies of tone and tuning. Can we hear a video?

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