Having a $12,000 bass clarinet is, well, amazing. But $12 grand is also a downpayment on a house. So I was curious what a $4,000 bass clarinet would sound/feel like. Watch and see.
Thank you Earspasm Music for posting. What a thrill to find this video! My junior high school had bought a bass clarinet and an alto clarinet in 1944, and the instructor gave me, Bflat clarinet player of 4 years, first choice of the two, and I chose the bass clarinet. I played it for 2 years in both band and orchestra. My "famous" solo was the Donkey Serenade in the Grand Canyon Suite. What nice memories, I'm 87 now and could never find the breath to blow. (:
The student level Yamaha bass clarinets are probably the best ones for the money. I speak from some experience with repairing and playing this type of clarinet on occasion in small groups.
1 "the irony of it, it's harder to play a student instrument than a professional instrument." With respect to the instrument, it's harder to be a student than a professional. It's only natural that a student should use a lesser instrument than his master, and in overcoming and even embracing the shortcomings of the student's (first) instrument uniquely inform his approach, technique, and style. It also helps one to appreciate things of higher quality once one has experienced lesser goods.
Wow, if you had been around 45 years ago, I might have spent more (any) time practicing my bass clarinet. Kids today have direct access to so many talented and entertaining mentors. Thanks.
Totally having RU-vid now as a learner my self has made such a difference. Had it been the same in my teens/twenties I would not have taken such a large gap in my playing/learning.
All very good points; well done. As a repairer, I try to explain these very things to people...some take it in, others don't. You have a knack for describing things...
I've also noticed that the cases for student horns, while heavy, can be constructed really poorly on the inside, causing the keys to bend because of awkward positioning or lack of support. Would love to see a video on good cases for schools/young students to invest in to insure proper support.
Reed and Squeak soft cases are full of absorbent areas made in UK and strengthened with ply wood . I tested one with a clarinet inside and threw it in the air about 8 feet up and allowed it to crash down - the clarinet survived perfectly and played without damage after. www.reedandsqueak.com
I just want to say I really enjoy your videos as a bass clarinetist I love watching your videos for support I currently only play one owned by my high school and I'm looking forward to getting my own hopefully
Something else to consider when adjusting an instrument is low profile pads. I've had to have professional Alto Clarinets fitted with very special thin/low profile pads for the right hand plateaus to get a more even sound. When you have an instrument that may need frequent adjustments to remain playable, it is typically not practical to spend that much time and money in the repair shop when yo bought it to be played. Great video as always! Thanks
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO! I was gifted an older Bb clarinet and it's obvious to me now that it needs to be adjusted in MANY WAYS! LOL! Since it was a gift I am not upset with this idea. It likely need re-padding and re-corked and I KNOW it needs a new mouthpiece. That said, it has a lived a life to date of love and I want to continue that love. But this poor thing needs a lot of work done. Adjustments and springs and pads galore.
I use school bass clarinets and the brand that my school uses is Jupiter We recently got new bass clarinets and they came with neck straps and I use one every day
Oh! What I would have liked, and kept thinking during the video, was that I wanted to hear the altissimo range on the instrument. The high C wasn't terrible, though it sounded like you were blowing pretty hard (as you mentioned). Did you test the altissimo range off camera by chance? What did you think of it?
Hi Earspasm, What an interesting video full of great educational tips. Thank you so much!!! I would like to share your videos with my young daughter. She plays the bass clarinet in concert band and alto sax in jazz (played clarinet since 5th grade). She really likes the bass clarinet the best but teacher doesn't need one in jazz. That is pretty rare to see a jazz playing bass clarinetist....hmm. I am glad my daughter is keeping up the concert music because of the diversity she'll experience. She's in 7th grade. Thanks again Earspasm, and have a great day every day.
I play oboe and flute and know almost nothing about clarinets much less bass clarinets but I find your videos very fascinating and informative. Keep it up :)
I have been playing on a $2300 Kessler Low C for a couple of years that looks similar. Mine does not have the alignment plates but when Kessler set it up (they do that in the US) they scribed some alignment marks. I have not found that any of the keys bend out of alignment over time. I think this was a problem with earlier generations. I did find the RH F#/B fork adjustment screw did not hold adjustment until I put a drop of Loctite on it. A few felts compressed after a few months that did not have screw adjustments. But I think that is normal for any instrument. The low C# is very flat but this is a seldom used note. I think this may be due to using a Low Eb bell design on a low C bass clarinet. The low C and D are in tune for me. I would expect other BCs made at the same factory to have similar issues.
I hated it when my 8th grade band director put me on the bass clarinet until I could afford to buy an Alto Sax mouthpiece. But that all black bass clarinet is looking pretty good. Wouldn’t mind blowing on that one.
Hi Michael, just a few comments if you don't mind. A harder or stronger alloy is not necessarily better. It's the combination of a specific alloy (specific strength and stiffness) and exact shape of the keys that are both important. Some instruments have keys that are too hard which isn't good (some Chinese instruments too). So it's not exactly the alloy, but the overall design/shape/materials/accuracy that can affect the price very significantly. It's not clear but it looks like maybe you adjusted the screw over the low Eb key (when low D didn't come out). If it's a copy of most pro bass clarinets then the low D also has some other adjustment screw over other keys (E and F usually) and it is best to adjust all of them (because of flex in this entire area even on pro models, especially Yamaha).
I had an Allora student sax in middle school, and my A sounded kinda stuffy, I now bought my own sax, and everything sounds WAY more clear. I think the only reason some students are dropping band is that they can't play a note correctly because the instrument doesn't have a decent key level and doesn't produce a good sound. Or they drop band because they don't know what reed strength is and they end up buying a reed that's too hard for them, luckily for me I actually googled it and moved down half a size because my low notes weren't coming out.
I have a student model Yamaha (soprano, I don't play bass on a regular basis) that I've been using for almost four years now for both concert and marching. Even during concert season when it never sees the outdoors, the keys bend so much. I always have to smash my pinkies down to play clarion B because those two pads on the bottom of the instrument are never in line with each other for more than a couple weeks after repair (in fact I think it used to be a month, and a few months before that). I'm also airy on all Yamahas. I don't know how that works, either. Now that I'm in college I'm looking for a good professional horn to use for the next several years, and when I find one I can finally leave my Yamaha for the field.
Agree mostly, but time to break the instrument in to get used to you is also needed, ex. How hard you press keys, pads covering tone holes after adjustment, and whatever material its made of being use to your vibration
Your review was really awesome. I hope you do more of these. Could you also do more in-depth reed reviews? Or maybe a video on whether a student should invest in a Low C bass or Eb bass?
Yea I have! And I really liked it! I was wondering whether you could do more of that! hahaha I really like your reviews, I get so happy when you post a review video
I am not hearing the low fundamental sine wave that gives the Bass Clarinet its characteristic bottom of the woodwind section sound. However when you switched to your own instrument the fundamental sound was there!
I have an Accent BC742C Bass Clarinet, around $2000, low C, seems very similar to your $4000 one. Has a few stuffy notes, but overall for $2000 it can't be beat. The Berkeley just seems like the same instrument to me for twice the price.
Angel Sanchez I purchased my vintage Moennig Bros low C (with extended bell) bass for $1200. You can purchase a brand new, albeit subpar quality, Chinese Low C for around $1100-$1300. My point is that one shouldn’t complain that the school doesn’t have what they want, because they’re already lucky enough to be able to use school instruments in the first place.
Hi _ I will contact Reed and Squeak but they would only send a sample if you agreed to return it - which - you being in USA is quite an expense. They may agree to let you keep it but I doubt it. I will certainly contact them as I am offering my Bass clarinet customers an upgrade to this case for very little money ..about £175 for my customers about $230 - I have no idea what soft gig bag type cases cost in US but they most likely are made in China - these R&S are made in UK totally and even the economy version I have here - the prototype is really good - well padded and protective. Many UK players have moved to R&S cases - I use them for my Bb A and C clarinets. Best wishes Les
You talked about low quality keys constantly going out of adjustment. How does that compare with Buffet bass clarinets which are infamous for going out of adjustment frequently? Is there a correlation or is it because of something else?
Good question. Every instrument goes out of adjustment - it's a fact of life (and a factor of how we treat them as players!). It's just that cheaper instruments go out of adjustment MUCH more frequently. It's maddening.
I have a $4100 eb selmer bass clarinet and it's very nice. It feels really good to play and everything was great when j played it first. It resonates beautifully and feels so free when I do play it. The peg is ugly tho. Only thing I don't like about it.
I just switched to this setup myself, going from Walter Grabner mouthpiece with V12. I like the clarity and the projection of sound, though it might lack a bit volume. A review would be interesting
2 questions (if you have time) 1: I've seen several of the hard rubber/plastic basses that look identical. Would you say that they are all essentially the same quality just with different names stamped on them? (accent, ridenour, Kessler and sons, etc) 2: Could you do a review of the Yamaha low C bass? I see that you prefer selmer (and I'd like to own one some day too) but at this point I don't see how I could afford a 12-13K instrument when Yamaha makes one for around 8. I agree with you when you said you get what you pay for, but I know Yamaha usually does good work for a modest price. I just don't know anyone who plays on them (besides John Yeh) and I haven't had a chance to try one. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for doing what you do.
1: Yes, most plastic horns suffer from similar problems. 2: I could try, but Yamaha horns are really not my favorite. There are better 8k horns out there (Uebel is one I think is very good and it's about 8k. I'm hoping to do a review of it soon.)
I hate to say this but. I like your black saxophone. But in all seriousness this review was helpful. I am currently trying to find a bass clarinet and the search is tough.
I have the exact same. Same case and all, just not with Berkeley written on it, but I'm really sure it's the same. I bought it from China on ebay for 1200$, it was the cheapest one on ebay. Not as great as a Buffet, for sure, but works really well. I think Berkeley is just buying off from China, putting their brand on it and multiplying the price by 3.
Thanks Earspasm Music, am a good Tenor sax and alto player and i heard the bass clarinet being played at a concert yesterday and am loving it. What can you advise in picking it up. In terms of fingering,playing,prices and products in your rich option.
Hey Mike, Since you seem to be revisiting some topics you've already done videos for (student horns and circular breathing), do you think you could do a bass clarinet mouthpiece video? I believe the last one you did was back when you had a different mouthpiece and the mouthpiece market has changed since you made that video (just checked now, the original video was made 7 years ago), so a new video on mouthpieces would probably be very helpful for bass clarinetists who want your advice on mouthpiece selection. Thanks!
whats your opinion with the Bb contrabasses? my university has an Eb contra but im trying to see if we could get a Leblanc Bb since we have about 7 bass clarinet players between both concert bands and if one needs to be repaired we wouldn't have one for them to use while theirs is getting fixed.
Out of all the more inexpensive Bass Clarinets you've possibly played, which was your favorite? I've been looking for a replacement as the one I'm playing is in the worst condition possible.
For the most part the low notes are in pretty good tune in the high notes are in June pretty well but the notes in the middle register are a little out of tune
Man...4 grand for a Chinese student instrument. I'm very happy I play electric bass and guitar sometimes, spending $4000 on a guitar doesn't get you much more than a $750-1000 guitar.
Would you maybe play the bass clarinet solo "Deepwood"? I am gonna play with it for my qualifing exam for the army band and I would really appreciate another interpretation on it. Thanks anyways.
I am very confused, I'm 15 and have been playing the bass clarinet for 4 years. however, every bass I play does not come apart into two pieces in the middle of the body. it also seems much shorter then many iv seen. My bass clarinet also seems to have less keys. I'm quite confused. any help? I'd much appreciate it
I remember in 8th grade (I a freshman now) that my band director had 3 bass clarinets and I played ALL of them for different reasons XD. I say that because the first one I played was a brand new one and i brought it home a couple of days later I noticed that there was a crack in the middle of it (it was a full piece) and it was wiggling. So, the then I played the second one (the last two are older ones). I tried it out and played it, but when I played the low notes like Eb, E, and F it wouldn’t play, so i checked the high notes it played good. Then, my band director had me played the last one XD. I did, but this time it played all the low notes and high notes, but my Ab and Bb would sound exactly the same XD XD and sense then my band director would joke around saying that i could try to play both. 😂
Bob Bly I play Bari and Tenor Sax and Bass Clarinet. Definitely get a Bass Clarinet. The Yamaha YCL-211 is only $2,100 and it's an amazing instrument. It has nearly 4 octaves in its range and doesn't weigh anything. A lot of music is written for it and it sounds amazing. Bass Saxes are very very heavy and hard to transport. The least expensive Bass Sax I've seen costs a minimum of $10,000. They sound really bad in terms of the reediness of the sound. Barely any music is written for these guys, thus making them a bit useless. If you're gonna play/buy one of these, definitely do Bass Clarinet.
I know your channel is about bass clarinet but I play contra alto clarinet and I can't find a expert like you for contra alto, can you make a video about contra alto
I want to play the bass clarinet. In the past I've not had great luck with learning to play instruments because I am an auditory learner. What should I tell my teacher? I want to be considerate, but communicate with the teacher that I need to hear the song first before attempting to play it. Most teachers when I ask this they look offended. Maybe you have a better approach...
Ah, found it. If anyone is interested, he discusses the black chrome plating and the foam pads at the end of the video in which he plays the "Black" duet by Marc Mellitus.
If you had a student between the ages of 13 and 17, when would you find yourself recommending to them this bass? It seems like an intermediate low-C step up horn, but I can't help but feel the inclination to tell a student to just save up for that $10000 wooden bass clarinet. This also seems out of the question for aged students that will probably have a Buffet Prestige available at their school or will definitely be investing in a pro-level horn.
If that hypothetical student had no access to a better horn (the one at school was complete junk), and if that student simply couldn't afford a pro horn, and if that student couldn't locate a good used horn, then I might recommend this. Maybe.
I think RS Berkeley has their instruments made at KHS in Taiwan. I know this because I owned a KHS made, $1100 LA Sax Copper Signature Curved Soprano Saxophone, very briefly, and in researching it found the EXACT same instrument on the RS Berkeley website with their stencil on it, for more than double the price. I am 100% positive it is the same instrument. RS Berkeley is a modern type of instrument company that doesn't actually make anything, slapping a fancy brand and fancy marketing campaign on the same old Asian stuff everyone else is peddling, and it seems to be working for them. Most people are idiots. Though to be fair, KHS makes pretty decent instruments. My Jupiter JAS-767 gets a lot more playing time than my Mark VI, and it's a cheap-as-chips copy, but it plays well and stays in adjustment so I prefer it for an everyday gigging horn. Do they just give you these instruments? Or do you have to send them back after reviewing them?
I am in middle school and I think my register key is broken and I'm a bass clarinet it won't open all the way do you have eny tipes I can only play up to high f# and I know my whole cromatice scale and I believe I have the potential to be the best so I don't want a broken register key to stop that
