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Contrabass-list Wed, 29 Oct 1997 Volume 1 : Number 20
In this issue:
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 12:38:20 -0800
From:
dnmagic@juno.com (David A Neubauer)
Subject: re:
Electronic Music
>From: bj914@scn.org (John Micheal Bush)
>Subject: electronic music>This may be a little offensive to purists, but I was reading up on some great jazz fusion players, and became aware that many (Miles Davis in particular) experimented with adding electronic components to jazz. I have heard of wind controllers before, but am curious about other ways to play with the sound. Would it work if you hooked bass pickups or something to the horn? And is there any way to play with a bari's sound, without making a mess of it?
- John Bush>
John:
I'm playing what is (I think) the only 'electrified' contra-bassoon. No, folks, not for my symphonic work, but for a Big Band I play with. It's a 30 piece big band and they could not hear me. THEY CAN NOW. I play the Bass Trombone part in case you are wondering.
By using a pick-up (a microphone would not work on the contra) and various odd designs, due to the complexities of the instrument, I now get a BIG sound with very little key rattle. Though I came up with the concept, it was built for me by a company called "Porta-Amp", it was inexpensive, and it works like a charm (so much so that they have made a nice solo piece for me "My Love For You").
If you are interested in the technical aspects of this, please contact Howard at portaamp@juno.com (he is getting a copy of this post so as not to be caught off guard)
David
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 12:50:35 -0800
From: Grant
Green <gdgreen@crl.com>
To: portaamp@juno.com
Cc:
contrabass-list@contrabass.com
Subject: Amplified
contrabassoon
>By using a pick-up (a microphone would not work on the contra) and
>various odd designs, due to the complexities of the instrument, I now get
>a BIG sound with very little key rattle. Though I came up with the
>concept, it was built for me by a company called "Porta-Amp", it was
>inexpensive, and it works like a charm (so much so that they have made a
>nice solo piece for me "My Love For You").>If you are interested in the technical aspects of this, please contact
>Howard at portaamp@juno.com (he is getting a copy of this post so as not
>to be caught off guard)>David
I'm also quite interested in the amplified contra setup. How does it work? How difficult is it to install? Please feel free to reply to the list (contrabass-list@contrabass.com), as I'm sure a number of the subscribers will be interested (and you'll get us all at once).
Thanks,
Grant Green
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 16:03:28 EST
From:
"peters" <nlpeters@PROJECTLEADER.COM>
Subject: reeds
My band director got on the case of a friend of mine. He was using a tenor sax reed on his BBb Contra Bass. The ligature is too big, so he puts the butt end of another reed between the reed and the ligature. It seems the ligature is too big to hold a single reed on the mouthpiece, whether its a bari sax, tenor, or contra bass reed. What type of reeds should be used on a metal BBb Contra Bass Clarinet? His particular model is curved, looks more like a bari sax than a clarinet, and has 2 octave keys. The brand name is Linton and was made in Elkhart, IN.
And on the subject of reeds, I play a Selmer/Bundy EEb Contra-Alto Clarinet. What reeds should I be using? I've always used bari sax reeds. Are there reed manufacturers who make reeds especially for low instruments?
-Nick
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:02:28 -0800
From: Grant
Green <gdgreen@crl.com>
Subject: Re: reeds
At Wed, 29 Oct 1997 16:03:28 EST, "peters" said:
> My band director got on the case of a friend of mine. He was using a
>tenor sax reed on his BBb Contra Bass. The ligature is too big, so he
>puts the butt end of another reed between the reed and the ligature. It
>seems the ligature is too big to hold a single reed on the mouthpiece,
>whether its a bari sax, tenor, or contra bass reed. What type of reeds
>should be used on a metal BBb Contra Bass Clarinet? His particular model
>is curved, looks more like a bari sax than a clarinet, and has 2 octave
>keys. The brand name is Linton and was made in Elkhart, IN.
I think there's another subscriber with a Linton contra. Maybe he'll chime in...
If I remember correctly (I ought to have a macro for that phrase...), the Linton was made with an extra-wide bore, and required an unusually wide mpc and reed. If you have a mpc that fits, can you tell us the brand/make/model? Handy info to have at hand.
The sole function of the ligature is to hold the reed onto the mpc in a playable position. However, how the ligature does so can affect the sound of the whole horn. Some ligatures hold the reed in such a way that they damp some of the vibration (and soften or deaden the tone), while others hold the reed only at a few points, and allow maximum vibration. Certainly, inserting another reed butt in between the ligature and the "working" reed will probably affect the ligature's function. If it works well, and you like the resulting timbre, I'd probably be happy with that. Otherwise, I'd suggest getting a ligature to fit. If the Linton mpc is very wide, you're probably best off ordering a lig from Rovner: they seem to make them in any size. I'd send them the mpc diameter when ordering, just to make sure :-) I use a Rovner lig with my BBb contra.
>And on the subject of reeds, I play a Selmer/Bundy EEb Contra-Alto
>Clarinet. What reeds should I be using? I've always used bari sax reeds.
>Are there reed manufacturers who make reeds especially for low
>instruments?
The short answer is "use whatever gives you a clear, loud tone." If bari reeds work, and fit the mpc, there's nothing wrong with them. You can get contra reeds: Vandoren, Marca and Rico all make contra clarinet reeds. As contras (and contra mpcs) are available in a few different bore sizes (and facings), not all the reeds will work well with all the mpcs. Best thing to do is to experiment with a few. I use Vandoren #3s on my metal Bb Leblanc, using the stock Leblanc contra mpc. Maybe I'll order a few bass sax reeds, just to try...
Grant
End of contrabass-list V1 #20