Are there some people in this wonderful group who can tell me if alto- 
and bass clarinet need to have their own facing curve, more like usual 
clarinet facing with a flatter spot in the middel of the lay, or do 
they play well with facing curves similar to alto- and tenor sax?

    Helge

A few years a go I did a few open bass tipped clar MPs for big band bari/BC
doublers.  Radial curves work fine for open tips where you are favoring
volume in the lower register.  But they do not play as stable in the middle
and upper registers.  To "get it all" in a more balanced classical style, I
find you can not go over .080" in tip, and a flat spot in the facing curve
is helpfull to have.  More conservative tip openings are even better so
that you can use 3.5+ reed strengths.  The harder reeds make it easier to
play the entire bass clar range.  That is why the classical guys use them.

--- railwayreed <helgsolv@...> wrote:

> 
> Are there some people in this wonderful group who can tell me if alto- 
> and bass clarinet need to have their own facing curve, more like usual 
> clarinet facing with a flatter spot in the middel of the lay, or do 
> they play well with facing curves similar to alto- and tenor sax?
> 
>     Helge
> 
> 




 
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Hello,

I don't do any saxophone work, so my ability to compare to tenor, etc. 
is nil.

However, in the bass clarinet work that I've done, for the orchestral 
players whose mouthpieces I've measured, the .080", which is about 2 mm 
(which is the measurement system I use), is very open.  I've only 
measured one bass clarinetist's mouthpiece that was that open.  The 
majority of the ones I've measured measure in the 1.65-1.80 range.  The 
ones I make are 1.65, based on my getting two Everett Mattson refaced 
BC mouthpieces and averaging his numbers.  

As for alto clarinet, I've only made one mouthpiece, but it is quite 
good, if I may say so myself.  My repairman has my instrument and 
mouthpiece.  When he returns them, I'll measure the mouthpiece and let 
you know what I did.  

 
   Thanks a lot Keith for your answer. I am very grateful that you are 
sharing a bit of all your knwledge with me. You see I got bass clarinet 
for repair, and the mouthpiece was complete impossible to play on, with 
very uneven side rails. I'll give it a try and see how it ends. Thanks 
a lot again.
 
     Helge

 
  Thanks a lot "redw1ne", I look forward to get the measurements for 
your alto clarinet. Do you have for bass clarinet as well?
     
       Helge