Brightest Cane Bass Clarinet Reeds

[themacintrasher]

I just started using Bass Clarinet reeds for alto. I dig the tone, because I want it to sound like tenor :). What are the brightest cane Bass Clarinet reeds?

[Spongebob Saxpants]

I just started using Bass Clarinet reeds for alto. I dig the tone, because I want it to sound like tenor :). What are the brightest cane Bass Clarinet reeds?

I don't know about bass clarinet reeds, but I love an alto sound that is similar to tenor at times. For me, I just use alto reeds and think about the sound I want to get. That might be a little easier over all. Good luck in your search, though.

[themacintrasher]

I don't know about bass clarinet reeds, but I love an alto sound that is similar to tenor at times. For me, I just use alto reeds and think about the sound I want to get. That might be a little easier over all. Good luck in your search, though.
I thought you hated tenor ;)

[Spongebob Saxpants]

I thought you hated tenor ;)

Oh, I like tenor, but I usually prefer alto (and soprano and bari... :TGNCHK:)

[Roger Aldridge]

A large, round chamber mouthpiece will give you a darker and thicker sound with a stronger tonal core on alto -- especially if you also use thick cut classical-style alto reeds -- than what you'll be able to get with just using bass clarinet reeds. If you want to try such a mouthpiece I highly recommend that you contact JunkDude.com and talk with Dave about trying a Morgan 6C. Junk Dude now has a return policy. So, if the mouthpiece doesn't give you what you want it can be returned.

As to your question, most bass clarinetists want a dark sound. So, finding a bright sounding bass clarinet reed may be tricky. I'd suggest that you check Alexander reeds to see if they make a bass clarinet reed in the Superial (yellow box) version. If they do, I'd think it would be a bass clarinet reed on the brighter side.

PS, Please remember that different cuts of reeds will only take you so far in changing one's tonal color. It's the mouthpiece that gives one the greatest changes in color and sound.

Roger

[MM]

A Fibracell bass clarinet reed is fairly bright.

I would think though the fit would be poor. Bass clarinet reeds are about the same size as tenor sax, and alto clarinet reeds are about the same size as alto sax.

If you want a bright reed, try a Fibracell or Bari (brand) alto sax reed.

[dirty]

When I play alto, I borrow a friend's horn, a Cannonball with a large chamber Meyer 5M and sound very tenor-like, a result of the horn and the mouthpiece, it seems. My sax teacher was pretty amused when I played a Guardala alto with a 5M medium chamber mouthpiece because I was so bright and focused (too much of each) on that setup. That would probably do it for you better than a bass clarinet reed. I've never had much success with bari reeds on tenor or tenor reeds on alto. They always make my sound very spread, but in a way that's thin in the middle. I like a pretty focused tone on all instruments I play, though, so anything that contributes to a "spread" sound is my nemesis.

[themacintrasher]

A Fibracell bass clarinet reed is fairly bright.

I would think though the fit would be poor. Bass clarinet reeds are about the same size as tenor sax, and alto clarinet reeds are about the same size as alto sax.

If you want a bright reed, try a Fibracell or Bari (brand) alto sax reed.

I cut the some off of the end first.