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Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 12:09:12 -0500
From: John Howell <John.Howell@vt.edu>
Subject: KB Sarusaphone
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com>From: "farfl's house" <farfl@idirect.ca>
>I've tried both a single reed mouthpiece and a double-reed mouthpiece with
>the Klezmer ensemble I play in. The double-reed sounded more "authentic"
>(sarrusophone-wise, not Klezmer-wise!) but the single-reed mouthpiece
>seemed to have more "bite" to the "attack" and gave more definition to the
>sound when played with the rest of the ensemble.
>Still Experimenting,
>Steven LedermanLet's not forget that the instrument was designed for a double reed, not a
single. It was, in fact, an attempt (and a failure) to apply the
principles of the Boehm key and acoustical system to the bassoon. Likewise
I happen to have a single reed mouthpiece for oboe, and even found some
tiny reeds for it. Sounds just like a soprano sax! But I wanted it to
sound like an oboe!!!John
John & Susie Howell (mailto:John.Howell@vt.edu)
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 10:06:33 PST
From: "Grant Green" <gdgreen@contrabass.com>
Subject: Re: KB Sarrusophone
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com>Let's not forget that the instrument was designed for a double reed, not a
>single. It was, in fact, an attempt (and a failure) to apply the
>principles of the Boehm key and acoustical system to the bassoon. LikewiseWhile there have been Boehm bassoons and oboes attempted over the years, I think the sarrusophone was more a deliberate copy of the saxophone, with the double reed intended as a feature to make the instrument more marketable. Because these new horns (saxophone and sarrusophone) were intended to replace the oboes and bassoons in miltary bands, they thought that a double reed would be a closer substitution. The keywork on the sarrusophone was similar enough to the saxophone of the time that A. Sax sued the sarrusophone makers for patent infringement. The bore of the sarrusophone is much wider than the bassoon, and the horns were made in Eb and Bb like the saxes, rather than in C like the oboe and bassoon.
Apparently, single reed mpcs for sarrusophone were available very shortly after the instrument's introduction.
As to being a failure, well, its true they didn't last. However, in their heyday, they were more popular than saxophones, and considered superior to the contrabassoon. As I recall, the harpsichord was extinct for a number of years before being revived....
>I happen to have a single reed mouthpiece for oboe, and even found some
>tiny reeds for it. Sounds just like a soprano sax! But I wanted it to
>sound like an oboe!!!
>
>JohnAh, but now you can double all those soprano sax parts without learning new fingerings ;-) Seriously, though, I think it just goes to show how much difference the reed makes.
Grant
--
-----------------------------------------
Grant Green gdgreen@contrabass.com
http://www.contrabass.com
-----------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------------From: "Drake Mabry" <dcmabry@club-internet.fr>
Subject: Re: oboe single reed mouthpieces
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 21:49:11 +0100
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comDoes anyone out there make bamboo clarinets? I've been making them for
about six years now and have sopranino to contrabass models. I'm working on
a new low instrument which will allow me to descend past the low A of the
piano. For now my contrabass goes down to the low D flat.
My instruments are more like the chalumeau family as I don't want to add
keys. I don't add "factory made" mouthpieces either and instead use the end
portion of the piece of bamboo to fashion the mouthpiece. I've also made
soprano and tenor sax mouthpieces out of bamboo, the sound is much more
mellow but the upper register less attainable. I use saxophone reeds for my
instruments.
I play in an improvisation duo Résonance Duo and in a group I formed
called the Big Bad Bamboo Band.
So any other makers out there?Drake
Now a message to John Howell,
Happy to see you mentioned that you have a single reed oboe mouthpiece.
I use an old Chedeville single reed mouthpiece and a new one that Marc
Ecochard (maker of Baroque oboes) and I designed. I convinced Pascal
Neuranter, a cane dealer near Paris, to make me some oboe single reeds to
replace my original ones from the 50's. I use my single reed oboe in an
improvisation duo (Résonance Duo) and found that it can produce three types
of sounds. With a double lip embouchure it sounds somewhat like a Turkish
Zurla, a soft double reed instrument. The tone is very smooth and dark. With
a saxophone embouchure the Chedeville model sounds like a soprano saxophone
and with the Ecochard model it sounds more like an oboe. Finally, with a
double teeth embouchure the notes break up into multiphonics. I don't play
like this for very long because the vibrations start to give me a headache
(and I don't like that). One advantage of these mouthpieces is the ability
to lip up or down a major third to about a perfect fourth in the mid-range G
to C. I have two metal mouthpieces with very closed facing which produce a
sound much closer to the oboe.
Don Redman takes a single reed oboe solo on one of the Fletcher
Henderson recordings of Shanghai Shuffle.
If you would like to contact the above named makers of mouthpieces and
reed let me know.Drake
---------------------------------------------------------
From: CoolStu67@aol.com
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 16:00:13 EST
Subject: Re: oboe single reed mouthpieces
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comThis is the stuff I like to talk about! Could you give us a list of
instructions for this? I have a bamboo field in my neighbor's yard, and would
love to experiement. Like, how long is your contrabass and what does it look
like and how have you shaped them? Please tell all!Stuart
-Sax (Soprano/Alto)
-Clarinet (Eb/Bb/Bass/Contralto)>Does anyone out there make bamboo clarinets? I've been making them for
>about six years now and have sopranino to contrabass models. I'm working on
>a new low instrument which will allow me to descend past the low A of the
>piano. For now my contrabass goes down to the low D flat.
> My instruments are more like the chalumeau family as I don't want to add
>keys. I don't add "factory made" mouthpieces either and instead use the end
>portion of the piece of bamboo to fashion the mouthpiece. I've also made
>soprano and tenor sax mouthpieces out of bamboo, the sound is much more
>mellow but the upper register less attainable. I use saxophone reeds for my
>instruments.
> I play in an improvisation duo R=E9sonance Duo and in a group I formed
>called the Big Bad Bamboo Band.
> So any other makers out there?
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