Contrabass Digest

2001-04-01

Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2001 00:03:25 -0800
From: bitwise
Subject: Re: [CB] Contra-alto altissimo

Alberto -

Understood on 'Eb5' being the fifth Eb on the contra-alto.
That's an octave above where I presently stop. Not bad.

I suppose the mouthpiece would have to be fairly closed to allow
a #4 reed. Does anyone know if a mouthpiece can be refaced to
be more closed? I could just get another mouthpiece, but I prefer
to have something personally tailored. Besides, I like to
experiment, and I like knowing as much as possible about what
makes things like this tick.

You say a contrabass reed needs a softer surface to vibrate against.
Interesting - and intuitive - concept. I've had one opportunity
to see a Rovner up close, and that was on a soprano. I presume
the material is some sort of rubberized fabric.

With regard to conventional ligature construction, is there any
consensus on whether the clamp should be on the reed or
opposite it? The metal ligature I presently use was obviously
intended to have the clamp on the reed. I find, however, that it
works better for me with the clamp on the 'top' of the mouthpiece.
I also find that it works better to have the ligature as far 'back'
(close to the tenon) as it will go. Of course, I may simply be
compensating for quirks of the GMB3 mouthpiece...

Craig
 

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