Yea! I finally found another person who plays the Contra-Alto!

has anyone here ever played the double-contra-bass or double-contra-alto clarinets? Double contra bass can play notes even lower than the tuba!

They were made by Leblanc as prototypes (three sub-contraltos and one sub-contrebass, or the contrary) ; some photos on :
www.contrabass.com

and here (my friend Jay Easton`s site) is a page about the clarinets, including a Leblanc poster with Ab, Eb, D, C, Bb, A, alto (Eb), basset horn(F), basses (Bb, with or without the low-C extension), Eb contralto, Bb contrabass, Eb sub-contralto and Bb sub-contrabass :

http://lachesis.caltech.edu/jayeaston/galleries/clarinet_family/clarinet_family_gallery.htm

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-> to Melo D : notice that the cb sax lowest note is concert Db, the cb clar Bb and that many contrabassoons are a LOW A key - It means the contrabassoon is the lowest woodwind... well he was : the recent Bb tubax (aka subcontrabass saxophone) played by Jay Easton and some others can play the concert Ab............
And with my clari-bone (bass-trb with a basset horn mpc) I can play a Concert F (lower) :-) !!!

Hello !

Kate and Andy, that`s incorrect : there are around 20 / 25 CONTRABASS saxes in the world - because some of them were destructed during the WWII for metal...
Bass sax is a rather "common" horn, as the sopranino is. No idea about the number... Mm maybe (at least) 2000 ! I PERSONNALY know 11 people (in Europa and US) who own one... or two !

look at Jay Easton`s site for more infos !

Best wishes and low sound,
Olivier

ok lots of u are wrong about stuff lol. Contrabass saxs are rare and the numbers are growing tho. U can order one from LA sax www.lasax.com i think is the site. www.jayeaston.com is a good site for clarinets and saxs. I play the Bb contrabass clarinet. Its a Leblanc a straight one. It and the contrabass Sax go to the same note. Saxs have to be way bigger to go as low. (bari sax goes 6 notes lower than a alto clarinet) and look how smaller it is. THe contrbass sax wouldnt go as low as the clarinet but it has extra keys to go lower. BUT! contrabass clarinets can do that to with the ones that go to low c. There are so many different clarinets that noone can name them all. It u want email me at SSquarepants1990@adelphia.net i play in the south iredell band (go viking!!!) (iredell is a county)

Hi !

some precisions :

"Contrabass saxs are rare and the numbers are growing tho. U can order one from LA sax www.lasax.com"

->yes, they are distr by LA fro the US, but manufactured in Italty, by Orsi.
The "big" contra saxes are expensive (around $40 000) and enormous, so Benedikt Eppelsheim in Munich (Germany) worked on a "compressed" version with a smallest bore like bass sax - it is called the Tubax, it is very easier to play and cheaper (around $16 000) and three sizes are avaible : in Eb (exactly like the "normal" Cb sax), C, and Bb ("subcontrabass sax", see Jay Easton`s page).


"i think is the site. www.jayeaston.com is a good site for clarinets and saxs"

->yes, & Jay is a great guy !


. I play the Bb contrabass clarinet. Its a Leblanc a straight one.

->I play a Leblanc too, paperclip, to low D


It and the contrabass Sax go to the same note. THe contrbass sax wouldnt go as low as the clarinet but it has extra keys to go lower.

->no, the Cb sax goes to low Bb (like any sax except baritone), which is a concert Db ; so like your contra clarinet.


i play in the south iredell band (go viking!!!) (iredell is a county)

->Iredell ? what`s that ?

Sopranino and bass are rare, however they can`t be all that rare if my college owns one of both.

That since I last posted here my band has passed District contest with all ones and proceeded to State contest. There we became the first Concert Band in our school to get straight superiors and all A ratings from the judges! We were very excited. `Twas a great way for me to end my Senior year in high school

You may, I believe, rent contra clarinets from Weiner Music in New York. http://www.weinermusic.com Call them and I`m sure they can help you. There are also several on eBay right now.

I really want to play contra bass, but my band director won`t let me. He says I have to stick to regular Bb clarinet.

Does anyone here play the contra alto clarinet or the alto. I play it and they`re are awesome. But, I absolutely love the bass clarinet.

I have an alto clarinet, but it`s missing a key. I also don`t have the right kind of mouthpeice for it, but when I get enough money I`m going to get it fixed.

I play the alto clarinet Love it to pieces, but I find that you really have to be on top of keeping and finding good reeds and having a good mouthpiece and ligature

This combo of almost being anal about my quality has led to a much prettier sound than most people expect of an alto clarinet.

I think its like any instrument...take care of it and pick the best, practice, practice, practice and it`ll sound nice.

Alto`s tons o` fun Haven`t tried contra, but had a friend who loved it to pieces and was given one as a graduation present (her family had a bit of money ) which had to be kept in a climate controlled room to keep it in top notch condition.

In your opinion, how long should someone play the Bb soprano clarinet before tackling the contrabass or contralto?

The only low clarinets I played were the bass and alto, and that was only on occassion.

What is it like crossing the break for a contralto or contrabass clarinet?

i would suggest playing Bb clarinet for about a year or two before swithing. The low clarinets are awesome. So it would be cool to switch. Crossing the break from the a in the middle of the saff to b and c is not that hard, but from high c to high d is extremely hard for me. The contra alto clarinet i use is also almost 10 years old though. and that other contra is about 20 years.