Selmer/Bundy vs. Leblanc/Vito: a.k.a. "The Setup"

So, the other day I was getting my things ready for the beginning of the school year and I pulled out my plastic Bass  to make sure everything was still in order.  After, backing a couple pads everything was fine and I began to do a little warm-up just to check the horn out.  Then something occurred to me:

I play this instrument different than my others.  

In case this matters to anyone I play a:

1997 Leblanc 430

1959 Leblanc 400

& a very old Selmer/Bundy Plastic Bass

So, I've got the polar opposites in the Bass Clarinet world in my studio.  Selmer and Leblanc.  These two titans tangled for many a year dominating the Bass Clarinet landscape while Buffet killed them with the R13 Soprano.

Selmers are slightly finer to the touch.  Selmers are light in the hand.  The bore is slightly smaller than a Leblanc.  The cupped plateau keys provide a slightly lower key level and produce a slightly slower key action than a Leblanc.

Leblancs are hefty instruments.  You could throw a Leblanc off a building(in theory, do not try this at home.  I'm what you would call, a professional) and still pick it up and play it.  Leblancs have gigantic bores.  The keys are plated multiple times and the wood is thicker, making the instrument quite heavy.  Leblancs "talk" to you.  They are NOT delicate.

Now I must point out some things that neither of these horns are:

-  "Squirelly" in the upper register.  Anyone who is complaining about this problem either has a badly broken instrument or an inability to play in the upper register consistently.

-  "Stuffy" in any register.  An instrument is stuffy when it is badly out of adjustment or you happen to be playing the wrong mouthpiece/reed combination for your embouchure and air flow level.

-  "Unresponsive" in the upper register.  If the upper register is unresponsive it's because you aren't very good at playing in the upper register or you have a broken instrument.

Some things that individual instruments may tend to do:

-  Some instruments sound Middle B and Middle C differently than others.  That depends on the instrument, brand, the placement of the keys, placement of the register mechanism, etc, etc, etc, etc.

-  Some instruments sound Low Eb differently than others.  The size and shape of the bell, the placement of the Eb Pad (on or off the bell), the presence or lack of an extension all combine to produce the specific tonal profile of Eb on your instrument.

Some things to keep in mind:

-  Your setup is vital to your success, but it does not have to be fancy.  Case in point:

            *  I won 42 auditions in 6 years and for 2/3 of that time I play a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece               and a 2.5 Hemke Tenor Sax Reed.

            *  The point at which I had to go up a size in reed strength is when I started to play                         noticeably flat.  If you aren't doing that then you don't need harder reeds.

            *  I only acquired a fancy ligature at the end of my college career.  Prior to that I played a             Bonade Inverted.

            *  I didn't start using a Selmer D until then end of my college career.  This means that I                 did all the hard work on what most people would call an "inferior" mouthpiece.  I call it                   inexpensive and user friendly.

            *  I ALWAYS used a neckstrap.  Sitting, standing, it didn't matter.  When you're sitting                   use a peg and a strap.  When you're standing you MUST have a strap on.

            *  I DO use a fancy neckstrap.  Why?  Because my hand position is everything.  Without                 the proper support I'm doomed.  Personally, I use DeJacques straps.  Back in the day                     they were $35.  Now I think they're $95.  Still worth it in my opinion.  

            *  I adjust my own reeds by hand.  I keep two reed knives, sandpaper, emery paper, a                   reed clipper, reed rush and I adjust the reeds according to an adjustment chart. 

From the beginning, the beginning of this Guru thing, around 1994, I've always said that the difference between Selmer and Leblanc is personal preference.  I got my first Leblanc (the '59 400 series) in '94 and I've stuck with them ever since.  You could just as easily get a Selmer and enjoy them and stick with them.  Were it me, I'd never flinch in the face of a Leblanc.

Leblancs are hefty instruments, as I said before, and they provide a sturdier platform to produce the sort of tone that I enjoy on Bass Clarinet.  You can do just about the same work on Selmer, but I just like the feel of Leblancs better.

Notice that we did talk about Selmers and Leblancs, but we also talked alot about your setup.  Your setup determines so much more than your horn.  Without a proper setup (for you) you won't have the privelege of being picky about what kind of horn you play.

One should also note that I did not mention Buffet or Yamaha.  For good reason.  Yamahas are copies of the easiest to spot characteristics of Selmers and Leblancs and thrown together into one instrument, but that doesn't work.  "Frankenhorn" isn't going to do anything for you.  Buffets just don't hold up.  I've never met a Buffet that didn't go out of adjustment simply at the sight of a performer.  You can find message boards filled with horror stories of professionals taking their Buffets on planes or to different climates and their instrument just NOT working.  Yikes people!

I once took my two Leblancs to NJ.  When I left Atlanta it was 60 degrees outside and a slight breeze.  There was a blizzard in NY/NJ and had nary a problem with either instrument the whole time I was up there.  You see my point I think.

Quesrions, comments?  Anything at all, the Guru is in.