[Rojarosguitar]

I have asked in other posts about bass clarinets as I'm looking for one.

I have an offer (from a serious dealer) of an Eastman Bass Clarinet (Model LK.CLN-6206-N) made from some composite material going down to low C.

Does anybody here have any experience with or knowledge of this instrument. On the internet I can't find even a slightest trace of it... a bit strange.

 

[milandro]

It may very well be that Eastman that you have been offered ( I guess it was this https://www.musik-bertram.com/musikinstrumente/Eastman/LK+CLN+6206+N/artikel-164.html )

is not an Andreas Eastman clarinet since they don't appear to have any bass in their catalogue. There is room for a certain amount of speculation since there are many Chinese makers which could trade under the name Eastman without necessarily infringing the ® name

I think you could contact the German shop above (It is in your hometown after all!) and ask how things are and to provide precise informations on the origins (it will be China in any case) of the Eastman bass clarinet.

I know of some Eastman Saxophones (seen in the past) which clearly don't have anything to do with Andreas Eastman.

The fact that this brand decided to add or use the name Andreas Eastman as opposed to Eastman alone to me is the thrace of the fact that they sought to differentiate themselves.

 

[Rojarosguitar]

Thanks, yes i'ts Bertram and I'll certainly check it out there, but I wanted to know about other experiences independently. I guessed so, that it's not Andreas Eastman, because Bertram also has Andreas Eastman saxophones and they clearly call them with their full brand name.

 

[milandro]

well, that speaks volumes, if it were the same brand the name wouldn’t be “ different”.

 

[Taragot]

I'm pretty shure, that these eastman branded instruments from bertram are originally from longkou jinming in china. Lkjinming.com I think is there web adress. I have a flute from them which is super and a bass clarinet to low eb which is ok (not the case nor the mpc which I replaced)
If you have further questions, drop me a pm in german.
Viele Grüße

 

[milandro]

this is very good deduction and probably the source of the other Eastman saxophones that I have seen over the years apparing from time to time in the NL

 

[Taragot]

The Eastman brand did not change the serial numbers, so it's quite obvious that they are the same.
If one compares this list https://www.musik-bertram.com/mypdfGesamt.php?list=item-1-0-0
with the instruments on the lkjinming homepage http://en.lkjinming.com/pro1.html
you know exactly which instruments are the same.
My bassclarinet had some minor construction flaws ( I have written a review here on sotw some years ago) but serves me well without problems.
At the Musikmesse Frankfurt all their Instruments were labeled "Forest", but I think this was used for music fairs only. Eastman seems to be the export brand now.
If you would buy directly from china, you could really save some euros (I ordered my flute from them and it went very well, ask for a price list), but you would not be able to play the instrument beforehand.

 

[Rojarosguitar]

Many thanks for the exhaustive information; I'm positively sure it's the same maker... I will try to make an appointment for trial at Bertram this week. I thought of using a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece. What do you think?

 

[Rojarosguitar]

I was at Bertrams' today and I have tried all the (for me affordable ABS composite) Bass clarinets. The Eastman turned out to be actually branded as Andreas Eastman, which is funny, because it doesn't occur on their own homepage. The seller explained to me that Andreas Eastman also buys instruments from mainland China and has them branded. The sound was actually not bad and intonation seemed to be OK as well, as far as I can judge it as inexperienced player. But the keywork was not thrilling. Keys were partly wobbling on their axes, and the actions very indefinite, like falling into cotton wool. I guess they used quite soft pads so the hole feel is a bit swimming.

So though I was very tempted to jump onto the thing with the low C, I finally decided to go with the composite Yamaha low Eb modell. Now I need to decide with which mouthpiece to go: Selmer Concept or Vandoren B45 or Vandoren B46? That's what's available and affordable for me here...

 

[Taragot]

When I was in your situation, I ordered a clark forbes debut from Howarth. I plays really easy. Vandoren B45 did not work for me on bass, but it is alway the question, if you got the right reed for it.

 

[Alphorn]

The Concept is quite open. I use a BD5 on a YCL221. The tip opening is with 1.85 mm app comparabie to the Focus. Of all mouthpieces tested I much preferred the BD5. For a more open tip the B50 could be a slightly less expensive alternative to the Concept (149 € vs 189 € at Thomann if I am correct) if you buy new.

Alphorn

 

[Rojarosguitar]

When I was in your situation, I ordered a clark forbes debut from Howarth. I plays really easy. Vandoren B45 did not work for me on bass, but it is alway the question, if you got the right reed for it.

Unfortunately I can't find a Clark Fobes Debut here in Germany ...

 

[mijderf]

Here is a list of Clark Fobes International dealers. Maybe you can try one of these.

https://www.clarkwfobes.com/pages/dealer-list-intl

 

[Taragot]

You can order without a problem from GB to germany. Well, we'll see what the Future will bring in a couple of days.

 

[Rojarosguitar]

I ended up buying the Selmer Concept Mpc... It has the sound quaiities I most strongly associate with bass clarinet. I'll see how far it will take me... Thanks for every advice.

 

[dirty]

I like the Concept very much, though mine is heavily modified. I liked it the way it came out of the box, too, though.

 

[Benny]

Unfortunately I can't find a Clark Fobes Debut here in Germany ...

Just order one from Clark.