[mmichel]

I recently picked up a Centered-Tone era (50's) Selmer Bass Clarinet. It was obviously well cared for and, after a few minor adjustments, it feels and plays great.

It also has great intonation. Throughout its range, most notes are within 5 cents of the average tuning and none is off by more than 10 cents, except the lowest E, which is at least 30 cents flat. Its corresponding twelfth (B[SUB]2[/SUB]) is in tune, as is the low Eb, so I can't figure out how fix it.

I'm using a pretty open mouthpiece (Vandoren B50), but even with that large an opening I can't lip it up without making the tone completely fall apart.

Any suggestions?

 

[saxoclese]

This article by Clark Fobes has some useful information about clarinet intonation: Tuning and Voicing the Clarinet

 

[dirty]

Have you tried seeing if the low Eb pad is opening far enough? Venting that hole a bit will bring the pitch up.

See if the pad is being closed a bit from fully open when the bell is on. I've seen some basses that seem to do this unless the bell is rotated a little bit off center.

That will make the middle line B a little sharp, but I find that a little easier to lip down. I've never played a bass clarinet where that twelfth wasn't at least a little wide, so you might need to compromise and find a venting setup that's manageably out of tune on both.

 

[lomaserena]

The twelfth is notoriously wide on those old Selmers, so it sounds like someone in the past made the choice to tune up the B at the expense of the E. My 1971 Selmer has the same issue, but not quite to the extent yours does. In orchestral playing, the parts tend to concentrate on the notes in the staff and above, so I imagine the owner got tired of trying to tune across the break. Dirty's advice is spot-on.

 

[Isle of Jazz]

My Series 9 is the same. The long B is fine but the low E is off as much as mmichel's. My Eb pad opens really far; I don't think bending the key would make it open that much further. I've seen vent holes on later models of low Eb basses; I don't know if that vent would raise the pitch of the low E or not.

 

[mmichel]

My Eb pad opens really far; I don't think bending the key would make it open that much further. I've seen vent holes on later models of low Eb basses; I don't know if that vent would raise the pitch of the low E or not.

Yeah, mine also opens far enough that I don't think opening it further would do anything. The tone hole on my bell is noticeably smaller than the E and F tone holes on the body, however, which may be what limits the venting.

 

[KennyZ]

I'm lucky as my Selmer (from '86) is flat on low Eb only so I have nothing to do :mrgreen:

 

[clarnibass]

Yeah, mine also opens far enough that I don't think opening it further would do anything. The tone hole on my bell is noticeably smaller than the E and F tone holes on the body, however, which may be what limits the venting.

You can check to make sure by (option 1) removing the key and playing the E and B without it or (option 2) rotating the bell to disengage the bell key linkage, which is usually what determines the opening of that key, to allow it to open more.
Also check that the hole wasn't filled by someone to lower these notes. I've seen a few bass clarinets with all lower tone holes filled.

It is normal for the B to be sharp and the E to be flat, but each model has its own compromise and on this model I guess they chose to lower the B and E, and for whatever reason (sometimes necessary) they chose this size and location of the tone hole to achieve it.