The Bb Eppelsheim contrabass clarinet

[coltranesaxIV]

@TSDFurReal

Yep because only us musicians can high without drugs;)

[shlaxberg]

where's wilxy gone everyone?

[TheShakspere]

Very beautiful the sound of it

[aliloveesyou15]

okay so i know its a contrabass but ive never seen a gold one, or even one shaped like that. what brand makes those?

[rfsgfsdgfdg]

looks like a barry sax to me.

[BKrystall]

I wish i had a contrabass clarinet. It's hard to find one cheap.

[darklightnin]

That wasnt the contrabass clarinet.. The Bb contrabass was sitting on the stand next to him..

[quintquintr]

Actually, it was.

Eppelsheim created a new design for the contra, and to excellent results, much in the same they did for their "Contraforte," their also-redesigned contrabassoon.

Trust me, look at their website; they have lots of recordings of them...

[darklightnin]

Did not know that.. Then again, my school only has the EEb and according to you, the old version of the BBb... -shrugs- I like my Contra just the way it is, lol. Thanks for the info though.

[quintquintr]

Haha, it's not an 'old' design; it's just a different one...

You're welcome! :-)

[pianomancuber91]

......really? Are you deaf?

[darklightnin]

@pianomancuber91 >_> That doesn't sound like my BBb, and since it's a different model than what im used to hearing, I don't recognize it. So NO im not deaf, and i'd thank you not to insult me like that.

[pianomancuber91]

My apologies, youtube's way of showing comments makes it hard to see that someone else already commented on this.

[RossiniSoprano]

@darklightnin What are you talking about? It sounds exactly like every contrabass I've ever heard.

[darklightnin]

@RossiniSoprano The model he's playing sounds more airy to me, then the BBb contrabass I play (The one on the stand on the left side of the video).

[jodaccb]

"ccb" ou "CCEUA" vai la !

rsrs

[laurenlovesbass]

i prefer the contra-alto, because it is alot easier to make music out of. but i will always have a place in my heart for the contrabass <3

[MetaKnightMK]

Music & Arts Center sells some pretty cheap instruments and they have a rent-to-own plan. They will sometimes ship internationally.

musicarts (dot) com

[Strang3rDanger]

They rent-to-own Contrabass Clarinets?

[MetaKnightMK]

Yes. It says "Online Only", but I'm sure you can order by phone with a credit card.

[Strang3rDanger]

Actual Paperclip Contra Bass Clarinets? I didnt see any.

[FlashXTehTeh]

it looks like a baritone sax :D

[falaqdad15]

must have a lot of backpressure...

[danbison]

I love how low clarinets make almost computer synthesized sounds.

[Elegiegal]

Ummm...the reason your vision blurs when you play is because the muscles in your embouchure aren't in complete control. I've played contra since I was 13 and owned once since I was 15.

The best way to get the best control is to jump from sopranos to contra...I did during concerts with Eb and Bb Soprano to Alto to Contra Alto to Contra Bass. HUGE embouchure workout!!!

[bigmandrel]

@Elegiegal It has been my experience that vision blurs only when wearing my eye glasses. Thus, it is the eyeglasses that vibrate making the vision blur when playing the contra clarinet and not really an eye, mush less an embouchure, problem.

[Elegiegal]

Well Bigmandrel, I don't wear glasses, so that just might be your experience. But think about the size of the mouthpiece and reed when it vibrates, you should expect parts of your facial muscles to vibrate a bit too.

[Bickendan]

@Elegiegal That they do. Combine that with an absurd need for air and a marathon run-through on the string bass part for Rachmoninov 2...

[Bickendan]

@bigmandrel Playing anything below a certain threshold on either contra (Eb or Bb) and your vision will start to 'swim', regardless of glasses, contacts or no. It's not as noticeable when playing from print music, but it's very noticeable when reading from music on a computer monitor.

[RossiniSoprano]

@Elegiegal  Umm....the reason your vison blurs has NOTHING to do with your embouchure. omg

[TSDFurReal]

@RossiniSoprano He's talking about the frequency resonating through your face. Same goes with a contrabassoon. When you play past a low concert D it starts to cause the face to vibrate a bit.. Held a low C for a good 24 bars. Gave me a headache and I could hardly see the conductor.. it was beautiful

[coloraturaElise]

@TSDFurReal Yes, my eyeballs vibrate when I get down to the basement on contra. And this *still* has nothing to do with your embouchure. :-)

[Elegiegal]

WOW! It does sound like it's easier to play than the old-style. You can hear the over tones on many of the notes, but it's a lot more free sounding and less like a beast to learn!

A BBb Contrabass Clarinet is one of the largest clarinets in the family. It plays as low as a tuba and sometimes lower. It's lower and darker than the barisax. It's a lot of fun to play too. I own a contra-alto clarinet myself and plan to own a contrabass in the future!

[themennisspk]

is it deeper than a contrabass sax?

[Elegiegal]

I believe so...the Contrabass Clarinet is a Bb instrument and the Contra Sax is an Eb...Bb is lower than Eb...I also think it has a larger range to play too.

[porsche911sbs]

actually (depends on what specific instruments your comparing), the contrabass saxophone and contrabass clarinet play down to the same pitch, but I believe the clarinet plays a few tones higher. however, despite being comparable in pitch depth, the sax is about 4 times more massive than the clarinet. I like the clarinet more, though, because of its timbre and the fact that I've played one.

[chaosstrike1000]

@Elegiegal That isn't necessarily true. When you transpose from C to Bb you have to go up 2 semitones, but when you transpose to Eb you go down 3. It just depends on what octave the instrument is set in. But overall, a Bb instrument should technically sound higher than an Eb.

[KK437]

That a contrabass? It looks like a smaller Barisax

[dluo117]

cylindrical bores don't have to be as long as conical bores to achieve the same low pitches

[marochima2]

its like a skinny saxophone

[BCcL01]

How much does one of those cost?

[Shaboobalah]

A cheap contrabass clarinet will run you about four grand. Problem is, that four grand was poorly spent. A good instrument is like 20.

[RogueRotting360]

How much do they cost- say per month to hire?

[Elegiegal]

If you want an inexpensive one that will last, try to find a resin based one...they don't crack, have a wooded sound instead of metal, and are very durable

[nanoquaver]

can i has contrabass clarinet?

[Elegiegal]

it's the NEW design...it's bigger and lower...trust me.

[happyperson1982]

I wish I had an Eppelsheim cause then I wouldn't have to sit so weirdly while playing it like I do with the regular contrabass.

[vacuumlover1]

woah

[dbadagna]

It certainly seems to have a very powerful sound.

[dbadagna]

What is his opinion of this Eppelsheim instrument? I didn't know Eppelsheim was producing any clarinets.

[crazydhesi]

Shouldn't the music look the same as a regular and bass clarinet?

[clintonfiske4prez]

Yeah it does. It's written two octaves above what it sounds, so that poster is wrong.

[Contra0]

i wish i had a contrabass....

that model looks like a skinny bari sax

[Ranchobob]

oh HELL YES!

[TopSchotter]

Lol I heard playing contra hurts the eyes, plus the music is soooooooooo low on the staff you loose perception. Sounds crazy if this is tru

[Nelso90]

If you wear contacts, it blurs the vision a little if you play low notes loud, but no harm done. I played contra for three years.

[Kehone]

actually, you can lose control of your bowel...i played this in high school some ten years back and would get people to shit their pants all the time..

[XxrandarooxX]

what?????

[Euroflounder]

That's stupid.

[suicunewolf]

Yay! ^-^ Cool!