The
music you are hearing is Weber's Andante and Hungarian Rondo,
arranged for bass clarinet and piano. The recording is from
my recital at the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium,
2006. I am performing using a Buffet 1193 bass clarinet,
#4 Rico Grand Concert bass clarinet reeds, and a CXZ_LB
"Lawrie Bloom" bass clarinet mouthpiece.
I have played bass clarinet for 40 years. I played professionally
in the Toledo Symphony for over ten years,
and continue to perform on bass clarinet in recital and in
“pick-up” orchestras in the Chicago area. I got to study with one of
the “Grand Masters” of the bass clarinet, Alfred Zetzer, who played in the Cleveland Orchestra for his entire
career.
I understand the requirements that composers place on today’s
bass clarinetist.My bass clarinet
mouthpieces are played in professional groups of the highest quality in the
U.S.
and around the world.
Customer
quote:
“The last mouthpiece you sent me
is magnificent. That's all I can say. It's one of the best mouthpieces
I've played on, either soprano or bass clarinet”
Lawrie Bloom, renowned bass clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, and I have formed a joint venture, to produce what we believe
to be the finest world’s finest bass clarinet mouthpiece.
This mouthpiece was in development for over 2 1/2
years period; with untold hours of design sessions, prototyping, and
play testing. We went through four different mouthpiece blanks, and
dozens of facings until we found what we were looking for.
This mouthpiece is now used
in Mr. Bloom’s performances with the Chicago Symphony and in his solo and
chamber music appearances.
It is made from a blank exclusively manufactured for
us by HansZinner,
GmbH &Co.
This mouthpiece COMBINES
legendary Zinner quality, the experience and
artistry of Lawrie Bloom, one of the
world’s great bass clarinetists, and my own craftsmanship, honed in
the production of over 2000 mouthpieces.
It has been extensively
tested in the field for over more than a year. Heard in the Mexico
City Philharmonis, the Phoenix Symphony,
the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the
Dayton (Ohio)
Symphony and the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra to name a few.
Big Hit at ClarinetFest 2006!!!
“I
have now been playing the new CXZ_LB Bass Clarinet mouthpiece in the CSO
and in solo and chamber settings for about 6 months. The sound is
warm and the clarity is fantastic. I have no problem finding reeds
for this mouthpiece, and it's easy to find the real pitch center of a
note. There is a terrific ring in the sound, making it possible to
cut through the orchestra when I need to, and a great
warmth that blends well with the section. I couldn't be happier
with this mouthpiece, and the work Walter has put into it.” –
J. Lawrie Bloom
For a more extensive description, by Mr. Bloom, of the
development of this mouthpieces,click
here.
This mouthpiece is
specifically designed to address these problems:
·Have
you ever wondered why you can’t play the bass clarinet with the same
ease as the soprano clarinet?
·Why is
articulation in the clarion register so difficult?
·Have
you tried to play “Daphnis” and felt, well, really bad?
It features:
·Ease
and control of tone production in the clarion and altissimo
·Comfortable
embouchure position
·Utilizes
Grand Concert, Vandoren , or Legere
reeds, 3 ½ or 4 strength.
·Symphonic
facing - tip opening of approx. 1.74 to 1.78.
·Superb
baffle profile for deep tone AND projection.
Have confidence that you can
play easily and clearly in every register, with control like you have never
had before This mouthpiece has a deep, rich sound, with projection that
cuts through regardless of the dynamic. You can play at a whisper or push
to the limit without distorting or loosing control.
Finally a bass clarinet
mouthpiece that gives you the facility you have always wanted, but
despaired of achieving!
To
hear the CXZ_LB in Concert, click on the Windows
Media Player Icon. This is a recording made
from my performance at the University of Oklahoma
Clarinet SYmposium in June of 2006. The piece
is Weber's "Andante and Hungarian Rondo"
Customer Quotes:
I have been playing on the mouthpiece for few days now. It is a
masterpiece! I can’t believe my ears. It is the best mouthpiece I
have ever tried. Very deep and dark sound, lot of power and also very
easy to play soft. It took just a while to get used to it and now I am the happiest bassclarinet
player in town. Now I have three great bass clarinet mouthpieces (all
Grabner) for every occasion.
Thank you very much for your great work, I hope to see you soon.
Greetings, RunarOskarsson, Bass
Clarinet, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic Opera Orchestra
*********
I
really like your mouthpieces (CXZ_LB). I tested yours against my Kaspar and yours holds its own………I
received and tested a Henri Chedville
bass mouthpiece and I played it for a couple of trusted ears. They like
yours better; better harmonics, intonation, ease of playing.
Thanks Again,
Martin Arnold,Clarinet and Bass Clarinet,Mexico
City Philharmonic Author:
Bass Clarinet Scale Book:http://www.aztecpress.com.mx
*********
........Now I´m
finally back in Stockholm after a
wonderful week in Chicago
and this last week I´ve been trying the bass mouthpieces
(CXZ_LB) in my orchestra. A very pleasant experience for me and I´m very happy that I have theese
mouthpieces and the K14 clarinet mouthpiece in my possession.
MattsWallin – Solo
bass clarinet, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
*********
Just wanted to let you know that I love
the mouthpieces and would like to keep both of them…..
Regards,
Steve Hanusofski, Assistant Principal and bass
clarinet, The Phoenix
Symphony
“My mouthpiece
arrived today, just in time for me to take it home with me at lunchtime and
try it out. All I can say is - wow! I love the quality of
the tone I get with the new mouthpiece, but what amazes me most is how
much more powerful my sound is, without feeling like I'm blowing my guts
out. Know what I mean? If anything, I think I'm getting more
sound with less exertion. My first chance to play it in an
orchestra rehearsal will be next Thursday. The conductor is
always asking for "more bass clarinet," so I think this time he's
going to get it!” D.H. Wayne,
PA.
“The CXZ_LB
mouthpiece arrived yesterday, and today has been spent going through the
Bass Clarinet repertoire. The results have been wonderful. Thirty plus
years and many mouthpieces later, my Leblanc 417 responds like I’ve
always wanted. The tuning of the twelfths is dead on with excellent dynamic
range response from low C throughout the altissimo register. The mouthpiece
is very reed friendly with articulation being very easy and precise. The workmanship
is impeccable plus the sound one expects from a Zinner
blank brings one to a new level in playing the Bass Clarinet.”M.P. Houston, TX
“Your
mouthpiece (CXZ_LB) arrived yesterday and I tried it out right away after
work. I put on the same reed I had been playing with the day before and
gave it a try. Holy cow! I nearly fell off the stool with the sound
produced by this mouthpiece. It gives such tremendous projection that I'll
have to restrain myself when playing in my clarinet ensemble.” S.K.
“Bass
Mouthpiece Serial # 3237 -Very focused, resonant, and beautiful tone, easy
clear staccato, great for that septuplet run in the solo near the end of
Rite of Spring! Free blowing, feels easy to change from soft to loud, and
easy to keep tone quality when FFFF, throat register notes have improved
clarity.” B.M.
Legere Reed Friendly:
I
had a customer come in recently with his Legere
bass clarinet reeds and he tried several of my CXZ_LB mouthpieces. The
results were simply amazing. It was all there: tone, response,
articulation; everything. He went away with a new CXZ_LB and I learned a
thing or two.
Advisory:
This mouthpiece has a
shallower beak, similar to a “Profile 88” mouthpiece. It will
feel a little “different” at first. You might find you need to
put less of the mouthpiece in your mouth. But give it a few minutes;
acclimate yourself. Then try some of those excerpts that give you fits
– Daphnis, William Schumann Symphony #3, On the Trail, etc. –
and see what happens!
If
you want to JAM on Bass Clarinet – Buy one of these!
Made from a high quality blank from Zinner,
the CX_BB_90is a mouthpiece optimized for the
musician who plays popular rather than classical repertoire. The facing is
very comfortable for the saxophone player, and has a more open tip.
It’s great for Pop/Jazz/Klezmer!
I finish the mouthpiece so it has a somewhat
“rougher” sound. It gives great projection with a real
“jazz” sound.The
CX_BB_90 still offers that deep rich full sound and precise attack that
categorize all my bass clarinet mouthpieces.This IS NOT your
stuffy old “Concert Band” mouthpiece, with a more open facing!
One facing – 1.85 to
1.90 Tip.
Legere Reed
Friendly! Use a Number 2 ½ or 3.
Customer Quote:
“I recently got a CX BB 90 from Walter and I concur,it is a revolution. It
sings on either my plastic Selmer bass clarinet or my recently acquired
King/Marigaux (SML). I find myself in loud
electric situations at times and am experimenting with getting more air
down the instrument. The CX_BB_90 buries my Selmer H, and the H has a much
larger tip opening. Walter's chamber design is something else! “ B.H.
Now
made from a ZINNER Blank, for even higher quality.
I spent two years developing
this mouthpiece. I doing so, I conferred with several of the world’s
best bass clarinetists. Using
this specially designed mouthpiece you can play the hardest excerpts in the
literature and do so with confidence.
·Guaranteed
“professional” facing – tip approx 1.80
·Hand-profiled
upper baffle – trade secret
·Hand-tailored
lower baffle profile – similar to mouthpieces from the “old
masters”
·Even,
smooth, and polished tip rail and side rails – neglected in
commercial mouthpieces
·Correctly
dimensioned windway – critical to tone
production
·Polished
side walls – more power
What does all this amount to?
It amounts to a mouthpiece with that dark, covered sound, yet with
quick, lively response. One that plays low “C” at a whisper, yet can scream four octaves above.
Customer Quote:
“I received your bass clarinet mouthpiece
yesterday. What a difference! Notes that were stuffy with my
old mouthpiece now speak clearly and the improvement in responseis amazing. The "trial" period was over
in less than 5 minutes; which is very unusual for me trying out mouthpieces.”
D.H. Easton, PA
To order, send
the appropriate amount, plus $5 for shipping in the U.S. (USPS Priority
Mail) or $10 for international shipping. Illinois
residents must add 7½% for Illinois State Sales Tax. Upon receiving your
payment, I will mail one mouthpiece for you to try. Make
your check or money order payable to “Walter Grabner”. There is a
$5 cleaning and restocking fee on all returned mouthpieces.
TRIALS – I realize that many of you would like multiple bass
clarinet mouthpieces to try. At this time, I can only send ONE mouthpiece per
deposit. There are two reasons:
·The first is that it takes many
hours of work to make a superb bass clarinet mouthpiece, and there are only
so many hours in the day. I work on a given mouthpiece until I get the
maximum tone and response out of the blank.
·The second reason is that bass clarinet
mouthpiece blanks are VERY expensive, much more than soprano clarinet blanks,
and there is more “scrap”.
If you NEED to try multiple mouthpieces, please make a payment for
each. There is no need to pay double shipping. There is NO RISK. If you do not like the mouthpiece, send it back for
another mouthpiece to try, or ask for a full refund, (less shipping).
I do ask that “trial” mouthpieces be returned, in their
original packaging, within three weeks (21 days) of receipt. Please make sure
that you do not mark, mar, scratch, or otherwise damage the mouthpieces, as
damaged mouthpieces cannot be returned.
