Buffet ICON Bass Clarinet Neck
Buffet ICON Bass Clarinet Neck
The Prestige bore fits BC1183, BC1193 bass clarinets (A.K.A. Prestige Low Eb and Low C), and the Tosca bore fits...you guessed it, the BC1195 Tosca bass clarinets.
The Buffet ICON bass clarinet necks are pretty cool. They are lacquered in red copper — but so what? Is it for the looks or is there something under the surface?
Let's talk about MOHS. MOHS (Minerals Of Hardness Scale) is a system used to rank the hardness of materials, graded using numbers from 1 to 10. The higher the number, the harder the material; Pencil-lead is a 1, Diamonds are a 10.
Bass Clarinet necks (and bells and keys) are usually plated with one of three metals: Gold, Silver, or Nickel. Gold is the softest of the three, with a Mohs rating of 2.5. Silver is slightly harder at a 2.75. Nickel is the hardest of the three, at 4.
Now, Copper is in the middle, at 3.15. What does that mean? Well, you'd think "not much" and you would have a lot of people agree with you. But when you're talking about hardness, you're also talking about flexibility to some degree. And the harder the material, the less vibration it will dissipate, which means more energy is directed into the body of the bass clarinet. Copper necks make a difference, and you will immediately feel the difference in response and focus of your sound.
But you may not be convinced, and that's fine. That's why I offer a 7-day trial of all ICON necks for you to compare with your own neck. If you like it, keep it; if you don't, send it back. I charge a 3% restocking fee for neck returns, which amounts to a whopping 25 bucks. Full trial details available here.
Not a bad way to spend a week. Or, if was a betting man, I'd wager you'll spend a lot longer with it! They're pretty amazing.
Thanks for reading.
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I approached this neck with skepticism, as it seems to have the same geometry as the standard Prestige neck. What I experienced was interesting. Intonation is identical. The upper chalumeau and altissimo speak easily, with more clarity than on my standard neck. The tone seems to have a bit more depth, too. This probably has more to do with deviations between necks of the same geometry instead of the finish (although the finish is striking). What convinced me to keep it were the positive, unsolicited comments I received from other members of the orchestra during our last concert series. In a nutshell, this thing is great.
I was curious to see what (if any) effect a different neck might have on my bass clarinet. I've heard lots about Blashaus but could not justify paying 2k+ for a neck, it's just not in my budget. I noticed that Michael was carrying the ICON neck AND he was allowing them to go out on trials which is not something every retailer will do. The price was more manageable. Even if I didn't like the neck, I would only be out the cost of the trial and shipping, so maybe around $50 total. The moment I put the ICON neck on I was blown away by the response and feel. My air was much more efficient and the instrument fought me a whole lot less. With regard to sound, my stock neck was pretty darn close. The response was what sealed the deal. In terms of sound, the altissimo does feel more nimble and the low register is slightly rounder and full. Intonation was marginally improved on some of the more problematic notes as well, nice bonus. After I went back to my stock neck, I couldn't believe the difference. Thank you Michael for another great purchase experience!
Wow - the change from my stock neck to this is incredible. The feel, response, and sound is amazing. Thanks Mike!
I just received the Buffet Icon Bass Clarinet Neck for my Buffet Tosca Bass Clarinet from Michael. I am delighted with how it makes playing large intervals so much easier. And the tone is very smoothed out as well. I highly recommend giving it a try for yourself.
The ICON neck is the first equipment change I have made in a very long time on my Prestige Bass. It just plays. It has a rounder, smother sound, and has evened out the register changes. as an extra, not expected bonus, it seems to have fixed and noticeably tamed some of the pitch inconsistencies of my instrument, lowering the clarion b, and somehow raising the Bb. Super double bonus, the extreme altissimo, above High G is much more secure and in tune. Bravo Buffet and Bravo Mike for selling these!