Buffet ICON Bass Clarinet Neck

The Prestige bore (24mm) fits BC1183 & BC1193 bass clarinets (A.K.A. Prestige Low Eb and Low C), and the Tosca bore (23mm) fits...you guessed it, the BC1195 Tosca bass clarinet.

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.