{"product_id":"seggelke-basset-clarinet-in-a","title":"Seggelke Basset Clarinet in A - Mopane","description":"\u003ch2\u003eThree bent barrels, two bells…and arguably the biggest piece in the clarinet repertoire.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the clarinet Mozart actually wrote for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere's the thing about the Mozart Clarinet Concerto: you've been playing an edited version your whole life. As you know, a standard A clarinet bottoms out at low E, but Mozart wrote those low C's for Anton Stadler's extended instrument. Then when 19th-century players started performing the concerto on regular clarinets, someone just moved the notes up an octave and everyone shrugged and moved on. Editions were standardized, everyone got used to it, and after a while the idea that anything was missing more or less disappeared. But once you see the original version, a lightbulb will go off. It makes so much more sense! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBasset clarinets never completely vanished, and there are \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.earspasm.com\/products\/backun-lumire-basset-clarinet-in-a\"\u003egood\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.earspasm.com\/products\/uebel-zenit-basset-clarinet-extension-for-zenit-a-clarinet\"\u003emodern\u003c\/a\u003e ones on the market now. Most of them start with a contemporary A clarinet and extend the bottom end downward, which solves the range problem efficiently and gives you an instrument that behaves almost exactly like what you already play. That approach works well, and for many players it's the right solution.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeggelke took a different path.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead of starting from a modern clarinet and adding notes, Jochen Seggelke went back to the original acoustic idea itself—the bent barrel geometry, the bore relationships, the \u003cem\u003eLiebesfuß\u003c\/em\u003e bell \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e(more on that below) that Stadler actually played — then built one with in that architecture but with modern tolerances, modern intonation standards, and modern keywork. You get the \u003cem\u003esound\u003c\/em\u003e of 1791 Vienna without having to wrestle the \u003cem\u003eengineering\u003c\/em\u003e of 1791 Vienna.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe bent barrels.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px; float: right;\" height=\"236\" width=\"210\" alt=\"Seggelke Basset Clarinet angled-shape barrel\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0833\/5799\/1202\/files\/Barrel.jpg?v=1768837383\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree are included with a period-appropriate crook that might look odd (or performative) but actually serves an ergonomic purpose. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow so? The basset clarinet is a lot longer than a standard A, and without the bend in the barrel you'd either be craning your neck downward or holding the instrument at an angle that becomes unsustainable really quickly. The bend lets the clarinet hang naturally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgain, you get three barrels so you can tune to whatever historically-informed pitch standard your conductor has decided is morally correct this season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eTwo bells, two personalities.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; float: left;\" height=\"229\" width=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0833\/5799\/1202\/files\/Basset_Bells.jpg?v=1768837513\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProbably the most interesting element of this clarinet is the \u003cem\u003eLiebesfuß\u003c\/em\u003e—I didn't make up that name, it's German for \"love foot\"—the bulbous enclosed bell that points directly at your crotch. \u003cem\u003e(\"Love foot\" sounds TOTALLY like something Mozart would have coined, amirite?)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e30-second history lesson: the bell design dates back to the 1710s, when oboe makers started building instruments meant to blend with voices and strings rather than cut through them. Like the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cor_anglais\" title=\"English Horn entry on Wikipedia\"\u003eEnglish Horn\u003c\/a\u003e, the basset clarinet bell's narrow opening at the top of the bulb\/bell produces a more covered, less projecting tone than a standard flared bell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn practice, this means the basset notes—from low E to low C—\u003cem\u003esit in the texture\u003c\/em\u003e rather than overpowering the ensemble. The sound diffuses and arrives at your audience blended with the strings, and the low \u003ca title=\"Alberti Bass link to Wikipedia\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alberti_bass\"\u003ealberti bass\u003c\/a\u003e passages in the first movement sound integrated rather than soloistic, which frankly sounds better in the context of the piece. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the other hand, if you're going for power, the standard bell gives you the focus and projection you're used to with a regular A clarinet. Swapping between the two bells takes about 15 seconds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSeggelke gets the low fingering system right. Finally.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank god, this is a French-system, Boehm basset clarinet with a\u003cstrong\u003e modern freakin' bass-clarinet extension fingering\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis matters because other basset clarinet makers have kind of invented their own system that doesn't match anything else you own. You can get used to it (I did) but it does take a few weeks to rewire muscle memory for a fingering system you'll use on Exactly. One. Horn. Seggelke skips that problem entirely. Thank you, Jochen, from the bottom of my heart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWho actually buys this thing?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fair question, and one that everyone asks quietly to themselves, is whether \u003cem\u003eanyone is really spending this kind of money to play one piece\u003c\/em\u003e. Well, first of all, it's not just ANY piece. But you're right: Mozart is absolutely the reason this instrument exists in the modern world, and the Concerto and Quintet are the only works in the core repertoire where the basset range is structurally essential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat said, you might be surprised to know the instrument has other rep written for it. There's a substantial late-Classical and early-Romantic basset repertoire written specifically for Stadler and his circle, much of it excellent chamber music that doesn't sit correctly on a standard A. And hell, no one's stopping you from playing \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.earspasm.com\/products\/god-bless-the-child-sheet-music\" title=\"God Bless The Child Bass Clarinet Sheet Music Download\"\u003eGod Bless The Child\u003c\/a\u003e on it either.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe longer tube and bore geometry change how the entire instrument sounds even if the extension never appears on the page. so why not try it on orchestral parts (with the normal bell, probably)? That'd be baller!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBut I'll be honest: if you're a working professional clarinetist doing orchestral gigs, you're probably looking at this and thinking \u003cem\u003eI'll play that thing twice. It'll never pay for itself.\u003c\/em\u003e And you're right. A $20,000 Mopane basset clarinet with a \u003cem\u003eLiebesfuß\u003c\/em\u003e bell is not a rational purchase if your metric is ROI.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eOn the other hand, if you're someone who can swing buying an instrument Mozart actually heard, or if you've spent years playing the Concerto and the Quintet on a standard A clarinet and always felt like you were playing the censored version, this is the clarinet you want.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy this over a Backun or Uebel?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.earspasm.com\/products\/backun-lumire-basset-clarinet-in-a\" title=\"Earspasm product page for Backun Basset Clarinet in A\"\u003eBackun Lumière Basset\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.backun.com\/\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (~$13,500) and the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.earspasm.com\/products\/uebel-zenit-basset-clarinet-extension-for-zenit-a-clarinet\"\u003eUebel Zenit Basset Extension\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.uebel-clarinets.com\/\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (~$4,800, requires a Zenit A clarinet) are both excellent instruments I recommend often. The Seggelke costs more. What you get for the money: the \u003cem\u003eLiebesfuß\u003c\/em\u003e bell option (neither Backun nor Uebel offers the historical bell), the period bent barrels, and standard bass clarinet fingering for the extension. If you want a modern basset clarinet that plays and projects like a 21st-century instrument—and you don't mind learning new low fingering— both the Backun and Uebel are a great choices. If you want the period acoustic architecture with modern playability, this is the instrument.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCall me. Or write. \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you've got questions, I have answers (or I can get them). I know this is a big purchase, and I want to help you decide if it's right for you. \u003ca title=\"Email link\" href=\"mailto:mike@earspasm.com?subject=Seggelke%20Basset%20Clarinet%20questions\"\u003eContact me anytime.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Seggelke","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819616571682,"sku":null,"price":19900.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0833\/5799\/1202\/files\/SeggelkeBassetClarinet-Side-Mozart.jpg?v=1768835359","url":"https:\/\/www.earspasm.com\/products\/seggelke-basset-clarinet-in-a","provider":"earspasm","version":"1.0","type":"link"}