I've only played 2 Prestiges before; wildly different from each other. One is less resistant, more even, and projects better, while the other one is, well, the opposite. I play a B45 with a 3 or 3½, so having that body in the sound build into the instrument definitely helps. Looking forward to trying a Tosca whenever I can, though!
Beautiful playing as always, Sam! I agree with you. I've got one of each as well... and the Tosca is so even it's hard not to play with the Concert Band. However, I still find myself gravitating to the Prestige for solo and chamber playing for the ease of color change and warmth of sound when I need it. Can't really go wrong with either, they're both great horns. I've learned to lean my right hand thumb on that low C# key on the Prestige when I play long B/C's to combat the intonation sharpness there, and that's served me well over the years... as well as the use of side keys to bring my open G pitch up. The Tosca doesn't have either of those two issues on my horns.
Thanks, Kevin! One thing I didn’t mention is that I have a hard time matching the long notes to the throat notes on the Tosca, because the resistance is so much greater. You can tell on the Tristan excerpt going from the long B to the throat A.
Great Job! Beautiful Wagners! You hit on so many great points. I owned the Prestige but switched to Tosca about 2 years ago [also from RMS!] and hands down, the intonation scale and evenness of sound is what sold me on the horn when playing in a large ensemble. Opposite 12ths are my exact gripe about the horn, but C'est la Vie, or more 2020/2021... "This is the way" :P
Thanks, Steve! Glad you enjoyed the video. I’m glad I still have both, though I wish I would just make a decision and stick with one. Second guessing is what we do as clarinetists. This is the way.
First of all, great playing! 👏👏👏 Having two bass cls is a luxury. I notice the legato quality on the Tosca is impressive. Prestige is powerful. At the end it is a personal decision 😅 a difficult one.
Thank you! Indeed, it is a tough decision because they both have different strengths. I hope this video will help people to make a more informed decision on their preference. Thanks for watching!
Great review thank you very much! Agreed on the flat G. I have solved that on mine by letting my repairwoman grind a little bit on the upper end of hole under the A-lever (not thumb hole as I wrote first). This is not affecting any other tone of the instrument, and my G is now perfectly in tune. Concerning the "lack of grunt" in the Tosca: You should try the Icon neck, that gives it just a little extra body and power, it really brings the instrument up to a new level. I actually feel a bit disappointed that Buffet charges so much extra for selling an add-on that really should have been standard. Please try it, and let us know!
Thanks for your comments! I have tried the ICON neck and would like to do a video on the ICON accessories for bass clarinet. Thank you very much for watching!
nice video. Do you have any advice on student models? I would like to start practicing bass clarinet, but as I would be an occasional player, I can't justify the purchase of a Selmer/Buffet professional quality model, and I wonder if you have any recommendation of a model(s) that would be a good first instrument (either new or used/old instruments). Thank you in advance.
Great question! Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with the student models. I think the best thing to recommend would be to either rent one or find a nice used one to lower the cost of entry. Sorry I can’t be of more help !
@@TheCandidClarinetist Michael Lowenstern did a review of one a couple of years ago. He's also reviewed several other basses as well as an alto clarinet and even a contrabass clarinet
I love buffet! I’m still a semi-pro player so I play on a Royal Global bass clarinet until I can justify the jump to a Tosca
I've only played 2 Prestiges before; wildly different from each other. One is less resistant, more even, and projects better, while the other one is, well, the opposite. I play a B45 with a 3 or 3½, so having that body in the sound build into the instrument definitely helps. Looking forward to trying a Tosca whenever I can, though!
Beautiful playing as always, Sam! I agree with you. I've got one of each as well... and the Tosca is so even it's hard not to play with the Concert Band. However, I still find myself gravitating to the Prestige for solo and chamber playing for the ease of color change and warmth of sound when I need it. Can't really go wrong with either, they're both great horns. I've learned to lean my right hand thumb on that low C# key on the Prestige when I play long B/C's to combat the intonation sharpness there, and that's served me well over the years... as well as the use of side keys to bring my open G pitch up. The Tosca doesn't have either of those two issues on my horns.
Thanks, Kevin! One thing I didn’t mention is that I have a hard time matching the long notes to the throat notes on the Tosca, because the resistance is so much greater. You can tell on the Tristan excerpt going from the long B to the throat A.
Great Job! Beautiful Wagners! You hit on so many great points. I owned the Prestige but switched to Tosca about 2 years ago [also from RMS!] and hands down, the intonation scale and evenness of sound is what sold me on the horn when playing in a large ensemble. Opposite 12ths are my exact gripe about the horn, but C'est la Vie, or more 2020/2021... "This is the way" :P
Thanks, Steve! Glad you enjoyed the video. I’m glad I still have both, though I wish I would just make a decision and stick with one. Second guessing is what we do as clarinetists. This is the way.
“You have spoken” 😂
First of all, great playing! 👏👏👏
Having two bass cls is a luxury. I notice the legato quality on the Tosca is impressive. Prestige is powerful. At the end it is a personal decision 😅 a difficult one.
Thank you! Indeed, it is a tough decision because they both have different strengths. I hope this video will help people to make a more informed decision on their preference. Thanks for watching!
Great review thank you very much!
Agreed on the flat G. I have solved that on mine by letting my repairwoman grind a little bit on the upper end of hole under the A-lever (not thumb hole as I wrote first). This is not affecting any other tone of the instrument, and my G is now perfectly in tune.
Concerning the "lack of grunt" in the Tosca: You should try the Icon neck, that gives it just a little extra body and power, it really brings the instrument up to a new level. I actually feel a bit disappointed that Buffet charges so much extra for selling an add-on that really should have been standard. Please try it, and let us know!
Thanks for your comments! I have tried the ICON neck and would like to do a video on the ICON accessories for bass clarinet. Thank you very much for watching!
They're both sound great but I prefer the sound quality of the tosca
You should review the new Dickerson Resonator Ligature for Bass Clarinet on Reverb & ebay - must see
I will check it out
nice video. Do you have any advice on student models? I would like to start practicing bass clarinet, but as I would be an occasional player, I can't justify the purchase of a Selmer/Buffet professional quality model, and I wonder if you have any recommendation of a model(s) that would be a good first instrument (either new or used/old instruments). Thank you in advance.
Great question! Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with the student models. I think the best thing to recommend would be to either rent one or find a nice used one to lower the cost of entry. Sorry I can’t be of more help !
Can't go wrong with a Yamaha
@@Titanandenceladus Never tried one!
@@TheCandidClarinetist Michael Lowenstern did a review of one a couple of years ago. He's also reviewed several other basses as well as an alto clarinet and even a contrabass clarinet
What about Yamaha bass clarinet ?
Haven’t played one
What about Selmer ?
Haven’t played one
bravo!!! cmqe tosca e non tasca ......