Leblanc 352 Contra-alto Clarinet Extension
All extensions are made to order. Please contact us to place an order. Thanks!
The Leblanc 352 contra-alto clarinet is a beast. And extending the range even lower makes it even more so.
The 352 essentially is just a “baby contrabass” since it shares the same large bore as the larger contrabasses. This fully-removable extension adds a low D, C#, and C to the bottom of the instrument, with an optional low B and Bb also available. All notes are actuated with the RH thumb and are fully chromatic, with the exception of the low Bb if included, which is toggled on or off manually.
Arguably the most important feature of this extension is the brand new low E correction mechanism which is designed specifically to fix the extremely stuffy and unresponsive low E on the instrument when played with the stock bell. This mechanism also greatly improves the intonation of the low E and Eb, raising them to pitch whereas the stock bell tuned these notes around 40 cents flat! The low E correction mechanism may also be toggled on or off with a simple switch.
While it is rare that you will run across extended range notes in a contra-alto clarinet part, many passages in the literature benefit greatly from the extra range lower. It is especially useful when covering contrabass clarinet parts, or can even be used in place of a string bass! Realistically, contra-alto clarinets (and alto clarinets) should be extended to low D standard but manufacturers seem to have little interest in doing so. And thus, our only solution is to do so ourselves.
