Leblanc 342 Contrabass Clarinet Extension

All extensions are made to order. Please contact us to place an order. Thanks!

A large amount of contrabass clarinets out on the market bottom out at low Eb. Not anymore!

This is a completely removable extension that replaces the bell section of the Leblanc 342 Contrabass Clarinet. It requires no permanent modification to the instrument and extends the range of the instrument down to written low C or B (sounding Bb0 and A0 respectively, the lowest notes of the piano!) All notes are actuated with the RH thumb and are fully chromatic, with the thumb keys laid out in an ergonomic pattern allowing smooth transitions between notes. The extended range requires the RH pinky low Eb key to be held down.

A brand new overhaul of the extension design has improved the intonation and response of the extension. The low D now actuates two keys, a larger main key and a smaller auxiliary key, which improves the intonation of the low Eb.

Repertoire for contrabass clarinet has increasingly began to utilize the extended range more often. With these extensions a new life is found in the low Eb contras, whereas previously the solution was just to take the passage up an octave now we can play it as written! And even take certain passages down the octave too when appropriate.