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  • Quality of Vienna "Clarinet" Virutal Instrument

    Hello, I need a Clarinet Virtual Instrument. Can "Vienna Clarinet" virtual instrument users share their opinions about the quality of the sound & legato sound? Are there any other better Clarinet options in the market? As far as I hear it is realistic. Thanks,

  • For classic(al) music simply the best virtual clarinet available. Even the b-cl, Eb-Clarinet, Bassethorn or Contrabass-Cl. Frank

  • Thanks for your quick response Frank. I am going to buy Clarient as downloadable instrument. Clarinet Bb is better right? Which one should I choose?

  • Clarinete in B flat is the standard one to use!


  • Thanks :)

  • I am a clarinet player and let me say, the the VSL clarinet is my go to clarinet.

  • The clarinets of VSL are the best - the legato articulations of the B flat clarinet are incredibly beautiful.  Also, don't overlook the other clarinets they have, in particular the Bass which is fantastic, the E flat Bassett horn which has that interesting mellow mid range timbre Mozart used so well in his great Serenade for winds,  and the smaller Eflat clarinet which, in the range of approximately the Soprano sax, has a wonderful soft, lush espressivo timbre that makes one want to write an entire concerto for it.  I actually have never heard a live E flat clarinet that sounded as good as this sampled one! 


  • The standard soprano sax is in Bb which gives it a range similar to a Bb clarinet, however the sax can't go as low or as high. There is an Eb soprano sax which would be more equivalent to the Eb clarinet. I believe the basset horn is in F, not Eb. They are rare. There is an Eb alto clarinet which is used in concert bands. This instrument, IMO, is a very week sounding. I use to use it to play bassoon parts.

  • The modern bassett horn is in F, however there were ones produced in D and Eb.  The alto clarinet is called by Forsyth "the present-day representative in England of the Bassett horn" and is in  Eb.  It has a narrower bore however.  It does not have as good a tone quality as the Bassett horn as I can remember from concert band.  We never had actual Bassett horns, just E flat clarinets.  I was not actually thinking of the Bb soprano sax but the Eb which is very close in range to the smaller E flat clarinet.  This clarinet is used all the time in concert bands to reinforce the high range, often playing in the same range as the flutes.   It has a famous solo part in Mahler's 2nd as well.  It is known for its strident, biting quality, however it can be much more mellow when played softly as in the VSL example I was thinking of.  The p legato articulation they recorded has an extremely beautiful tone quality for solo use.


  • Ahhhh, Mahler. Let's not forget the passage for 2 efers in the 3rd movement of the 1st. The 3rd and 8th also calls for two efers.