The Reed

The reed, as the name suggests, is usually made of a reed-like grass known as cane. However, they can also be made of plastic or fiberglass, which costs more but can last longer than a traditional reed.

Mouthpiece and Neck

The bass clarinet's mouthpiece is made of wood or ebonite, a hard black rubber. The neck is curved like that of a saxophone and is made of metal, usually silver-plated.

Body

African blackwood and grenadilla wood are the materials of choice for a quality bass clarinet. Student-level clarinets are sometimes made of ebonite.

Bell

The bell of a bass clarinet turns out and up like a saxophone and it is also made of silver-plated metal. Some well-known bass clarinetists, such as Henri Bok and Howard Klug, have used bass clarinets with wooden bells, but it is still uncommon.

Historiy

During the Baroque period, the clarinet family was commonly made of boxwood or pearwood. Clarinets used minimal metal and few keys until the 19th century.

In the Future

Due to the nature of classical music and the instruments that it created, bass clarinets will most likely look much the same in 50 years. However, people have begun to blend new material such as carbon-fiber with traditional materials in making bass clarinets.

Source:

McAnulty College of Liberal Arts: Clarinet and Bass Clarinet

Stephen Fox Clarinets: Bass Clarinets