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Let me start off with a story. A little more than a month ago, my school presented my with a BEAUTIFUL new Buffet Bss Clarinet. It was so shiny, and it came apart int he middle, unlike my ghetto one. It was so pretty. I played on it, and it did wonderful! It sounded good, and the high notes came out even easier. i was so happy. It was really flat, but my band directors said that it takes some time to get used to a new instrument.

Now, a little more than a month later, it's STILL terrifyingly flat, no matter what I do. I've moved my embechure around, I've tried different mouthpieces and reed sizes, and nothing's worked. It's always flat.

Any suggestions?

i played bass clarinet for a year.
i would say that you have to change your mouth tightness and such. thats what i had to do. make sure your pushing up with your right thumb on that thing at the back, and keep your mouth pressure tight.

i hope that made sense. and good luck.

maybe you have the wrong size barrel/mouthpeice/bell

Well, I play standard clarinet and contrabass clarinet, so I think I can help.

The simplest problem could be that air is escaping. Take your mouthpiece and push it as far into the neck as possible. Do the same thing with the neck of the instrument.

A more serious (but not really serious) problem is that a "pin" (I don't know what to call it) is not in the proper place. This happened to me once, and I was really scared because when I played, it sounded like I was playing a completely different note I was so out of tune.

The areas in red are where you can find these pins. What do they look like? Just that. Pins. And they can't be loose, or your tone will be off. All you need to do to fix a loose pin is to push it back behind the little peg that holds it in place, kind of like closing a bobby pin. It's really easy, and once you see a "pin", you'll know what I'm talking about.

I believe you are talking about the things in the underside of the key arms that latch into a bit with a notch at one end and are attached to the post at the other. The technical name for those is "needle springs". They make sure that the keys open again when you lift your finger off the key.

To the OP:
This sounds like a usual intonation problem that you should be able to remedy with the usual methods of shortening or lengthening an instrument. If not, you need to check what is called "regulation". Bass clarinets are notorious for "regulation errors." This happens when one key either closes other keys with the same finger or a finger closes a key via a lever. Basically, the keys or levers aren't working correctly together. One key closes too soon and this keeps another from closing all the way. With a bass clarinet that comes apart in the middle, the bridge key is the usual culprit for this problem. To test this, put the upper and lower joints together, cover the lower end of the instrument, shine a flashlight down into the bore and gently close the first finger of the right hand (don't force it). You have a problem if you see light shining through around the pads of the keys that this should close (there should be two on the lower joint and then the other half of the bridge key on the upper joint). This isn't a difficult repair so your band director may be able to make the necessary adjustments if he's had any basic repair seminars or courses. Otherwise, a quick trip to the repair shop is needed. However, this usually makes certain notes not play at all rather than making everything flat. You're really looking to make sure your joints fit together all the way. If the cork is too thick and you can't get it all the way together, ask your director to sand some of the cork off with fine grit sandpaper, just a little bit at a time until the least possible amount has been taken off to allow the joints to go all the way together with cork grease). If nothing works, ask another bass clarinetist to play it (or other clarinetists). If they can't get it to work, ask your director to send the instrument to the repair shop.