Klarinet Archive - Posting 000062.txt from 1994/05

From: Lisa Clayton <clayton@-----.EDU>
Subj: clarinet materials
Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 12:53:55 -0400

>-> Of course, plastic clarinets have been made for a long time, but I don't
>-> know whether aerospace composites have been tried. As in aerospace
>I think its fair to say that the group decided several months back
>that we'd never really had a chance to make a fair judgement about
>them, since Vito clarinets are both cheap and plastic. Nobody knows
>what an expensively made plastic clarinet might be like.

I have an unusual Buffet resin clarinet that is clear, with polished
copper keys. It has a really rich tone to it, although slightly sharp
in the uppermost ranges. I needed a good clarinet for marching-- one
that was sturdy, could take a bit of wear and tear, handle extreme
temperature changes, and would still sound good. However, even
resin has its problems as it scratche and chips somewhat readily.

My .02 cents regarding materials is this: not everybody plays in
concerts alone, and it would be rather crazy to march with a good
grenadilla wood clarinet, and graphite has a tendency to shatter
easily. I'd like to see decent, sturdy metal clarinets not for concert
situations but for those of us still masochistic enough to march.

Lisa K. Clayton
clayton@-----.edu