Klarinet Archive - Posting 000414.txt from 1995/04
From: niethamer@-----.BITNET Subj: Re: Older clarinets Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 08:57:42 -0400
On Sun, 23 Apr 1995, Dan Leeson: wrote:
> The first view of "blown out clarinets" is that there is no such thing.
> On the other hand, there is a very strong and vocal position that,
> by whatever name it is called, something happens to clarinets that
> get older. Either the act of getting older is itself responsible
> for the problem, or else the cause is external, such as swabbing,
> vibrating, moisturizing, etc. But even this group is unable to
> conclude which of the variety of possible causes is the culprit.
> These people include such distinguished repairpersons as Clark Fobes,
> Those who believe in blow out suggest that it manifests itself in
> several ways: pitch, character of sound, a widening of the 12ths,
> a reaction to being played that is, somehow, different from the time
> the instrument was new.
>
> Why doesn't my low C bass clarinet
> blow out? Let me suggest that the answer to that question is, "It
> would cost too much to replace, so that phenomenon does not happen
> to bass clarinets, only to clarinets that can be replaced without
> becoming bankrupt." I think that if clarinets cost as much as a
> bassoon, we would never hear about blow out.
Having talked about "blowout" with oboists, and our RSO Principal
Bassoon, who is a very well regarded bassoon repairman, I wonder if the
issue Dan raises in the last quoted paragraph has more to do with the
bore size of the instrument in question than with the cost of the
instrument.
Oboists have more severe problems with "blowout", because the change to
an instrument with such a small upper bore is more radical on a
percentage basis than with a bass clarinet or bassoon.
Of course, I accept Dan's premise that the issue is not usually discussed
in a totally rational scientific way, and "blowout" can be added to those
infamous buzzwords, "dark" and "bright" - impossible to define in any
satisfactory way, but everyone knows it when they see/hear it!!
Larry Naylor's article in WW Quarterly, as recommended to this list by
Clark Fobes, give a good discussion of "blowout" and its causes, and his
solution, which seems to be pretty convincing. I hedge my bets here,
because I've not had any first hand experience with the process Mr.
Naylor describes. But I have had clarinets "go south", and whether it was
mechanically, or some change (or flaw) in the wood, they do often change
for the worse, and replacement becomes the best solution.
Maybe Dan is right, though - maybe we'd try harder to save a more
expensive instrument, and/or take better care of it.
David Niethamer
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