Klarinet Archive - Posting 000071.txt from 1995/05

From: Lorne G Buick - Music TA <lgbuick@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Confused mathemusician
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 13:37:05 -0400

On Mon, 1 May 1995, Douglas Sears wrote:
>
> Arthur H. Benade makes it clear that one of the major problems of clarinet
> design is the tradeoff between good tone and good tuning. The register hole
[snip]
>
> Benade goes on to say that the tradeoff I've been talking about could
> be mostly eliminated by giving a clarinet two register holes, like a
> saxophone. I wonder if anybody has built such a thing. I'd love to
> get my hands on a clarinet with all the improvements Benade has written
> about.

Yes, it's been done but not available as far as I know. I might mention
however that the instrument I play (made by Luis Rossi of Chile) has a
mechanism which separates the functions of register vent and throat Bb.
While obviously not going as far as what Benade describes, it does give
better 12ths and a much better Bb. In five years of use I have had no
trouble with the mechanism.

Back when I played Buffet R-13's I could never play them in tune with
their stock barrels- I wonder if the mouthpieces they test them with have
significantly different dimensions to the ones available over here.
(Though it's not like they couldn't talk to some North American
clarinetists...) When I studied with Wes Foster (principal of Vancouver
Symph.) he set up a barrel for me- sent it away to be relined with
mouthpiece rubber, then put the finish bore on it with his own reamer. It
had a reverse taper and was quite a bit smaller than the stock barrel,
sounded better and had better intonation.

**Disclaimer**: The use of the phrase "sounded better" above is highly
subjective, based on my own (and Mr. Foster's) aesthetic judgement at that
particular point in time, and is not meant to imply that anyone else would
necessarily agree.

regards, lgb