Klarinet Archive - Posting 000315.txt from 1995/06

From: Lynn Thomas <thomas@-----.ORG>
Subj: Re: What about Selmers?
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 16:54:40 -0400

Bill,

Liking Selmers (or Yamahas, for that matter) seems to make you persona non
grata on this board. As someone who has enjoyed her 10G for many years,
and who also owns a set of 10s, I find I yawn at much of the R-13 talk.
I was also recently at a Leblanc clarinet master class/seminar and was
not impressed at all with any of the clarinets I played. I also tried
about 15 Buffet R13s along with my lone Selmer when I bought it. None of
these instruments held a candle to mine.

A teacher I had while in high school played a 9, and while it was a very
good instrument, the 10G, which had just come out, was his heart's
desire. I think that the 9s and 10s are very good instruments. But
Gigliotti gave the 10 that extra "oomph" that I feel Buffets or
Selmer 9s/10s had when he designed the 10G. My SO, who is a professional
(who plays an R-13) will admit that I have one of the best clarinets he's
played, as good as his R13 if not better, but he *still* won't buy one.
And he, like many professionals, is always looking for the ideal
clarinet, the one sent from heaven, the one that is the clarinet of
clarinets...!

There is a faction of clarinetists that turn up their noses at anything
else (although there are a lot of Eddie Daniels converts to Leblanc).
An R-13 has snob appeal, but I'll be damned if I can figure out why!
Maybe they think they're purists. Maybe they think R-13s *are* the best
- but then if they were, why are a lot of these guys still looking for that
perfect horn??? (DON'T say you aren't - I KNOW what my SO does every
time Marc Jacobi comes back from the Buffet factory! I've seen you at
flea markets scouring for the hidden treasure...;)

Maybe the problem is with Gigliotti himself (since 10Gs are the only
Selmer clarinets that professionals generally use) - professional
jealousy, as it were...and you see where he's playing ;) Gee, I wonder
what would happen if Drucker developed a clarinet!?!

Every Selmer player I have ever known sticks with their instrument, they
have a love affair with it. They don't seem to have the problems that
Buffet-heads have. You don't hear them whine about this and that. You
don't hear them discussing about the search for the dark or the light
(don't get into this discussion, just trying to make a point) tone quality.
We Selmerites knew what we wanted when we heard our instrument, we bought
the thing, paid good money for quality, and had to search no more.

If you like your Selmer 9, don't feel guilty about it. Don't go out and
buy something new. Although, I still do have these Selmer 10s for
sale...but it's only because I want to buy a 10G-A so I don't have to
keep changing my setup everytime I switch. The bores of the 10 and 10G
are so different, that it makes the transaction difficult in a fast
switch. They're very good "dark" sounding clarinets! ;)

Lynn
(Yes I'm from Philalalala, but I studied with Montanaro :)