Klarinet Archive - Posting 000101.txt from 1995/08

From: Michael Kolos/Liam McGintny <LMCGINTNY@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: The future of African Blackwood
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 15:33:22 -0400

I saw that show too, and I agree the picture looked pretty dim.

What I was wondering though, They talk about the Mpingo tree, which
gives the african blackwood, which they said was also called ebony.
My clarinet is made from that. But what about grenadilla? Is that just
another name for the wood, or is it a completely different type that
they failed to mention as an alternative? I think that's quite a
confusing issue since I had someone tell me that grenadilla is running
out so african blackwood is being used instead.

The new buffet greenline is another alternative which the show didn't
mention (I guess it was produced before this came about).
I was rather disappointed with the way they had some musicians
commenting on the scarcity of the wood, and I didn't see where they
had any more knowledge of it than any other woodwind player.

I think it may be a good idea to buy a new instrument now in case the
manufacturers take one of the guy's on the show's advice and charge
double the price for the wood.

The other astounding figure was that the instrument makers (all, not
just Buffet) only spend 1.5million dollars on the wood per year.
For the amount of instruments made it seems to me that the wood is the
principal resource and the africans are really being taken advantage of.
Michael