Klarinet Archive - Posting 000569.txt from 1996/01

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Buffet's "Green Line" clarinets:info?
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 23:05:11 -0500

Clark ended his statement by asking the question, "At the same price, why
would some one buy this and not a wood clarinet?"

That makes perfect sense to me in the present, as I too would rather play
on a real wooden clarinet instead of the synthetic Green line instrument.
Clark's question will probably answer itself over time, I imagine. Since
the Green line was created in anticipation of African Blackwood's very
possible endangerment, it stands to reason that brand new Buffet R-13's
(not to mention the Leblancs, Selmers, and Yamahas which are as well made
of African Blackwood) will rise in price when the availability of the
wood is substantially dimished enough to raise *its* price. If the Green
line holds at its current price in the face of the Mpingo tree's
sparsity, many more people will very likely opt to purchase the Green
line over the "real thing" precisely because the price disparity has
become so great. We've seen and heard enough testimonials on the subject
to believe that the Green line can indeed measure up to the standards of
the nation's professionals, so one's pocketbook will rule the decision as the
unfortunate "event horizon" draws near.

Neil

On Fri, 26 Jan 1996, CLARK FOBES wrote:

> You wrote:
> >
> > I'm reading the archives and about late 1994 there was brief
> discussion
> > (involving Clark Fobes and a couple others) of Buffet's "Green Line"
> of
> > clarinets. Does anyone know what this nomenclature refers to?
> Thanks.
> > ********************
> > Bill Fogle
> > Washington, D.C.
> > ********************
> >
> Bill,
>
> The Buffet Green Line is so named because it is environmentally
> sensitive. African blackwood is becoming less available and some
> sources say that it is on the verge of becoming "endangered". This may
> be true, however, I was told at the factory that they waste up to 80%
> of the wood that is deemed suitable for manufacture. Blackwood is not
> extremely expensive, but in large quantities this would present a
> fairly substantial loss of capital. Buffet came up with a way to
> pulverize the waste material and mix it into a matrix of some type of
> plastic resin and carbon fiber. The material has some of the dark brown
> coloration of the original wood and apparently machines quite well.
>
> The idea is great provided that your primary reason for purchasing
> this instrument is that it will not crack. If you believe Arthur H.
> Benade (author of Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics and leading
> authority on acoustics) then the material has no significant affect on
> the quality of sound. My experience is different. Dan Leeson and I have
> gone around on this several times, but I believe there is a significant
> difference in sound.
>
> This is not to say that this synthesized material has a bad sound.
> It is only different. I have played several of these green line horns
> and I have found them to be quite consistent ( more consistent than
> wood ) and they have a good sound. To my ears, and this is ONLY my
> opinion, the sound is more pure than the wood clarinets and perhaps
> lacking in some of the distinctive overtones that I like. From a
> distance of 30 or 40 feet this difference may be completely obviated.
>
>
> To my knowledge, I don't know of any "blind" testing by a group of
> professionals or of any published data by Buffet.
>
> An interesting note from a marketing standpoint. These instruments
> are priced identically to the standard R-13 model. Either the cost of
> wood is not a significant cost in the production of clarinets or they
> are trying not to cast these green lines into an inferior role by
> pricing them lower. However, at the same price why would some one buy
> this and not a wood clarinet?
>
> Clark W Fobes
>
>
>

   
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