Klarinet Archive - Posting 000399.txt from 1996/02

From: David Gilman <dgilman@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Selmer Clarinets
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996 14:27:44 -0500

Ron,

You got me started. I have a pair of Selmer Recitals, and I love them. The
tone is not excessively bright. On the contrary, it is one of the darkest
sounding [least strident and piercing/most mellow yet rich or heavy,
presumably due to a preponderance of lower partials in the harmonic
spectrum.] clarinets I've heard. Plus, the wood and keywork are as good as
anything I've played. The intonation is very exact, not sharp in the throat
and altissimo ranges, as I find most Buffets. It responds delicately and
evenly throughout its compass, although it does give me some problems
articulating altissimo d'''-f'''# without half-holing. [That may be due to
my own problems, not the instrument.] The one real disadvantage I find with
the Recital is the weight: it weighs almost twice as much as a Buffet R-13.
I get around that by using a neck strap hooked to a ring I had braised onto
the upper part of the thumbrest.

As for the Buffet R-13, I could complain about it for hours, but I'll try to
keep it brief. The irregularity of the workmanship on those things drives me
mad. Even my teacher, who plays them, admits that you have to try at least
ten of them to find a good one. And finding ten to try with silver plated
keys is extremely difficult. [I personally need silver plating because I
slide around on nickel and then wear through it after a few months, leaving a
chalky, gritty surface underneath.] I already mentioned the intonational
deficiencies; plus, the response strikes me as uneven: free blowing in the
chalumeau and throat registers, but stiff in the clarion. The keywork does
not impress me at all, especially those large left hand levers for clarion b'
and c''#. The R-13 does, however, have a very nice tone and good projection,
a bit brighter than my Recitals. I understand that many outstanding players
use this model, but it just doesn't hold up for me.

I tried the Leblanc Opus at ClarinetFest last summer. Thus far, that is the
only clarinet that compares to my Recitals. I really liked the tone and the
response: both very good and even. The workmanship struck me as excellent,
and I found the keys comfortable and elegantly designed. The intonation
seemed very exact, but I only tried it for about fifteen minutes; so, I don't
feel qualified to comment on it under varying conditions. The one thing that
bothered me was the left hand e''b key: it was so high I couldn't reach it.

I suspect that Selmers have a reputation as brighter instruments because they
became associated with jazz some years ago. Most of the older jazz players I
know use Selmers, but most of the older classical players play Buffets.
Selmer, Buffet, and Leblanc now each produce a variety of different models
with different tone concepts.

In the end I can only say that each of us has to choose the model that's
right for him/her. Try as many as you can, so that you can be satisfied.
Thank you for reading my ravings.

Incipiant flammae! [Let the flames begin!]

David Gilman

On Tue, 13 Feb 1996, Ronald E. Bowers wrote:

> infrequently mentioned. The Buffet R-13 certainly dominates discusions
> on this list.
> I play Selmer 10S "A and Bb" instruments. I am not a pro, but
> find the intonation of my horns to be "right on" on the tuner, and that
> they seem to have a more mellow or sweeter tone than the Buffets I am
> able to hear. I have several mouthpieces but always come back to the
> Selmer C85 120(opening) with a Vandoren V12 3 1/2 reed.
> Are there any Selmer people on the list? I would appreciate any
> general comments about the (perceived) differences between the Selmer
> and Buffet or Leblanc.
> I apologise in advance if this is an old subject.
>
> Ron Bowers
>