Klarinet Archive - Posting 000594.txt from 1997/02

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: LX / Leblanc Infomercial
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1997 13:55:10 -0500

According to Tom Ridenour, the LX's had wonderful intonation, but not the
sound that most players are looking for. That's why he designed the Opus,
and Concerto model- to incorporate the pitch, and flexibility of the LX
into a nicer sounding Clarinet. I attended one of Tom's lectures
(infomercials).

At 08:59 AM 2/17/97 -0800, Adam Michlin wrote:
>>Why is it that the R13 intonation has to be so bad? I recently bought a
>>couple of discontinued LeBlanc LX's (new at a great price) to use when I
>>travel for business (not wanting to take my R13's) and they play so well
>>in tune (and easily) that I find myself playing them instead!
>>
>>Are we brainwashed? Has this been gone over before? I read vague
>>references to "can't screw around with bore design to improve intonation >
>>without interfering with tone... yada yada yada" But it appears that
>>manufacturers can indeed split the intonation errors more evenly. The bore
>>design on an R13 (reverse taper on top joint) is not even a "classical"
>>cylinder design, so they are not pursuing an absolute purist design.
>>
>>Does Buffet care? Somebody take up the challenge and explain this to me.
>>When I go back to play my R13's I cannot believe how out of tune they >
>play...
>
>I've never tried the LeBlanc clarinets, but I did have an opportunity to
>try a Yamaha. I found it also to play much more in tune than my R13. Why
>didn't I buy it? Well, I also felt it lacked character (now there's a
>nebulous concept). The sound lacked life, but it was much more naturally
>in tune.
>
>R13s (especially good R13s) *can* be played in tune, but on the average it
>takes a lot more effort and pitch awareness. I've always found them to
>have that life and character I found missing in the Yamaha. I'm willing to
>put in the work to get the R13 to play in tune to get that sound. And
>remember, a lot of R13 players are oblivios to the fact that they're
>playing out of tune. I spent more time oblivious to this than I'd care to
>admit.
>
>My repairman (who had prompted me to try the Yamaha for an opinion)
>suggested that it was exactly the imperfections in the R13 thatgave the
>clarinet it's character and individual sound. Unfortunately, this also
>messes with the intonation.
>
>One totally unscientific opinion,
>
> -Adam
> amichlin@-----.edu
> amichlin@-----.com
>
>
David C. Blumberg
reedman@-----.com