Klarinet Archive - Posting 000378.txt from 1997/09

From: Jrykorten@-----.com
Subj: Re: Greenline's the proof
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 14:00:36 -0400

Whoa! I was offline for an entire discussion so dear to my heart!

I know this is/was an area of opinion that has been disputed in the past, but
I have to disagree with Roger. There is no proof that the material is what
makes this clarinet (Greenline) sound good. In fact, according to the physics
of acoustics (that is according to theory) the material the clarinet is made
out of should not affect the sound as the material does not vibrate enough to
impart a character to the sound.

This issue has been debated since the 1800's.

In fact the evidence provided here is that if the same manufacturer makes the
same model out of different materials they should sound alike. And that
appears to be what Buffet has proven by making a plastic clarinet that sounds
like their wood clarinet!

I think we will have to wait until a time when a maker as proficient as
Buffet makes a clarinet out of other "common" plastic to deterimine if those
plastics can be made to sound as good as our regular Grenadilla clarinets.
Which I still believe is possible.

But the fact remains that Buffet HAS PROVEN that material does not matter by
using a material other than Grenadilla to make a clarinet that sounds as good
as a Grenadilla clarinet.

The fact that they chose to "dope" their plastic with wood is purely
marketing genius to get us stodgy doubters to try a clarinet made from
plastic. IMHO.

Jerry Korten
NYC

In a message dated 97-09-06 12:48:23 EDT, Roger writes:

<<
What the below says so well is great! What is ommitted and is important
to note is that most other plastic clarinets are not Composite
Plastics.....therefore, the instrument Buffet has come up with is
remarkably different from a standard plastic clarinet that does not have
the wood chips/dust etc. as part of its material. Most people will agree
that the material itself is important in providing a resonating
chamber....and the Composite Plastic quality is much closer to a wood
clarinet in this regard than other plastic clarinets.

Roger Garrett
>>