Klarinet Archive - Posting 000983.txt from 1997/09

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Pan Am composite
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 00:08:52 -0400

At 11:52 PM 9/20/97 -0500, Ed Lacy wrote:
I had been
>begging my parents for 2 years to let me join the school band, but the
>price of the clarinet, $115 as I recall, was far more expensive than
>anything our family had ever bought, and I know that my parents sacrificed
>for years to pay for it. When I first saw it, the sensation was something
>like seeing the gates of heaven open and hearing angels singing. My eyes
>glazed over, and I'm sure I looked dazed. The beautiful black plastic and
>the nickel keys, against the red plush interior of the case was about the
>most impressive thing I had ever seen.
>
And I'll bet you cared for it as if it was made of solid gold! If only
kids today appreciated those sacrifices to the same degree. The treat
instruments costing thousands of dollars as if they were plastic Happy Meal
toys.

Yours was probably a standard plastic, not the laminate. The laminated
ones looked much like rosewood. They were really quite beautiful, but I
can see how, as "The Grouch" pointed out, they would not be taken seriously
by those hung up on the traditional black look. But we are much more open
to new ideas today, right? I know I've sure seen a lot of Evette clear
acrylic clarinets and Vito "Dazzlers" played in major symphony orchestras!
Does a white clarinet have a "brighter" tone than a red one? Does the
acrylic clarinet have a "clearer" tone? :-)

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.