Klarinet Archive - Posting 000248.txt from 1997/11

From: PGAYR@-----.com
Subj: some answers for Dirk's Rosewood questions
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 12:46:24 -0500

Dirk wrote:
I have some questions concerning rosewood clarinets:

I read that clarinets in former times frequently were made from
rosewood. What is the reason that they today are almost never made
from rosewood?

There's probably a lot of reasons. A few are :
1. The wood is not as easy to machine as grenadilla wood and is more
difficult to finish.
2. The wood is not as dense and there are lots of pitting in the tones
holes. Therefore, all key closed tone holes have to be made inserts in
order to get a pad to seal. All the oboe makers do this.

What is the price of rosewood clarinets (compared to Grenadilla)?
More expensive because of the extra manufacturing needed to produce the
finished product.

What is the quality of rosewood (compared to Grenadilla) concerning
hardness, cracking, weight, etc.?

Rosewood is definitely a softer, lighter, more porous wood. I spoke with
Paul Laubin of Laubin oboes about his experience with Rosewood. He said he
noted a slightly greater frequency in cracking in Rosewood oboes. He said
that lining the top joint part of the way with hard rubber or some
synthetic reduces cracking frequency. However, because ofthe smaller amount
of keys on the clarinet and its' larger bore it is not certain that such an
insert would be necessary. I know Ricardo's clarinets have been stable and
the one I played for a year (I loved to play that horn--it was so much
easier to play than grenadilla horns!) showed no more instability that
grenedilla wood clarinets. Of course, every piece of wood is different, and
the seasoning preparation the factory does is important. Laubin told me he
seasoned his Rosewood around five years, though I may not be accurate with
that number. It's been a few years since we spoke so I don't remember every
thing completely accurately.

Hope this helps.
tom