Klarinet Archive - Posting 000377.txt from 1997/11

From: "Dr. Ronald P. Monsen" <RPMONS00@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: New clarinet recommendations
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 11:10:45 -0500

Recently I had a student purchase a new set of clarinets--the brand and
the model are not important for this "thread"--I had two sets of clarinets
to audition--both the same make and model. I tried them and found both
the Bb's and the A's to respond well-they were in very good mechanical
condition-tuning was good and they played evenly throughout the range-
what surprised me was the very different "character" of the two Bb's-
I won't go into "dark" and "bright" vin rouge vs vin blanc, etc. The
A's were very similiar in feel to my playing--but the Bb's--both of which
I found very acceptable--were on opposite ends of the spectrum--sort of
chalk and cheese if you will! I had the student play the instruments
over a period of several days--in lessons, orchestra, wind ensemble

and wind quintet situations. The student wanted me to make a decision
as to which set to purchase--in as much as both played very well indeed
I was reluctant to say one was better than the other. After a few days
the student chose the Bb that I was not as fond of--the other one felt
better and more suited to my playing--but he felt just the opposite--and
that was what I wanted him to decide for himself. We did agree with the
A chosen--my point--I did not disagree with the student's choice--if I
felt one of the Bb's to be inferior in response or tuning that would
have been a different matter. Just some food for thought. The instruments
were very close in serial number which leads me to believe that they

were probably manufactured very close to one another. But each had a
very distinct "feel" or flavor. The student's choice of reeds and
mouthpieces were the same as my own. I found this individuality of
the instruments very interesting.

Ron Monsen