Klarinet Archive - Posting 000175.txt from 1998/03

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: Re: clarinet materials
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 18:36:00 -0500

Not true, as several postings in the last couple of weeks have stated.
While no professional-level clarinets have been made out of composite
materials (at least until the Greenline Buffet), professional-level
OBOES have been made out of the same ABS plastic that Bundys are made
out of. Loree has charged MORE for the oboes w/ the plastic top joint,
and lots of professional oboe players have used them successfully for
years. (Ditto to a lesser extent w/ the Fox bassoon).

The next argument would be that material matters for clarinet, but not
oboe. I don't think so.

kjf

----Original Message Follows----
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 11:17:56 -0600
From: Dee Hays <deerich@-----.net>
Subject: Re: clarinet materials

Elliot Oki wrote:

> ... they make a pretty convincing argument
> that the sound differences between say wood and plastic stem only from
the
> shaping of the instrument. If this is true, people are spending a
money
> unnecessarily.

Unfortunately, we can't make a valid comparison. There are no plastic,
professional level clarinets available. Even though nee might consider
the
Greenline composite to fall into that category, it's material is still
far
different from the materials used in the standard plastic instrument.

At this point, we have a chicken and egg situation. Players are
unconvinced
that plastic would sound good so makers won't make professional level
instruments out of plastic because they believe they won't sell so we
can't try
them out so players remain unconvinced that plastic would sound good
so.......... and on it goes. Rather like the children's song "The Song
That
Never Ends."

The difference in material cost is only a small portion of the price
difference. A big portion of the price is due to the other things a
player
looks for in a professional instrument: accuracy of intonation, sound
quality,
quality of the keywork, and ease of play.

Dee Hays
deerich@-----.net
Canton, SD

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