Klarinet Archive - Posting 000942.txt from 1999/01
From: "Fernando Silveira" <fersilv@-----.br>
Subj: Re: [kl] R-13
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 09:03:12 -0500
Dear Kevin, only to you see: R13 is popular only in US.
South America and Europe mostly play on RC's (Prestige or not) and Festival.
Only few players in those areas play on R13's.
All the best
Fernando
Fernando Silveira
Principal Clarinet - National Symphony - Brazil
Clarinet Professor - Rio de Janeiro University
fersilv@-----.br
(55)(21) 716-2248
-----Mensagem original-----
De: Kevin Fay (LCA) <kevinfay@-----.com>
Para: 'klarinet@-----.org>
Data: Terça-feira, 19 de Janeiro de 1999 01:10
Assunto: [kl] R-13
>I am truly sorry to see this turn into some sort of Celebrity Deathmatch
>between Tom & Francois. In particular, the loss of Francois to our forum
is
>disheartening, and I wish he would reconsider. He is a valuable resource
to
>all of us.
>
>More than anything else, these strings have convinced me what an imperfect
>medium email is. Were we all in a music store trying out horns together,
or
>sharing a pitcher in a tavern later on, I think there would be general
>agreement on much of what was said. Too much of what is written in this
>forum can be misinterpreted as personal attack--and personal attacks are
all
>too easy as well.
>
>Tom has pointed out that the R-13 has some intonation problems. This is
>probably not news to very many of us--especially Francois. Buffet itself
>has a number of different models for sale that ameliorate a lot of these
>tendencies. Heck, they have been playing around with the placement of the
>register key for years! (R-13, down . . . S-1, up . . . Prestige, down,
>then up . . . Festival, up). As noted in another post, its placement is a
>catch 22 because of the multiple purposes the little hole serves. I don't
>think that Buffet--or Francois--ever said the R-13 is perfect; that's why
>they have other horns to sell. It is still immensely popular, though,
>because people can make great sounds on it.
>
>The fact that some intonation tendencies exist, however, doesn't take away
>from the fact that Mr. Carree revolutionized the clarinet world when this
>instrument was introduced. Buffet has had a little marketing problem,
>moreover. Even when they "improve" the instrument, people clamor for the
>old one; the R-13 has steadfastly remained the most popular professional
>instrument they make. (Indeed, one of their marketing initiatives is the
>"Vintage," designed to get a new horn into the hands of the curmudgeon who
>is convinced that the old ones are better!) One reason for this popularity
>may well be that "everyone" plays it--if you have the same horn as your
>teacher, it's easy for him/her to teach you the "correct" fingerings to get
>the most out of the instrument. Because of its popularity, it would be
>business suicide for Buffet to discontinue the R-13. It's what people
want.
>At a street price of $1,700, it's a bargain.
>
>It's true that Tom did not post similar problems over the Leblanc horns, at
>least at first--but to be fair, he may not want to for reasons wholly aside
>from how they play, given his current status with that company. I don't
>think he meant to besmirch Buffet's efforts, or to denigrate the
>achievements of Mr. Carree--hopefully his purpose was just to point out the
>problems, and seek ways to fix them. Perhaps because of the way some of it
>was worded, Francois took offense; again, hopefully a misunderstanding.
>
>Tom likes the Selmer Signature. I tried one, and it's true that the
>intonation appeared to be more stable than my 1969 R-13. I did not like
it,
>though--from a purely subjective standpoint, I though it sounded a little
>dead. While the resistance was very even, it was considerably more than
>what I've come to like. (I'm lazy--I don't want to work so hard.)
>
>When the time comes to replace my R-13s (translation--when my wife lets me
>blow another four grand on instruments, don't hold your breath), I will
>certainly try the R-13 for sale at that time. As well as every other horn
I
>can get my hand on. If I win this week's Lotto, it would probably be a
pair
>of Festivals--I tried some, and liked 'em, which is all that counts. As
>long as people like Francois, Guy Chadash and Tom Ridenour are around,
>though, clarinets will get better. Next year--who knows what we'll get to
>chat about?
>
>May your reeds not chirp,
>
>kjf
>
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