Klarinet Archive - Posting 000253.txt from 1999/04

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Wood/plastic, etc...
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 13:10:29 -0400

At 10:17 PM 4/3/99 -0600, Roger Garrett wrote:
>On Sat, 3 Apr 1999, Bill Hausmann wrote:
>> The sound could be affected for better OR WORSE, then, right? The
>> resistance, response, etc. of a plastic Bundy may suit the player better
>> than that of a Buffet Prestige or Selmer Signature and result in better
>> tone being produced?
>
>Better or Worse are words that the person who is evaluating the sound must
>make - not me. I simply state that they respond differently and they feel
>different in terms of the resistance. Therfore, a person may prefer one
>over the other - and that they interpret that as a difference in the way
>they sound.
>
>A plastic Bundy is not the same as a Buffet Prestige in terms of
>construction, undercutting, etc., therefore, it sounds different -
>primarily because of the construction - not materials. Perhaps a better
>comparison might be a Buffet R-13 vs. a Greenline R-13. I have tried
>dozens of each, side by side and, while they sound different - even
>amongst themselves, the Greenlines all have a similar resistance/response
>as do their wood counterparts that seem unique to the materials. I don't
>dislike either sound - and in fact, there are times that I prefer one over
>the other. But - they are different in the way they sound because of the
>resistance and response factors.
>
The Bundy example is simply a "worst case scenario." I think the list is
in agreement that different brands sound different, even if made of the
same material, due to design differences. But it is also well known that
different clarinets, even of the same design and often even of consecutive
serial numbers, sound different from each other, at least in subtle ways.
Could that variation not be caused as much by the minute manufacturing
variations as by the materials? Or could we conclude that the difference
of material causes enough change in the manufacturing to alter the outcome?
Even if we accept that as fact, it is still not really the material
itself, but the PROCESS that causes the change in sound.

While I agree that the way a player RESPONDS to different instruments can
indeed alter the way that PLAYER sounds, the difference is in the PLAYER,
not the instrument. A different player will respond differently to the
same instrument. That is why the artificial embouchure must be used for
testing. It eliminates a completely uncontrolled variable, the human
player. The experiments then can tell how the different INSTRUMENTS sound,
NOT how the PLAYER sounds. Which is, I believe, where the discussion started.

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
ICQ UIN 4862265

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

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