Klarinet Archive - Posting 000602.txt from 1999/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl]Hans Moennig's solution the Dark Clarinet Tone
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 07:31:29 -0400

At 12:06 AM 5/14/99 EDT, Alvin Swiney wrote:
> During my repair apprenticeship with W. Hans Moennig, I watched him
>set up and tune over two hundred R-13, A and Bb clarinets to the standards
>of Robert Marcellus. According to Mr. Moennig the A clarinet after his
>professional Set up should play just as even and have resonance equal to
that
>of the Bb Clarinet. Since most players have not had the opportunity try an
>authentic Moennig Clarinet, They just accept the inconsistent pitch and
>timbre flaws of a new A as the norm.
> It would take me three or four hours to write a detailed description
>of Mr. Moennig's exact Set Up for the A clarinet so I will offer a brief
>description instead.
>According to my notes and observations of Mr. Moennig's tuning system this
is
>his proven solution in refining the A clarinet.
> There are several means of adjusting the pitch and timbre of notes on
>woodwind instruments. To make a note Flatter the tone hole can be moved
away
>from the reed or mouthpiece. This can be done by applying tape in the upper
>side of the tone hole closest to the mouthpiece. This technique also makes
>the hole smaller and therefore adds friction to the air column. When a hole
>is made too small the note becomes stuffier in timbre. When the same tone
>hole is enlarged it will become more resonant. And if the hole is enlarged
>on the upper side (closest to the mouthpiece) the pitch will become
sharper.
>These simple acoustical rules were used by Hans Moennig to Perfect the R-13
>clarinet for some of the greatest players of the 20th Century.
> Whenever Mr. Moennig set up a clarinet for Robert Marcellus or his
>college students, the first thing that Mr. Moennig would do is lower all of
>the tone holes by Two millimeters. He did not attained this feat with tape,
>however. Mr. Moennig would add a 67 mm barrel to the clarinet and discard
>the original 65 mm barrel, thus adding 2 mm to the top side of each tone
>hole. Next he would shorten the bell by 2 mm on the lathe. This would in
>essence move all the tone holes down the horn thus making all of the notes
>play flatter while the original length of the clarinet remained the SAME.
>Now that the notes were flatter, Mr. Moennig had the option to enlarge and
>undercut them individually to obtain maximum resonance and achieve an even
>uniformed scale in all registers. The Throat tone notes which were
originally
>sharp and stuffy were slightly undercut to improve the timbre. The thumb
tube
>was replaced with the shorter Moennig hour glass style to improve the throat
>B flat and Sharp High A, B, and C. Next the left hand finger holes were
>enlarged for more resonance and undercut for tuning of the registers. The
>larger tone holes of the lower joint were increased 2 or 3 drill sizes and
>undercut immensely. This step greatly enhanced the resonance and freedom of
>the A clarinet and often clarinetist would not be able to distinguish the A
>clarinet from the B flat in timbre. Mr. Moennig's goal was to remove
>obstacles from the paths of woodwind players. By making the tone holes of
>the A clarinet larger than the original smaller stuffier holes, Mr. Moennig
>was able to make A clarinet playing easier than that of the B flat clarinet.
>
If the design deficiencies of the Buffet A clarinet (or any clarinet for
that matter) are so well known, why do the manufacturers not take steps to
revise their tooling to correct them? And why do players continue to buy
them in spite of the inherent problems? You would think normal market
forces would take care of these matters. I don't want to take away
anyone's lucrative aftermarket business, but I just don't get it!

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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