Klarinet Archive - Posting 001246.txt from 2000/05

From: Lars Kirmser <syrinx@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Shame on Leblanc?
Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 12:57:47 -0400

Sounds like you had a very bad day. I dare say this was an anomaly with
regard to the Leblanc. I have had good results with all the pro line
Leblancs received in our store (so have the many thousands who prefer them
to the R13's). I think, however, that it is hardly fair to imply Leblanc is
an irresponsible manufacturer. I am reasonably satisfied that what you
discovered with the one Concerto (that you got via Ebay) was exactly as you
have described, but let's be fair, one experience is hardly a reasonable
test for the condemnation of a manufacturer or their product. Believe me,
all manufacturers let a few blatant examples of poor quality control out
the door by mistake. Would you have written a similar post had the eBay
purchase been one of your beloved R13's? I suspect not. I further suspect
that the negative acoustical aspects that you described were perhaps unique
to you as a performer, combined with the mouthpiece/reed/ligature set up
you use; that particular instrument may play perfectly for another
player/set up, who knows. Don't give up on Leblanc after one bad
experience. All of the major manufacturers are doing an amazing job at
providing us with a broad range of good quality instruments to choose from.
Were we to lose any of them (the manufacturers) we would all be that much
poorer for it. Best Regards, Lars Kirmser

At 03:47 PM 5/26/00 -0300, Ed & Carol Maurey wrote:
>As an experiment I've been buying different clarinets on eBay and giving
them a thorough playing, measuring and evaluation. When I'm thru with the
instruments I simply sell them on eBay. Harmless fun.
>
>I recently bought a Leblanc Concerto Bb to scruntinize. It had had very
little use an was in perfect playing condition. The first thing my
machinist's eyes noticed was a misalignment of the posts that hold the
right hand B-F# slivver key: ugly, but harmless. The bell had been
slathered in some varnishy wood filler glop. I guess good wood is hard to
find these days. The nickel plating was wearing off the rings only to
reveal bright, red, copper. Nickel plates just fine directly over nickel
silver and when it eventually wears off it doesn't look "two-tone."
Manufacturing idiocy! These faults were pretty superficial, but did not
bode well.
>
>How'd it play? The scale was generally very good. The main twefths were
very nice. When it was really wamed up it centered on 440 with my Pyne M.
The throat tones, however, were flat. I eventually traced this problem to
more sloppy manufacturing: the barrel's socket was half a mm deeper than
the top joint's top tenon. This gave a gap unseen to the player. I put in
a 1mm tuning ring and the thoat tones were actually sharpened! [Surely,
Eddy Daniels horn wasn't like this.]
>
>The altissimo register was flattish and absolutely demanded adding the
Eb-Ab key. The high F# was hideously flat... repulsive.
>
>The tone lacked the sweetness of an R13 and, to my ears, was rather
undistinguished. I found my R13, in general, more pleasurable to play.
>
>One last bit of poor manufacturing to expose: The minimum bore is
advertised as .577"....it was .579" as measured in both top and bottom
joints. That wouldn't pass in my shop.
>
>Granted, this is only one sample and, perhaps, the only lemon Concerto
ever made. However, I don't think I'll bother looking in eBay for a
Concerto A to audition.
>
>Ed Maurey
>

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