Klarinet Archive - Posting 001261.txt from 2000/05

From: "Ed & Carol Maurey" <edsshop@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: [kl] Shame on Leblanc?
Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 19:49:35 -0400

Actually, Lars, I was looking to replace my R 13's with something better. I
had high hopes for Concerti! ... I was quite disappointed. Iv'e since
spoken with other very discerning players and technicians who strongly
agreed with my assessment. I guess this horn wasn't a fluke.
Ed Maurey

----- Original Message -----
From: Lars Kirmser <syrinx@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Shame on Leblanc?

> 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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