Klarinet Archive - Posting 000665.txt from 2000/08

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Plastic vs. Wood
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 21:28:43 -0400

There is insufficient evidence to believe that the sound character of a
clarinet is seriously influenced by the material of which the clarinet
is made. The only significant advantage of wood is that it is an
aesthetically beautiful material in the eyes of some. But if the amount
of effort made in constructing a clarinet of wood were spent in
constructing it of glass, plastic, metal, or any of a variety of media,
there is little doubt that you could not tell the difference between the
instruments in a blind test.

What you believe is one thing, but what the facts are appear to be at
odds with what you believe. There is a social pressure to play on
wooden clarinets, but the source of that pressure is simply the same
kind of thinking that says "Corn flakes bought on Rodeo Drive in Los
Angeles are much better than corn flakes bought in Kearney, Nebraska."

les debusk wrote:
>
> Im sorry i didn't mention my reason for saying i didn't think so. At the end
> of the email i asked a few questions about how wood resonates and how it
> matters acoustically. I my self think that wood plays an important role in
> tone quality and some how in acoustics by the way of something that i dont know
> of. In both tone quality and acoustics i have no clue how wood plays in. But
> there must be a reason to start off with. Why was it first made of wood and
> why it has stayed the same and only used mainly for professional line
> clarinets? There has to be something that wood has sound wise and tone wise
> that other materials dont. Correct? I dont think that the material should
> matter because theory suggests there be no difference, but in turn i think that
> there is a good reason for the clarinet to be made of wood. And the reason i
> have no clue. That's why i ask, is there a reason? Acoustically, tone,
> something? Sorry about the way i put it down.
>
> Les DeBusk
>
> Daniel Leeson wrote:
>
> > You say below, that if you made an instrument out of plastic to very
> > precise specifications, you do not think that it would sound like a
> > wooden clarinet. I therefore conclude that you believe that the sound
> > of a clarinet is very much dependent on the material out of which it is
> > made. Thus, extending what you said, you appear to believe that a metal
> > clarinet, a plastic clarinet, a bamboo clarinet, etc. will sound
> > differently from a wooden clarinet even if made to very precise
> > specifications.
> >
> > Why do you think this to be true? When you posed this question to
> > yourself in your note, all you gave was "In many ways I don't think so."
> > Personally, I am very interested in understanding how you came to this
> > conclusions.
> >
> > There are others on this list who will argue very strongly that exactly
> > the opposite is the case.
> >
> > les debusk wrote:
> > >
> > > What is the difference? Is it not the material but the design and
> > > components that make the sound correct? Or is there another side to the
> > > story? If you made a clarinet identical (size,bore,ring size,key
> > > position,ect..) to a, lets say, Buffet R-13 out of a heavy plastic would
> > > you not get the same tone and sound? In many ways i dont think so. But
> > > thinking about it, wood warps and cracks. Plastic doesn't. And many
> > > clarinet players often play with a barrel made of a sort of plastic
> > > because most of the time the wooden barrel has to be replaced every few
> > > years due to the change of the roundness and because it warps. Another
> > > question to this story is..... Does wood resonate more than a heavy
> > > plastic? And does the thickness and weight play into the sound
> > > production? In other words i know there has to an acoustic reason for
> > > wood. If there wasn't they could be made out of anything sturdy enough,
> > > true?
> > > Thank you,
> > > Les DeBusk
> > >
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> >
> > --
> > ***************************
> > ** Dan Leeson **
> > ** leeson0@-----.net **
> > ***************************
> >
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--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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