Klarinet Archive - Posting 001017.txt from 2000/08

From: "Don Yungkurth" <clarinet@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: Opposite register vent
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 15:56:14 -0400

I am behind on reading my Klarinet digests but have finally looked at the
various responses to Bill Wright's question below:

Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright) wrote:

> Today a clarinetist/technician showed me his collection of vintage
>instruments, some of them going back to the mid-1800's. One of them (I
>don't remember the date) was mostly Boehm, but it had the register vent
>on top of the joint instead of below, and then a key twisted around to
>the bottom of the joint, near to the thumb hole.
> My friend told me that this makes more sense because water doesn't
>accumulate in the register vent if it's on top. When the vent is on the
>bottom, then you need to add a tube inside the joint in order to divert
>water, and this tube contributes to the alto and altissimo intonation
>and tone color probelms.
> I asked him why clarinet manufacturers abandoned this, and he said
>that he didn't know the reason, except perhaps that the keywork was too
>complicated. But it looked fairly simple to me. It's just that the
>pivot rod for the key was 90 degrees to the normal position.

> So I'm curious: Is there more to the story than what I've
>recounted?

I don't know the answer but can make a few comments and observations. Past
discussions on Klarinet about Buffet R13 "A" clarinets indicated that the
shape and or length of the register tube affected response, "stuffiness" and
intonation. In the case of my own Buffet R13 "A", Francois Kloc changed the
tube for me at the 1998 Columbus Clarinetfest and improved the instrument
considerably. In this case, at least, the register tube did considerably
more than just divert condensation.

In addition, the thumb hole tube on my R13s extends slightly into the bore -
perhaps 1/16 inch vs. 1/4 inch for the register tube (eyeball
"measurements"). It seems that the longer length of the register tube is
for a different reason than diverting condensation, as on the thumb tube.

I have examples of the inverted register key both with and without a
register tube. The instrument without the tube is an Albert system, if that
has significance.

Don Yungkurth (clarinet@-----.net)

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