Klarinet Archive - Posting 000850.txt from 2001/01

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] first clarinet. Lyon's C clarinet, the influence of
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 22:44:22 -0500

At 01:14 AM 1/26/2001 +0100, Rien Stein wrote:
>To my great surprise in Bill Hausmann"s e-mail I read the words "my good
>Selmer".
>
>The first clarinet I bought, at that time I played clarinet for about 14
>months, was a Selmer, if I remember right, the type was P9.
>
>Even my teacher - a professionel player wih a good reputation among lovers
>of Roumanian music - culdn't play in tune on it. I got another, according to
>the catalogue better, or at any rate more expensive one. It had the same
>problem, in an even stronger degree. And even to my teacher it was
>absolutely impossible to produce an even for an average amateur acceptable
>sound, let alone for me.
>
>Of course after that experience I have always been somewhat sharp on Selmers
>at the rare occasions I met one, but I never found them satisfying - of
>course I am prejudiced after this experience, but it strikes me that
>yesterday, in Utrecht, I was with all three music instrument shops and asked
>for Selmer, there were none on stock. Do the probably scarce good ones go
>exclusively to the US?

I have no idea why you personally have had bad experiences with Selmers. I
have played Buffets I did not like, either, but also some I have liked very
much. I used to be prejudiced against Buffets, but have lately become more
tolerant. In any case, the Selmer Series 10 I bought in 1973 was their
top-of-the-line professional instrument at that time, roughly equal in
price to the R-13 and, to my mind, every bit as good in quality. I have no
intonation problems with it at all, unless I try to use a Vandoren
mouthpiece. I think they must deliberately design them to play flat in the
altissimo to counteract the tendency of Buffets to play sharp in that
register. I've tried the B45, B46, B44, and 5RV with the same
results. The problem is not nearly as noticeable with my Rene Dumont
clarinet, though. If I play the Selmer with a Selmer, O'Brien, or Woodwind
Company (Leblanc) mouthpiece intonation is just fine. And I get that nice,
direct, "dark" sound I like with the Selmer, too. The above comments apply
only to Selmer PARIS instruments, of course. Selmer USA is a different
company, using different designs, although I do find a general similarity
in tone between the US clarinets and their French counterparts.

Bill Hausmann bhausmann1@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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