Klarinet Archive - Posting 000002.txt from 2001/10

From: Tom.Henson@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Buffet Festival Green Line
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 11:00:55 -0400

Hello,

I'm new to this list, but have been actively searching through the archives
concerning a clarinet purchase I am about to make.

I used to play professionally in the Army band in Heidelberg, Germany from
1974 to 1976. After I got out of the Army and attended college my interest
slowly changed and my career path has taken me down the road to computers.
While I enjoy working in IT daily, I have recently realized that I still
miss playing clarinet. I Made up my mind recently to get back into playing
strictly as an amateur, and for the enjoyment of it.

I recently purchased a Peter Eaton International Bb clarinet and am
generally pleased with this instrument. However, after doing much research
on the current quality of wood available now vs. when I used to play
professionally is somewhat disappointing to say the least.

There are still clarinets being made with very good wood, but they are
getting harder and harder to find (read expensive). Before I purchased the
Eaton clarinet, I looked at the Buffet R-13 Prestige, Leblanc Opus, and
Selmer Signature clarinets. All of these clarinets are considered more or
less near the top of the line for each maker.

While the wood on the Buffet was beautiful to look at, I was amazed at how
rough the bore was. It just did not have a nice smooth polished look. It
could be that the example that I was testing was not typical. The Leblanc
was not much better. I felt the Selmer had the better polished bore, but the
overall wood still wasn't outstanding like I remember.

I know that the wood should not be the only consideration, sound and
intonation probably being the most important. But I still was very concerned
about shelling out so much money on an unknown.

That is what led me to look at the Eaton clarinet. I ordered one to test and
was immediately impressed with the quality of the wood. The quality of the
instrument overall is very high. Buffet still makes the best key work though
in my opinion, but the Eaton is close. Keys are heavily silver plated
(triple I think) and the clarinet appears to be a thick walled vs. thin
walled design. It produces a nice rich dark sound, but not as dark as their
Elite model. I would say the sound is somewhere between an R-13 and the
darker English/European sound.

Even after I purchased this clarinet of which I am very happy, I still
wanted the R-13 sound, but just hesitated on the question of wood. Then with
the help of the Klarinet Archives, I discovered an alternative. The Buffet
Green Line. I read everything I could find about this and it appears that
many people have accepted this as a good alternative to wood. I talked with
Lisa Argiris at IMS, and she recommended that I try the Buffet Festival
Green Lines. She pick out two from her inventory and sent them to me
yesterday.

>From the moment I played both of these clarinets I was floored. Not only did
they have that wonderful R-13 type sound, but I don't have to worry about
the wood and the ugly cracking issue. I have heard these clarinets described
as being "plastic" or "composite". I did not know what they would look like,
but was pleasantly surprised that they look very similar to a real wood
clarinet, except you don't see any grain and the finish is a duller matt
color. Other than that, from a distance you probably would not notice unless
you knew what to look for.

Right now I am trying to decide between the two which one I will keep. This
is a very tough decision, as both of them play fantastic. I would love to
get to advice and help on this issue from the list if possible. Subjective
opinions are fine, as when you are dealing with sound it is hard to define.

One clarinet seems to blow very freely and easy, with very little effort. It
also seems to have slightly better intonation overall. The sound is a little
brighter than the other one. One thing that I noticed is that the center or
focus of the tone seems to be right in the mouthpiece/barrel. I don't know
if this makes any sense to anyone else, but I can feel that the focus and
center of the tone is right there within the mouthpiece/barrel. Because of
this, I find it very easy to manipulate the sound with my embouchure.
Changing mouthpieces and reeds can either darken or brighten the sound. One
mouthpiece that seems to work very well is my Morgan RM-15 using a #3
Vandoren V12 reed. I can also vary the sound from reed brand to reed brand.
Vandoren, Steuer, Glotin, etc. all sound slightly different. This clarinet
has very open and clear throat tones, with good intonation.

The second clarinet seems to have more resistance. It takes a stronger and
firmer embouchure. The center of the tone seems to be farther down into the
upper joint section, past the mouthpiece/barrel. It produces a richer,
darker tone with more ring and overtones, but takes a lot more control and
work to maintain. I'm sure once I am back in shape that it would not be a
problem, but I just have to blow harder to produce the sound. One thing that
I noticed, maybe because of where the focus of the tone is, is that the
throat tones are not as clear and the Bb is stuffy using the octave key. If
you use the side key it is good. The intonation overall appears to be
slightly less than the other clarinet, with some notes a little sharp by
about 10 cents (low A and low C).

After playing on both instruments for several hours, I just could not come
to any conclusion as to which would be best. Each has it own tone and I like
both. However, I had read somewhere in the archives that clarinets with
stuffy throat tones or ones that tend to play a little sharp should be
avoided. I am concerned that I would need to have the one with the stuffy Bb
worked to try and improve it. I don't know if this can be done. I am also
concerned about the effort the second one takes to produce a quality tone. I
have heard that a little resistance in the bore will give you a better tone,
and it certainly would not take long to get back in shape with this
resistance. I also feel that because the second clarinet produces the center
of the tone farther down into the upper joint, that I will not be able to
control or manipulate the sound as much.

If anyone has any similar experience picking out a clarinet, please let me
know what you found to work best. Also, I would appreciate an instructors
view toward the tone production and where in the instrument is best given
the long run.

Thanks,

Tom Henson
Houston, Texas

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