Klarinet Archive - Posting 000134.txt from 2002/03

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Interested in buying a new clarinet.
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 22:10:38 -0500

on 3/8/2002 11:12 AM, Allen Levin wrote:

>In 1981 I switched from Selmer to Buffet. At that time
>I discussed the plusses and minuses of all manufacturers with Mark Jacobi -
>a prominent Philadelphia technician. He remarked that the Yamaha would
>produce the finest clarinet when it could overcome certain tone quality and
>intonation problems. It sounds like the intonation problem is licked,
>anyway.

I'm a Yamaha Performing Artist - played them in the Richmond Symphony
since 1985. I switched because, in 1985, Buffet was neglecting to address
some well acknowledged pitch problems and some keywork durability issues.
In my opinion, the pitch of the Yamaha professional instruments has
always been very good. They require much less adjusting from their basic
scale to play in tune, either in orchestra, or with fixed pitch
instruments.

I'll admit that Yamahas don't sound like Buffet, although they seem to be
modeled on the R-13 (just a guess on my part). But I defy anyone to hear
a Richmond Symphony broadcast and tell me if I'm playing Buffet (pre
1985) or Yamaha (after 1985). Most of the sound is made by the player
anyway, not by the instrument. And by finding a mouthpiece appropriate to
my Yamaha, I got it to pretty much sound the way I always did when I
played Buffet.

Since each player is different, the clarinet they prefer is likely to be
different as well. There are many good manufacturers, and as many sound
concepts as there are players. To me, picking a clarinet is a process of
finding an instrument that will allow you to get the sound that you hear
in your mind with the least amount of effort/adjustment, whatever brand
that may turn out to be.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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