Klarinet Archive - Posting 000216.txt from 2002/03

From: "J Limacher" <jlimacher@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Yamaha YCL-CSV vs CS
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 03:41:35 -0500

Tom,

In October 2001 Lisa Argiris of International Musical Suppliers sent me four
Yamaha clarinets to try, one each of the models CX, CS, CSV, and SEV. (I
think the CX is the discontinued predecessor to the CS.) All four
instruments seemed to be very good individual specimens, so I didn't feel
the need to ignore any characteristic. Workmanship on the instruments was
uniformly excellent. Intonation was also uniformly good. Neither blowing
resistance nor response were differentiating factors.

In terms of the perceived complexity of the timbre, I'd rank them from least
to most complex in the order that I listed them above. The CX had a clear
fundamental with substantial energy in a couple of higher partials. The CS
was similar to the CX, but had noticeably more "buzz" (i.e., higher
partials) in the sound. To me the CSV seemed an extension in the CX-to-CS
direction, in that it retained the strong fundamental but added yet more
buzz to the sound. All three of these clarinets (the CX, CS, and CSV)
shared the Buffet R13's tendency (in my opinion) to boom a bit in the lowest
chalumeau and get a little one-dimensional in the low altissimo. The SEV
struck me as arising from a different aesthetic than the other three models.
The fundamental frequency was still the most powerful, but the sound
contained significant energy in several upper partials. This timbral
richness was present throughout the instrument's range.

(Is it obvious from my use of the word "richness" that the next step of my
search was restricted to SEVs? I was looking for a particular kind of
sound, one that perhaps only a minority of clarinetists may prefer.)

I hope that you are able to translate my words into concepts that you can
understand. In any case you should see that I found the major difference
between the instruments to be timbral and that the difference between the CS
and the CSV was not large.

Joseph Limacher

Tom Wood <n4cid@-----.net> wrote:
>
> I am trying to get a grip on the difference between the CS and CSV Bb
> clarinets.
>
> Has anyone tried them in an A vs B type comparison or something
> similar? Are there any strong opinions from anyone on the list about
> the differences in these clarinets.
>
> I am looking at a YCL-CSV but am in the boonies and limited in my
> ability to try clarinets. (Not that I am so sure trying a half dozen
> or so different horns would give a positive result in my case....
>
> Tks, Tom W
>

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