Klarinet Archive - Posting 000830.txt from 2002/10
From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] What makes the biggest difference, the horn or the player?
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 17:19:55 -0500
I think something else to be said here, is that the quality of
the instrument for most of us is different from the ones that is
alloted to those who are "Buffet Artists" or
"Leblanc Artists" (or Selmer, Yamaha, etc...)
To prove my point, I would ask anyone from the list who has been
to a Clarinetfest, and ask if the quality of the instruments
were better at the show than in the music stores.
In reality, it is not the quality of the instruments, as much as
it is the quality of the repair and maintenance the instrument
receives prior to sale.
In discussing this problem with people at big showrooms for
instruments, the problem is clear. Instrument prices allow from
$50-$150 and instrument profit. If the instrument is worked on
by a repairperson (and the repairperson is paid $25 hour) for 4
hours to fix all of the problems from the factory, most
instruments are sold at a loss. Thus, most instruments in the
stores are NOT worked on much before play testing.
The instruments brought to trade shows are different (usually.)
The people at the factory pick the cream of the crop, and then
have repair people look at the instruments to fix imperfections
and mechanical problems BEFORE they are sent out.
Likewise, a "Selmer/Yamaha/Leblanc/Buffet Artist" would
have an instrument chosen from a pool of worked-on instruments,
and then have a great deal, if not unlimited repair and tweaking
done to their instrument to make sure it is in top shape, so
they will stay with the instrument.
Which brings me to the statement many "*brand* Artists
make... "It is the best instrument I have ever played."
We can actually believe that, knowing what went into the
scenario. The artist might have never had people at a
manufacturing company at his/her disposal before, and therefore,
this instrument might very well *BE* the best new instrument
they have ever played...or at least the best maintained new
instrument.
Take Ricardo Morales, which many people on this list adore for
one reason or another. He has used Buffet Prestige instruments,
Leblanc Symphony instruments (which he supposedly help design
the latest model) and Selmer Signature and Recital instruments.
Guess what? When the principal clarinettist of a MAJOR symphony
wants a new horn, he gets it...any way he wants it. The only
stipulation is that he becomes "their" artist. I would
do it for the repair aspect alone!
Back to the Clarinetfest... I had just purchased a Bb/A set of
Buffet Prestiges 6 months before the 2001 Clarinetfest in New
Orleans, which I liked a lot. It took me 2 years of looking
before finding the instruments I wanted to buy. At Clarinetfest,
I found at LEAST 30 instruments I would have taken instead of my
horns...at LEAST 30! All different brands...makes...models.
These were the same types of instruments I had tried out at 3
major instrument distributors. The only difference is that these
instruments had all been put in GREAT playing condition. I hated
my horns after that (they were very nice horns, I just was upset
at having spent so much time to find very good horns, when there
were GREAT ones out there to have.) I have since sold them.
If anyone is looking for an instrument, and is willing to spend
$1500-$3000 on an instrument for a professional horn, I always
say, WAIT until the next Clarinetfest, and GO. (You can also go
to larger regional Clarinet gatherings to get similar results.)
The $500 or less you will spend on the airfare, hotel, and food
will be WELL worth getting an instrument from the company that
will be to your liking, and in great repair. PLUS...the music
reseller of your choice there gets the sale, and didn't have to
do $100+ of repairs on the instrument when the factory sent an
ill-adjusted instrument to them to be sold. This allows you to
try out ALL the major brands with GREAT instruments, so you can
decide which instrument was the best, in a controlled setting,
instead of which ones came from the factory in the best shape,
which I believe is the main reason why instruments are chosen
out of a batch at a store...MAINTENANCE.
I am getting off my soapbox now. Me being 5'1", the 12"
of the soapbox put my head too far away from the ground and I
swooned while chatting too much!
Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- Karl Krelove <karlkrelove@-----.net> wrote:
> Bill, I'm not sure what "flow" the "best
musicians" might be
> deciding to "go
> with," especially since it is much of the time they who
set
> the standard.
>
> In any case, as has been suggested many times here,
commercial
> considerations aside, the choice of instrument, like the
> choice of
> mouthpiece, reed, etc., will, for most skilled players, be
> based largely on
> what equipment enables the player to do what he/she wants
to
> do most easily.
> The music produced by a skilled player is the result of
> technique coupled
> with a clear concept. The tool, with all the design
decisions
> that have gone
> into it, makes that musical result easier or harder to
> achieve. That Player
> X always sounds the same doesn't mean the effort he/she
puts
> into that sound
> is the same for every instrument.
>
> Karl Krelove
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: William Wright [mailto:b5w@-----.net]
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 3:46 PM
> > To: klarinet@-----.org
> > Subject: Re: [kl] What makes the biggest difference,
the
> horn or the
> > player?
> >
> >
> > .....an adjunct question would be:
> >
> > Do the best musicians have such a clear concept of the
sound
> they want
> > that they will change their technique in order to
produce
> this sound, no
> > matter the details of the instrument they happen to
have in
> their hands?
> >
> > Or perhaps they will say instead: "Hey, I'll go
with the
> flow and
> > enjoy this instrument for its own sake."
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