Klarinet Archive - Posting 000649.txt from 2002/11

From: "Tim Roberts" <timr@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] GreenLine clarinets
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 23:57:57 -0500

On Thu, 14 Nov 2002 16:03:32 -0500, Deidre Calarco <dleigh@-----.org>
wrote:
>
>Are there people who think that material (wood vs. plastic vs. metal)
>doesn't make any difference at all? I've got an old metal clarinet that was
>given to me by my grandfather, and boy does it ever have a bright sound -
>almost like a soprano sax!

Metal is a bit different. In wood and plastic clarinets, the bodies are so
thick that they do not vibrate detectably, and if they do not vibrate, they
cannot affect the sound. This is documented in Benade's research.

Metal clarinets are thin enough that the body vibration might be detectable.
However, if an aluminum body were of the same thickness as a wood clarinet,
there should be no difference.

That would be an interesting experiment, because a solid metal clarinet could
be made with a very, very smooth bore...

--
- Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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