Klarinet Archive - Posting 000036.txt from 2003/04

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Curious
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2003 11:43:07 -0500

The word "sound" has many characteristics, and I have spoken of the
character of sound in my note on the subject. It appears to me that you
are referring to "quantity" of sound in your description below.

I am also not so foolish to suggest that there is no difference in sound
quality or character between ANY two clarinets. For example, the better
made models have better intonation, and if there is something that will
cause a clarinet player to sound lousy it is bad pitch. So a $2000
Buffet probably will sound better than a $100 Chinese clarinet, but that
has to do with manufacturing quality and a thousand other details.

But to go from a fine LeBlanc to a fine Buffet under the assumption that
the switch will allow one to produce an inherently better sound
character is marketing blech. (That right: "blech" which means "nonsense.")

DNL

Jeremy A Schiffer wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Apr 2003, Dan Leeson wrote:
>
>
>>And we say this over and over because your sound character produced on a
>>clarinet does not, all things being equal, come from the clarinet.
>>Thus, when you say that the Eaton clarinet produces the richest sound
>>you ever got from a clarinet, I am suspicious of what you say, not
>>because you are an untruthful person but because it violates logic,
>>physics, and common sense.
>
>
>
> Dan, are you not willing to concede that _some_ amount of the sound's
> quality (and quantity) are affected by the instrument? I play primarily on
> a Yamaha 72 Bb, but I also have a 1970's (I think) Evette wood clarinet,
> which I use for outdoor playing. I have a little outdoor thing today, so I
> pulled out the Evette last night to make sure it was still in working
> condition (I repadded it myself, so you never know...).
>
> Using the same mouthpiece, reed and ligature (not to mention mouth, lungs
> and lips), I could not get nearly as much sound from the Evette as I could
> from the Yamaha. When I played a low G on the Yamaha, I could feel the
> floor of my apartment vibrating, yet there was no way I could recreate
> this with the Evette, no matter how hard I blew. I switched back and forth
> between the two several times, and the Yamaha always shook the floors
> while the Evette never did.
>
> Similarly, the Yamaha just had a fuller sound; I'm guessing it has
> something to do with increased partials, but I'm not a physicist. If I
> was, I'd be happy to sit in front of an oscilloscope, because I'm
> confident that there is some measurable difference between the sounds of
> these two clarinets.
>
> Would you say this was completely placebo effect? That I knew my Yamaha is
> a professional instrument, and that the Evette isn't, and I was somehow
> compensating physically, or just hearing things that weren't there? I'm
> honestly curious. I understand that the player, the mouthpiece and reed
> have _more_ effect on the sound, but it strikes me as odd to say that
> the instrument has no (or almost no) effect, as long as it is well
> manufactured. If this is true, why do companies still make different
> bores?
>
> I'm not going to argue that all Yamahas sound better than all Evettes, but
> in the case of these two instruments, ceteris paribus, the Yamaha clearly
> has a richer, fuller sound.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -jeremy
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Jeremy A. Schiffer
> AcIS Security Administrator
> Columbia University
> 212-854-2903
>
> Please direct all computer security related queries to
> security@-----.
>
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>
>

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**Dan Leeson **
**leeson0@-----.net **
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