Klarinet Archive - Posting 001062.txt from 2003/04

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Remarkable Similarity.....
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:46:38 -0400

At 09:06 PM 4/22/2003 -0400, Walter Grabner wrote:
>Last night I was working on a Vito (plastic) bass clarinet. Tonight I am
>working on a Yamaha YCL-220 U.S.A bass clarinet.
>
>In most regards the mechanisms are identical. This includes a rather nasty
>design flaw in which you cannot get to the set screws that regulate the
>left hand stack keys because they are under the trill keys. (The upper and
>lower joints are semi-permanently attached).
>
>What should be a 10 second adjustment becomes a ten minute dissassebbly
>and re-assembly.
>
>Anyway, does anybody know why these two brand/models are so similar? Does
>LeBlanc make them for Yamaha? Did Yamaha hire a spy and steal the
>blueprints from a locked safe in Racine? I'd like to know.

Leblanc makes the YCL-220 bass clarinets for Yamaha, and also provides them
for several other companies (Olds is one, I believe). The Yamaha YCL-24 II
Bb clarinet (long discontinued) was a thinly disguised Vito. Yamaha made
Holton student brass instruments for Leblanc for many years. Bach low
brass is made by Yamaha, etc. It is a fascinating business!

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is supported by Woodwind.Org, http://www.woodwind.org/