Klarinet Archive - Posting 000117.txt from 2003/05

From: "Joseph H. Fasel" <jhf@-----.gov>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: outgrowing a Concerto/was "Silly question"
Date: Tue, 6 May 2003 15:19:17 -0400

Thanks much, Elise. So, I guess I should compare the register tubes
on my A and Bb Concertos, and if they are the same length, then I
have an issue.

At first blush, _increasing_ the blowing resistance for lefthand
notes to correct a grunt in the upper clarion sounds counterintuitive,
but I guess the idea is that this will permit you to apply more
breath pressure over all and thus avoid the grunt.

Cheers,
--Joe

On 2003.05.06 09:18 EClarinet@-----.com wrote:
> In a message dated 5/6/03 3:16:22 AM EST, klarinet-digest-help@-----.org
> writes:
>
> << Would you know what these adjustments and/or modifications are?
>
> Thanks.
> --Joe
>
> On 2003.05.05 14:24 EClarinet@-----.com wrote:
> > Before I decided to chuck away my top-of-the-line clarinet, I called Tom
> > Ridenour, and he gave me some very good advice about the relative merits
> of
> > those 2 clarinets. As you may know, he designed the Concerto, and was a
> > consultant on the Signature. He understood what I was saying about the
> > resistance in the upper clarion, and I am sending my Concerto to him this
> > week to have him make adjustments to it to fix the problem.
> >>
>
> Yes, Tom told me in detail what he is going to do. He is inserting a 'spike'
> into the register key tube to increase the blowing resistance in the left
> hand notes. To counterbalance this somewhat, he is going to slightly hollow
> out my bell, so the right hand will be free blowing enough.
>
> He also mentioned that some of the later Concertos have register key tubes
> that are too long....Leblanc used 'A' clarinet tubes instead of Bb tubes to
> do a quick fix for the same problem, after Tom left them. These longer tubes
> cause the 'grunt' or undertone in pianissimo passages in the upper clarion,
> limiting how soft you can play. He told me to check my students horns to see
> which one they have. So far, I have compared 2 of their Concertos to mine (I
> do not push Concertos on my students, but they've been able to get better
> deals on Ebay on them than other brands). One had a longer tube, and one had
> the same as mine ( I have an earlier Concerto, ca. 1992). The student with
> the longer tube said, when I looked at hers and commented on the length, "oh,
> is that why I've been having problems?" We are going to have our local
> repairman replace her tube with a Bb one.

Joseph H. Fasel, Ph.D. email: jhf@-----.gov
Stockpile-Complex Modeling and Analysis phone: +1 505 667 7158
University of California fax: +1 505 667 2960
Los Alamos National Laboratory post: D-2 MS F609; Los Alamos, NM 87545

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