Klarinet Archive - Posting 000182.txt from 2003/08
From: "Thiel, Mark" <mark.thiel@-----.com> Subj: [kl] E flat sax questions Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 11:03:36 -0400
Nancy Buckman wrote:
>Is it feasible to remake a high and/or low pitch instrument to
>440? Specifically, is it worthwhile?
Remake? Well sure. If it's a clarinet you just fill in all the holes with
wood filler and redrill them in the right places. Saxes are a little more
difficult.
If you had something a bit less extreme in mind, about the only practical
thing (for a high pitch instrument) is reducing the bore somehow. For
clarinets, the classic dodge is to hang string or wire down the bore. Sax
bores are vastly larger and conical, so different measures are called for.
I have an old high-pitch Buffet tenor. In the bore from the neck socket
down to the bend, I insert a piece of wood that tapers from nothing up to
about a .75 inch cross section. I put another chunk of lumber in the bell
part of the bore and still pull the mouthpiece out pretty far. Does it
work? Yes. Well? Not really. I can play in tune with a bit of work; the
highest (palm-key) notes are a bit flat; and the tone is somewhat muffled
and muddied -- but it's better than making a lamp out of it.
Mark Thiel (a former Anne Arundel MD countian)
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