Klarinet Archive - Posting 001332.txt from 2004/03

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Fun day at Festival
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 17:34:23 -0500

At 09:48 AM 3/23/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>It seems that your prejudice comes from a sales and marketing
>background.....not playing clarinet.

Correct. I have an MBA, so I have studied marketing, and know how easily
swayed people can be by factors that have nothing to do with product quality.

>Most clarinet players......select their instrument based on a set of
>objective criteria. Well trained musicians are constantly evaluating every
>aspect of their performance. Clarinet players are just about the biggest
>equipment fiddlers I know. The players (student or professional) that I know
>are always searching......for the perfect clarinet. They seem to end up with
>a Buffet. Not that it's perfect. It just meets most players criteria list
>better than most others.

All clarinet players BELIEVE in their hearts that they select their
instruments by totally objective criteria, just like they do when choosing
a car, a laundry detergent, or whatever. It is even POSSIBLE that some
actually DO. But especially the students stepping up to a better
instrument, who are NOT yet so finely attuned to the subtle nuances of
performance, do they REALLY chose a Buffet because they themselves find
them better, or just because their teacher/friend/mentor/idol plays one?

>You elude to "known intonation issues" with the Buffet R-13. The R-13, with
>it's "known intonation issues", has far better intonation than most
>clarinets on the market today. Far better. Someone recently discussed the
>various changes needed to improve the R-13. Most of the improvements
>suggested had been recommended by Lee Gibson three decades ago. Buffet
>responded with the Festival. While the Festival did make improvements on the
>tuning issues characteristic to the R-13, it presented new and now "known
>intonation issues" for the Festival. The most obvious being the left hand
>plays low and the right hand notes play high.

The high upper clarion on the R-13, caused by misplacement of the register
key, is well documented. Actually, this could even be one reason the R-13
has grown so popular among ASPIRING clarinetists -- the sharpness helps
compensate for deficiencies in their own embouchures. Furthermore, I
notice on the list how it seems so popular to purchase aftermarket barrels,
bells, etc. for Buffets. If they were so perfect, why would this be
necessary? I think it is the better players trying to CORRECT the problem,
rather than give up and start over with a different instrument.

>Every clarinet is a compromise. Buffets compromise is currently the best in
>my opinion. And in the opinion of a lot (most in North America)
>professionals. Players can think and easily develop independence of thought
>and action. We aren't as stupid as you represent.....makes me smile a lot
>Bill.

Yes, compromises are made. Of course, if Buffet's result was really SO
superior, would not all the other companies immediately COPY what they have
done? Obviously, they do not feel the need, especially since, in markets
other than where you live, they have managed to sell enough to stay in
business, which would not be possible if Buffet REALLY had a 99% market share.

>If I were to switch brand logos and re-evaluate....the result would be the
>same....because the instruments being tested don't change because of a logo.
>Your bias is based on selling clarinets....not playing them.

The book is pretty old (1950's), but in the marketing expose "The Hidden
Persuaders" by Vance Packard, he presents the case of a detergent
manufacturer doing product testing. They sent out samples to
households. Some were in a yellow box, some were in a blue box, and some
were in blue and yellow box. The results: The detergent in the yellow box
was much too strong. The stuff in the blue box did not clean well
enough. The third kind was just right. Of course, the detergent in the
boxes was EXACTLY the same. So much for objectivity.

Bill Hausmann

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

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