Klarinet Archive - Posting 000691.txt from 2004/07

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Sound character based on medium, and the subject of beating a dead h...
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 12:12:14 -0400

I want to discuss SURFACES, and the quality of SURFACES as a serious topic
here. Maybe some others can jump in.

Many times, I find the difference between a "good" mouthpiece and a "great"
mouthpiece is not measurable. There seems to be an unconscious agreement that
if a clarinet product, be it a barrel, mouthpieces, clarinet joint, etc., hits
the correct set of measurements then everything else is fine.

Some of my work is for people who are the very best in the profession. I am
currently preparing mouthpieces for a world class bass clarinet player. We have
spent hours listening, analyzing, testing different mouthpieces.

In preparing a mouthpiece for a test like this, hitting the correct
"measurements" just gets you to round one.

I find, over and over, that in the preparation of a really fine mouthpiece,
the internal surfaces and the edges of the tip rail and side rails are of
crucial importance.

Its not necessarily just a question of polishing either. I find that, for
example, over polishing the chamber or the baffle of a mouthpiece removes
"complexity" from the sound. The mouthpiece may pay every note that we want, at the
correct volume, and respond rapidly...but something is missing. The sound is no
longer good enough for a great player in a major symphony.

Now we are talking about extreme subtleties here. And no, we are not using
"scientific apparatus" to test results. We are using my ears and the ears of a
person who is at the very top of his profession. If we please our ears, that's
all the proof we need.

One of the reasons I work with different materials, is that you can have
different qualities of surface. The surface of cocobolo wood is going to be more
porous that grenadilla, or rosewood. It is certainly different from rubber or
delrin or glass.

Different surfaces impart different characteristics to the sound. Some of
those changes are so subtle that the trained musician cannot detect them. Some
are detectable and are perceived as improvement or vice versa. I am firmly
convinced of that.

On a personal level, I am very serious about my own playing. I wasnt to use
the best equipment I can to help me produce the best tone, most "in tune," with
faster response I can. I am NOT married to any approach, concept, material,
idea. In fact, I have tried to open myself as much as possible to new ideas and
test them on the basis of results only.

Now, I want to tell you, I hate working with cocobolo. It's nasty and oily
and does not work as well as other woods. I have even broken out in rashes from
handling it.

Why do I continue to offer a cocobolo barrel? Because, in my own playing, I
keep coming back to my cocobolo barrels as helping me produce the tone and
response I want from my clarinets. Is it a huge, major difference? Maybe not. I
have a couple of Buffet barrels here that are wonderful. But, I feel or sense an
additional warmth and overall smoothness of tone when I use my personal
cocobolo barrels.

Walter Grabner
http://www.clarinetxpress.com/
World-class clarinet mouthpieces

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