Klarinet Archive - Posting 000709.txt from 2004/07

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Material influence on sound...one more time
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 21:22:53 -0400

At 10:52 AM 7/17/2004 -0700, Warren Rosenberg wrote:
>I've always heard that Buffet was King of the Clarinet Manufacturers and
>Grenadilla wood was the king of woods for clarinet.
>Now I wonder what's the straight dope.
>Is Buffet just a label like BMW and Benz, etc? Certainly the mechanics of
>the keys, etc. are better quality than the WalMart variety of which everyone
>is so fond, but for the difference in price between a "student" buffet and a
>R$

Now you are catching on. Yes, they are just different brands. If Buffet
is BMW, Selmer Paris is Mercedes-Benz, Leblanc is Audi,
Yamaha...ummm...Saab or something. Does each have its particular strengths
and weaknesses? Yes. Is one particularly the "in" brand at the
moment? Yes, and was not always, either. Of course, Like Ford and GM, the
same companies that manufacture Lincolns and Cadillacs also makes Tauruses
and Escorts and Cavaliers and Grand Ams. The student Buffet is made in a
different factory, in a different country, from a different set of
specifications, so other than the Buffet LABEL, it really shares nothing in
common with its professional-level sibling. Same goes for Selmer USA
clarinets as compared to their French namesakes. Vitos at least share most
design elements with the Noblet line. But in all these cases, it is left
to OTHER companies to make the Yugos and Trabants that get sold through
Wal-mart and similar outlets.

As for the wood, Grenadilla wood is uniquely well suited for making
instruments in large measure because of its working properties and density,
rather than for any inherent sound qualities it might possess. But
rosewood also turns out nicely. And cocobolo. And combinations of 95%
powdered Grenadilla with resin binder and fiberglass reinforcing threads
seems to work very well, too (Buffet Greenline). Various plastics have
proven to be inexpensive and durable, and expensive clarinets can be and
ARE made of it (see Howarth). Of course, being artists, we like to have
tools of our trade that are made with artisan care and materials, so we opt
for the wood more often than not.

Does wood SOUND different? Maybe. VERY slightly. Does it sound
BETTER? Depends on your definition of "better." In the test mentioned in
an earlier post between wood, hard rubber, and metal, if the participants
had been asked not "Which one is the wood one?" but "Which one sounds
better?" who knows how many might have chosen the metal one?

Bill Hausmann

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

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