Klarinet Archive - Posting 000881.txt from 2004/07

From: "Patricia A. Smith" <arlyss1@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Instrument ergonomics; was, clarinet to saxophone
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 23:26:45 -0400

Bill Hausmann wrote:

> Getting my vintage Martin helped, but I wish it had the ergonomics of
> the Yamaha! It would be nice if my alto clarinet had decent
> ergonomics, too. The finger spreads are so awkward!

Taking this one in a different direction:

I always found the Selmer SA80 saxes to be clumsy and heavy, and even
the Mark VI's a bit clumsy for me. (Didn't like the Mark VII's at all)
However, I LOVED my Yamaha alto - not only was it easier for me to hold,
hand-wise (and I don't have small hands, though they are not heavy), but
it also was easier for me to get around on the thing, finger-wise.

Clarinets: Again, for me, I find the Yamahas win by fingers - and
rings. Buffet rings feel SMALL to my finger pads, as if my fingers are
too fat for the keys, and are going to slide off anytime now. Selmer
clarinets, in general, have always felt heavy, and Leblancs, even
heavier, weight-wise, and I found that the rings on the bottom joint
felt larger, by far, to my fingers - which, though long, are generally
slender - than do those of the Buffets. When I chose my Yamaha (which
Walter Grabner did a BEAUTIFUL job of overhauling - or should I really
say 'restoring'! Thank you Walter!), I chose it, not only for its
evenness of intonation and how it "felt" (sorry for the subjectivity
here) insofar as how free-blowing it was; I also chose it because of the
fact that the keys and rings "fit" my fingers better than other brands
of clarinets did.

When I switch over to my A clarinet, which is an R-13A Buffet, I do
notice quite a difference, feel-wise, in the rings.

Patricia Smith

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