Klarinet Archive - Posting 000319.txt from 2004/08

From: Nancy Buckman <eefer@-----.net>
Subj: Fwd: Re: [kl] Morrie's contribution
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 11:12:51 -0400

I have forwarded the following for Tom Puwalski.

>From: Tski1128@-----.com
>Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 07:31:12 EDT
>Subject: Re: [kl] Morrie's contribution
>To: eefer@-----.net
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>Thanks Nancy the text of what I was trying to post follows:
>
>
>
>I had the good fortune of meeting Morrie Backum at the clarinet fest in
>Salt Lake city last year. I had a chance to try the bells and barrels and
>subsequently bought some for my set of Yamaha SEVs. They sounded
>considerably better then the original yamaha equiptment. I also had a
>chance to hang out and have dinner with Morrie, where he talked about his
>philosophy of repair and overhaul. My Sevs then made a pilgramige to
>Vancouver, where he did an amazing job of making the horns play better
>than they had played when I picked them out in Grand Rapids.
>
>But the thing I remember the most for the Salt Lake city fest is an
>incedent that occured that I think reflects a great deal about Morrie and
>his charactor. I was working at the Yamaha booth, as I'm a yamaha
>artist. Morrie cam over and asked if I would help with a customer. I
>went over and met a young man about 14-15 with his grandfather. This
>young man was playing a brand new Yamaha SEV, a great clarinet I must
>say, with the stock yamaha mouthpiece. He was playing on a really crappy
>reed. To top it off his grandfather was there with his check book ready to
>buy what ever would make this young mad play better. My grandfather was
>like that and damn I miss him. As I was talking to Morrie I got the
>distinct impression that Morrie was a little hesitant about selling this
>young man a bell and barrel combo. After talking to the young man, I
>found out he only had studied with his band director and his band director
>wasn't a clarinetist.
>
>Ok what would you do. Man this is an easy sale, spending someone elses
>money on something that everyone else is buying. It took me back to being
>in the army and spending Government money on clarinet stuff. Well I'll
>tell you what we did. First off, He didn't need a new barrel or bell. So
>we walked on over to Clark Fobes booth, and I picked out a really nice
>Fobes "Debut" mouthpiece, nothing better a 3x the price, Clark through in
>a 3 vandoren V12s. We then went to the Legere booth and I picked out 2
>legeres that played on the Fobes. After that I sat with my Ridenour ATG
>and made those Vadorens sing! So the moral of the story is:
>
>1 Fobes Debut $25 +or-
>2 Legere reeds $23 =or-
>Not having your ignorance exploited PRICELESS!
>
>So here is MY opinion on the Backum bells and barrels: Can I play anything
>with the Backum equipment that I can't play on the Yamaha stuff, NO. But
>the Backum stuff sounds noticibly better. Does the Backum barrel play in
>tune, no. But I can play intune easier on it than with the Yamaha
>barrel. You can't buy game! I have 2 sets of yamaha SEVs, a Yamaha
>681Eb, A set of Buffet RCs, an RC Prestige C clarinet. All of them have
>been "Backumized", to include barrels and bells. A week before Clarfest I
>got my Buffet bass back from Morrie, it was repaired, overhauled,
>reincarnated, whatever, but this bass is the most amazing instrument I've
>played. I can play things on it that were impossible before it was
>"done". The job on the bass made it play like a totally different
>horn. It became truely "user" friendly.
>
>So that about says it for me.
>
>Tom Puwalski, Former principal clarinet and soloist with the US Army Field
>Band, author of the "Clarinetist's Guide to Klezmer", Clarinetist with
>Lox&Vodka, and now funkin out with the hippest new klezmer band "The Atonement"

Nancy Buckman
Principal Clarinet / Orchestra AACC
eefer@-----.net

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