Klarinet Archive - Posting 000311.txt from 2004/10

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Selmer St. Louis and Question for NYC Listers
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 00:21:30 -0400

At 07:50 PM 10/9/2004 -0400, Bryan Rudderow wrote:
>Dan,
>
>It was actually suprising to me how different the sounds of the Selmer
>Signature and the St. Louis were in comparison to my Festival. And that
>was not just coming from my personal take on the sound qualities. My
>assumptions were confirmed by both the salesman and my father, who is not
>a clarinetist, let alone a musician. I asked my father because I wanted
>someone who would be impartial to clarinet brands, and give me an honest
>opinion of the depth of the clarinet (aka. how much 12th) and especially
>the sound quality over all. Both he and I concurred that the St. Louis
>was much more direct in its sound production, but lacking a lot of the
>ringing 12th I was looking for. The Sig, on the other hand, had a ton of
>12th but something was lacking in the quality of the setup of the
>instrument (it could of been a pad seating slightly off, or something similar)
>
>Your statement saying that it would be astonishing if it didn't sound the
>same is correct on some levels, every instrument had the same general
>sound, my sound. Every instrument played the respective note I wanted
>played. But beyond that, the difference, especially in the amount of 12th
>as I listed before, was rather suprising.

In general, I find that Selmers have more fundamental and Buffets more
higher partials, making them sound different from each other, although
which one is "better" is strictly a matter of personal opinion.

I ran a head-to-head comparison just this morning between my Bundy 1400 and
Vito 7212 plastic clarinets, using the same setup on both (Woodwind K10M
with Legere reed). Both are in excellent repair. I EXPECTED them to be
quite similar, as they both have large, cylindrical bores (.590 and .584
respectively) but the Bundy won hands down to my ears, and my fingers liked
the layout better, too. Someone with SMALLER hands would likely prefer the
Vito's ergonomics. The Vito sounded small and thin by comparison, while
the Bundy was richer and fuller in the chalumeau AND clarion registers. I
think different instruments DO sound different, although the differences
are often too small to be reliably noted in other than direct
comparisons. How an instrument FEELS in your hands is at least as important.

Bill Hausmann

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

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