Klarinet Archive - Posting 000183.txt from 2005/08

From: ormo2ndtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] Ah, ligatures....Gold vs. Silver
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 20:39:40 -0400

Geoff, I'm not endorsing this (I've already expressed my disbelief), and
I certainly don't know anything about plating, so I'm just asking.....

Are you suggesting that perhaps silver and gold are plated at different
temperatures, and the difference in temperatures affects the metal
underneath? If so, I suppose that it's imaginable that 'softened'
metal could come into more intimate contact with more surface area of
the reed, etc.

But I still ask Jacob (I think he was the one who asked the original
question?) to think seriously about the validity of comparing ligatures
that are positioned differently on the mouthpiece, thereby changing the
reed's support. And ditto for variable tightening which could have a
major effect on how the ligature contacts the reed because tightening
distorts the ligature's original shape.

The original question was definitely an apples-vs-oranges sort of
question.

...and it's also possible (probable?) that all Gold Tradition ligatures
are not identical, just as all instances of Grabner CXZ-SW2 mouthpieces
and all R-13 Bb clarinets and all V-12 reeds are not identical. You
apparently tried only one of each ligature, and perhaps you tried
several ligatures on the same day and what you heard was your embouchure
losing strength or breath support or whatever.

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Isn't it wonderful that no musical question has a clear cut answer !?
Perhaps this is why music can allow us to transcend reality.
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