Klarinet Archive - Posting 000162.txt from 2006/10

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevin.fay.home@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Clark Fobes Eb extension
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:58:42 -0400

Bill Edinger posted:

<<<Clark Fobes has designed an extension for the Eb clarinet that goes
between the bell and end joint. He told me it was designed for the R13 Eb,
and wasn't sure about how it would work on the RC, but after borrowing
someone's and using it on my RC Eb, I can testify that it is very effective
on the RC too and now I can't wait to get one for myself. What is puzzling
to me is that the effect I noticed the most, aside from its obvious ability
to take the "edge" off the sound (pleasantly mellower and less piercing),
was how it significantly improved response in the upper clarion and
altissimo. The person I borrowed it from, who has an R13 Eb, said that that
was the main effect she got too. I have to hit altissimo A, G, and G# in a
Copland piece we're doing, and it makes them a lot easier to hit and hit in
tune, as well as the notes below. Acoustics is a major mystery to me
sometimes, but the empirical evidence is convincing.>>>

I play a fair amount of Eb - it's the usual horn I play in an adult wind
ensemble up here in Seattle (see www.washingtonwindsymphony.org for a
website that needs some work).

It works. How? I have no idea, and I don't care. It could be crystals and
pixie dust, or perhaps some other pagan incantations with the blood of
rodents. More likely, Clark has done his homework and figured it out; for a
small fee, your too can benefit from his work. I *highly* recommend trying
one of his extensions if eepher is in your arsenal.

. . . Clark makes a mean mouthpiece, too. Evan better, he makes a good
*cheap* mouthpiece. At the 2001 Clarinet festival in New Orleans, he gave
me a plastic mouthpiece that he markets as the "Debut." Astute on his part
- it's crack-dealer marketing, where the first hit is for free.

It's not my favorite mouthpiece - I have a drawer full of custom doorstops
that compete for that honor - but for the price, it's a must-recommend for
students. It's half (or less) of the price of most commercial mass-produced
mouthpieces; unlike most of them, I'd have no worries playing a concert with
it tomorrow. Clark's done a great service to the clarinet world here as
well.

IMHO, YMMV and all that.

kjf

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