Klarinet Archive - Posting 000037.txt from 2008/10

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] E-flat clarinets
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:20:22 -0400


On Oct 8, 2008, at 6:38 AM, Johchance1@-----.com wrote:

> Has anyone played the Patricola Eb clarinets and if so what is
> your opinion
> of them. Especially the rosewood clarinets. Their oboes and other
> double reed
> instruments are not popular in the US but I have played them and I
> find them
> very nice.
>
I had occasion to try both a Patricola and a Buffet RC side by side a
few years ago while buying an instrument for U of Richmond. The
Patricola was nice, but the RC was "better" - bigger, warmer sound.
We bought the RC, because we had the money, but would have bought the
Patricola had we needed to economize. It was a nice instrument. As a
benchmark, I used my own 1980 vintage Buffet, and played on a Fobes
mpc. (We also bought a Fobes mpc. for the UR Eb).

One quirk of the Patricola - it has a set screw on the bridge key,
which is nice, but which, in it's default position, renders the
"long" altissimo F unplayable. It's a simple adjustment to defeat
this, but it was a surprise at first until I figured it out. That
long F is a necessary fingering on Eb clarinet most of the time.

David

David B. Niethamer
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/index.html

------------------------------------------------------------------