Klarinet Archive - Posting 000395.txt from 2009/02
From: "Forest Aten" <forestaten@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Clarinet Setup - Long
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:41:19 -0500
Tom
Holy smokes...I keep reading and am amazed. You write, "reminiscent of the
reediness of a bass clarinet sound"???? and "distortion or spreading of
sound down low"......
Do you think that this is what bass clarinets sound like? Or are supposed to
sound like? The only bass clarinet players that I know that sound like this
description...are players that don't know what they are doing. It has
nothing to the fact that they are playing bass clarinet. It's likely that
they would sound like this on any clarinet they attempted to play. LOL
Never mind about the material arguments....
Forest
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom.Henson@-----.com]
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 5:37 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: RE: [kl] Clarinet Setup - Long
Hi Tom,
Great question and one that I kept asking myself with all the problems I
had transitioning to them.
The answer for me has three parts:
Sound - Wurlitzer Reform Boehm clarinets have a unique sound that is
hard to describe, but exactly what I was looking for. Also the resonance
they are able to make with the right set up is amazing. The lower
chalumeau is reminiscent of the reediness of a bass clarinet sound, but
without any distortion or spreading of sound down low. Very focused at
all dynamic levels.
Mechanics - Wurlitzer RB clarinets have extra keys that are not present
on a traditional Boehm system. This has it's advantages depending on
what you are playing. Things like using a forked Eb/Bb with just the
left hand are but one example. Also, as mentioned, the light, balanced
key action lets one do things with less hand and finger fatigue. Granted
an well set up French clarinet can do the same, but by the time you pay
someone to do this, you are already near the price range of a Wurlitzer,
but definitely a Leitner & Krauss clarinet.
Wood - Wurlitzer gets their wood from the same source that many others
get it and that is from Nagel in Hamburg. However, their wood is aged a
minimum of 10-15 years as compared to 2-5 with other makers. The care
and production methods they use in working the wood is very slow and
done in stages to make sure the wood is stressed as little as possible
during the manufacturing process. I also firmly believe that the wood
does affect sound to a small degree, at least the density of the wood.
Aging does more to acclimatize the wood than add to the sound, but
anything that can help prevent cracks is good in my opinion.
Yes, this is a very subjective and a difficult thing to explain in an
e-mail why I play on them, but that is the short answer.
Regarding your statement: "My suspicion is that most people who have out
of the ordinary "special" hand built super custom uber clarinets don't
make the money to buy them playing clarinet."
While this is true of myself, I did play professionally while in the
Military like yourself, but do not currently make a living playing
clarinet. If I was playing professionally now, I would be playing on a
Buffet or a Backun by Leblanc because a French clarinet system would be
the standard and expected instrument if you want to work. Because I play
strictly for the pleasure of it, I had the choice and ability to make
the change.
However, this statement is not true of the main players in Germany who
play on the Wurlitzer Oehler clarinets while many in the Netherlands
play on the Reform Boehm. The Wurlitzer clarinets are the standard by
which all other makers are judged by and those that aspire to play
professionally there find a way to come up with the money to buy them.
While the amount of clarinets made by Wurlitzer is very small compared
to just about anyone else, I can tell you that there is still a waiting
list to have one made because they have so many orders. So this is the
"norm" over there so to speak.
I have had some contact with the Concertgebouw players in the
Netherlands and they say sound is the reason they play on them. Some now
are also playing on the Leitner & Kraus Reform Boehm's because they are
also good and less expensive, but most still prefer the Wurlitzer
clarinets.
Germany is a different story. The Berlin Phil actually (unofficially)
requires all their clarinetist to play on the Wurlitzer's. Karl Leister
and Sabine Meyer, who no longer play with them, still continue to play
on them very successfully.
There are two players, who for me, have a sound I admire a great deal.
Harold Wright and Sabine Meyer. Karl Leister would also be there as
well. However, I never try to emulate another's players sound because
for one, that is impossible to do and two, I don't need to. But the
Wurlitzer brings me closer to what I hear in my head than my Buffet's
did with much less need for special mouthpieces, reeds, etc..
I want to emphasize that I am not trying to make a comparison between a
French bore (big 3 type clarinet) for the purpose of claiming the
Wurlitzer's are better. I myself have had the opportunity to play on
both over an extended period of time and simply have come to see that
the traditions that we have associated with German made clarinets are
based as much on hear say as anything else. I have come to a better
understanding of how they differ mechanically as well as acoustically
and have come to respect what some call tradition as 150+ years of trial
and error and refinement of a concept.
Regarding comparisons between my Buffet's and the Wurlitzer's, I made
exhaustive comparisons over a year with the thought that I would not
sell my Buffets until I was absolutely was convinced they were a better
fit for me and had real and measurable benefit. I made my choice based
upon first hand playing and finding out everything that I could about
them from those that had knowledge.
Here is a link to an article by Charles Stier who talks about why here
made the same choice. Much of what he describes mirrors exactly the way
I felt and thought at the time.
http://www.cherryvalleymusic.com/articles/wurlitzer1.htm
Tom Henson
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