Klarinet Archive - Posting 000047.txt from 2009/10

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fbjacobo@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] New A clarinet from Patricola
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:43:27 -0400

Diego,
I have had a similar issue in the past with my R-13s.
Unfortunately, most of the R-13 A clarinets I was able to get my
hands on then (alright, 25 years ago, but still...) were ridiculously
resistant and ultra-dark. I had to wait for at least a year, trying
out A's until I finally found one that was free-blowing, and (not
coincidentally?) was also quite in tune. It was brighter than the
other A's I'd tried too, so it blended perfectly with the sound of my
Bb. It was a great pleasure to occasionally forget which horn I was
playing - they were that similar in feel. However, my experience, as
far as I can tell, was (and still is!) quite common - and not just
with Buffets. GOOD FOR YOU for complaining to Patricola, and BRAVO to
Patricola for recognizing a problem and fixing it (would that Buffet
would pay attention to such things!).
May I also suggest that you do as I did, and spend a few bucks to
have a superior repair person make the spring tensions on both horns
identical, so there is no finger-confusion when changing horns.

Fred Jacobowitz

CASE CLOSED Musical Instrument Case Repair Service
Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
Ebony and Ivory Duo

You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note.
~Doug Floyd

On Oct 5, 2009, at 5:32 AM, Diego Casadei wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I'm pleased to say that, after some month of discussions with the
> Patricola brothers (http://patricola.it/), they were able to
> satisfy my request of having a more uniform feeling when switching
> between the B-flat and A clarinets.
>
> Some time ago, they started selling the B-flat "Virtuoso" clarinet,
> which is a great instrument (if you try, you buy...), together with
> the A clarinet. I had the impression that the latter, though a
> great clarinet, was giving a feeling not very similar to the B-
> flat. When playing in orchestra, switching is easier if the
> natural difference between the two instruments is less pronounced,
> hence I started bothering the Patricola pushing to change as much
> as possible the A feeling toward the B-flat one. After 2-3 bad
> prototypes, they were finally able to find the way of providing a
> similar response of the two instruments. On Friday, I played the
> first 2 new A instruments, and I should say that they are really
> great (my contribution has been negligible, still I'm proud of
> it :-) ...): now switching among a pair B-flat/A of "Vitruoso"
> clarinets is easier, and the A instrument did not loose anything
> of its qualities (which is the risk, whenever one makes changes to
> the bore).
>
> I hope you'll have a chance to test their instruments too.
>
> Best regards,
> Diego
>
>
> PS. Just to reassure everybody, I don't earn any money with it :-)
>
>
> --
> Diego Casadei, PhD.
> Physics Department, CERN
> New York University bld. 32, S-A19
> 4 Washington Place 1211 Geneve 23
> New York, NY 10003 Mailbox J28310
> USA Switzerland
> office: +1-212-998-7675 office: +41-22-767-6809
> mobile: +39-347-1460488 mobile: +41-76-213-5376
> http://cern.ch/casadei/ Diego.Casadei@-----.ch
> ----------------------------------------------------------
>
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>

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