Klarinet Archive - Posting 000052.txt from 2009/10
From: Diego Casadei <casadei.diego@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] New A clarinet from Patricola
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:57:47 -0400
Dear Fred,
you are completely right about springs etc. I also pay attention to
such detail. About the sound, I should say that the "Virtuoso"
clarinets are warmer and darker than the previous "Professional" series
from Patricola, whose sound was typically bright. One of the past
achievements from them was to change the barrels to make a warmer sound
(again, I was bothering them a bit... I'm tedious): they showed me a
hundred or so of old-style barrels that they decided not to sell any
more. Still, the A clarinet is a bit warmer than the B-flat. But this
is ok, and it is desired in almost all pieces written since the mid of
XIX century. On the contrary, they still produce the C clarinet with
the "old" sound, which is very bright: they told me that this is what
people want from such an instrument. BTW, it's exciting to visit them:
they are not an industry but work as old craftsmen (everybody is able to
do everything), from the wood to the mechanics.
Cheers,
Diego
Fred Jacobowitz wrote:
> 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
>> ----------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
--
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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