Klarinet Archive - Posting 000110.txt from 2010/02

From: K S <krsmav@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet EQ
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:20:29 -0500

The most most accurate capture of my sound that I've heard is from the
setup used by the flutist in my old quintet: two Neumann KM 83 omnis
on 8' stands set 8' or so away from us and feeding into a Revox
reel-to-reel recorder running at 15 IPS. (You can tell how long ago
THAT was, but my ears were better in those days.) The playback was
scary. It caught the other four players perfectly. I could even even
recognize each person's particular breathing resonance. I was
therefore sure it get me right, too.

I learned a lot -- in particular, that the (Morgan) mouthpiece I was
playing wasn't right for me. When I played, the bone conduction
carried lots of high frequencies into my ears, which led me to think
that I was matching the other players. On playback, though, I sounded
dull. When I switched to another (Opperman) mouthpiece, I immediately
got compliments about my better, more "clarinetty" sound, which
recorded just right even though the high frequencies were ringing in
my ears. I think part of the difference was the mouthpiece shape.
The Morgan's "duck-bill" (saxophone) shape created a smaller oral
cavity. The Opperman's standard shape made more space and gave me
more flexibility in voicing.

On the other hand, any first-generation recording will probably sound
good. I taped any number of choral concerts I sang in with a Sony
Walkman Pro cassette recorder and two $19 Radio Shack electret
condensers duct-taped to the front of the stage. Everybody loved
them, and they sounded fine -- better than an LP issue of the chorus
that had been equalized to death through probably a dozen analog
generations.

Perfect reproduction is what Ben Maas does for a living. For hearing
what you sound like, it's less important. You can get used to and
listen through anything. I've enjoyed concerts through the static and
howls of short-wave AM radio, and I grew up listening to 78 RPM
records, with the constant swish and the side breaks in the middle of
movements. I recorded myself on the crystal mic that came with my
first Tandberg reel-to-reel recorder and learned 99% of what I needed
to know about improving my playing. It's great to get the extra 1%
from the Neumanns, but that's for pleasure, not information.

Ken Shaw

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