 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Amy Tindall
Date: 2004-04-03 00:08
I'm looking to buying a new clarinet, my old Buffet isn't cutting it. I'm interested in testing Rossi clarinets. I want to know what anyone thinks of Rossi clarinets? How do they compare to the Buffet clarinet?
Amy E. Tindall
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Author: Ed
Date: 2004-04-03 00:37
Of course, you have to see how they work for you, but I tried the Rossi clarinets out at the clarinetfest in Salt Lake and was very impressed. Beautiful workmanship, very smooth and even, tuning seemed good, (I didn't have a tuner with me) very comfortable to play. I would love to have an opportunity to try them out at length.
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2004-04-03 00:41
Amy, I love mine. I'm a collector and have an R13, several Selmers, several Patricolas as well as the Rossi. It's my favorite. It has a very sweet sound and the action is great. There have been many posts here about them
If you're in the NY area and want to try mine, let me know.
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-04-03 05:33
I've only tried one, and I didn't like it at all. Some notes were better in tune than Buffet, but others were worse. I found the tone very uneven throughout the registers, and I didn't like the sound generally. Maybe I just tried a bad one?
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Author: William
Date: 2004-04-03 15:53
Some few years ago, I played an American bore Rossi Bb at International Musical Suppliers, Des Plaines, IL, USA and liked it very much. Absolutely smooth between all registers, great sound with my Chicago Kaspar #14. At that time, there was no A to try as well, but if there had been--and it played as well as the Bb--I probably would have found the finacial means to buy them. Currently--as well as then--I am playing on an excellant set of LeBlanc Concertos. The Rossi played as well, but with a more distinctive "Buffet" sound--perhaps more "ring and ping" but very sweet.
Maybe I just had the opposite experiance that Lic had and just happened upon a "good one" to try--I don't know. If I were to get serious and actually buy one (or a set), I certainly would want to play more than one or two before I put out the "big bucks". But the one that I did try impressed me nonetheless and I was tempted.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-04-04 16:28
A Rossi with a bad scale?
Certainly there is a difference in the resistance pattern from the R13 - large bore instruments play in a distinct manner; that's the point.
A quick read of the Rossi website indicates that these may not be for everyone - just the serious player with sufficient nerve and Dosh to stand out in a crowd.
You really must know what you're doing to play the Big Bore horns.
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-04-04 21:41
The Rossi I tried wasn't a large bore instrument. It was an "American" bore...
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Author: studioline
Date: 2004-04-04 22:42
i own a pair of Rossi american bore instruments. Have had them for about 6 months now.They are beautifully in tune, very even sweet sound, and comfortable to my fingers. I would say they are a little more resistant than buffets but this is something you adjust to. I took a risk and ordered a pair direct to be made, so obviously didn't have the opportunity to test them(it's very hard to get them in the UK) but my luck was in and i think I've ended up with a good pair.
Highly recommended.
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Author: jack
Date: 2004-04-05 03:12
Imo Rossi's are at least as good as the big four and, for me, Rossi is much better. I think the one piece design is inherently a better engineered product, eliminating certain acoustic compromises and making it easier for the horn to stay in adjustment. The design of the levers, rods, etc. results in a very supple, smooth and less mechanical feel than any other clarinet can begin to achieve. Plus, the design has built in adjustable screws, eliminating, for instance, any problem with the right hand little finger four key array. (I'm sure there's a standard expression for that). Also, they come from Rossi in perfect adjustment with all pads perfectly sealed. I've tried several clarinets each time I attend the IAC Conference and nothing has ever matched my Kalman Bloch selected, John Peterson (Los Angeles at RDG Music) overhauled, R-13, untill I picked up a French bore cocobollo Rossi. Sweetest thing I ever played for sure. Rossi's are so much easier to play and that makes them so much more fun to work with. My cocobollo Bb French bore Rossi is a work of art to view and to play. Btw, I still love my R-13 and picked up a Backun barrel at the '03 Salt Lake City Conference that allows me to hit every darn note perfectly in tune. Got a Backun bell also, I can hear the added weight in the tone. It's a coincidence that my bell and barrell are perfect matches for the ones in the Backun ad in the current issue of The Clarinet magazine.
The only real issue with Rossi is that there are only four or five total models available and it's not that easy to find them for audition or purchase.
Jack
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Author: Amy Tindall
Date: 2004-04-05 03:29
What is the difference between the french bore Rossi and the american bore Rossi clarinet?
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-04-05 07:45
"I think the one piece design is inherently a better engineered product, eliminating certain acoustic compromises and making it easier for the horn to stay in adjustment"
That's true. But there is also an intonation issue about a one piece body. It's fine if you only play at a consistently regulated temperature. But if it gets too hot (eg. in our orchestra pit) then you can't just keep pulling out at the barrel because then the pitch is affected more on the "short" notes than the "long" ones. So you will have very flat throat notes, but the notes around clarion C will still be sharp. The only way to solve this (at least to some extent) is to pull out at the middle joint too. People who play Rossis will tell you that this isn't a problem. I guess I'd also want to believe that it wasn't a problem if I'd spent $4000 on a horn!
By the way- I know of at least two players on the "We Play Rossis" part of the website who don't play Rossis any more. Oh- and the instrument that I tried was for sale. I wonder why the guy was selling it?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-04-05 11:51
Liquorice wrote:
> Oh-
> and the instrument that I tried was for sale. I wonder why the
> guy was selling it?
Because they wanted a new one?
Let's keep away from cheap shots like that one, shall we?
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-04-05 12:36
Sounds like someone from South America had a disparaging word for someone's Star Trek command uniform at the convention...
PS - there's something positive about a waiting list for instruments.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-04-05 13:33
Quote:
Liquorice wrote:
> Oh-
> and the instrument that I tried was for sale. I wonder why the
> guy was selling it?
Because they wanted a new one?
Let's keep away from cheap shots like that one, shall we? Actually, I too was going to comment on how they offer used Rossi's through wwbw. But I guess that just goes to show you that they're not for everyone and that just as someone might gravitate from a buffet to a rossi, some people go back too. So even with a rossi, it'd be best to try a few out (wwbw offers them for trial) to see if it's what you want.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-04-05 13:35
1. The instruments are expensive
2. There is a waiting list
therefore:
3. All of the instruments must be good.
Yeah, right...
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Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2004-04-06 22:27
¿Are any of the people who have Rossi clarinets using them in an orchestra? Something that works well at home or in chamber music doesn't always cut through a large string section or in a big hall with bad acoustics. Please share your experiences playing a Rossi in an orchestra.
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