 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-18 12:33
I want to know if pro Leblanc Eb clarinets are any better than Noblets.
If anyone can or has been able to make direct comparisons, how do they compare?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-02-18 15:52
Chris,
I've only played one LeBlanc Eefer and a couple Noblets. The instruments felt very similar but the LeBlanc looked a bit better (side keys not straight, etc.). Intonation was very similar too. When I purchased my Noblet in 1974 the music store brought in four as one of the symphony players from Albany was buying one too. They were pretty much peas in a pod. The one I picked had a bit better E.
One of our symphony members has a Noblet and I traded horns with him during one concert for him to try my Prestige. His comment on my Prestige was "it's so much softer" and I had forgotten how strident the Noblets were. No hiding with that horn! Of course many of the prominent Eefer solos are high and loud so it's not a problem. I've even had a director occasionally say "MORE Eb" with my Prestige!
eefer guy
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-02-18 16:16
I have a V G Noblet Eb sop. which I've only used occasionally in comm. band, but back in the '80's played it in the Silverton [CO] Brass Band on a pot-boiler overture transcription, and YES, there's no where to hide, just like my oboe experiences. When along with piccolos, it seemed that I was always flat, but felt the pic was overblown sharp !! I had the mp, not the barrel, shortened about a 1/2 mm as the result. Nice horn, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-18 17:04
Chances are the piccolos were sharp.
My clarinet teacher used to quote one of his former lecturers - 'Flutes are sharp, flutes are ALWAYS sharp.'
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony Beck
Date: 2009-02-18 22:45
I had an older Noblet Eefer (13,000 sn range) that was very sharp, because the original barrel was 39mm. I made a 42mm, which fixed the tuning problems below altissimo E. From E up, it was a semitone flat, but played fine with alternate fingerings. I sold it to a bandmate after picking up an old but nice Carl Fischer. The Noblet served well for several years in the local community band.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-02-19 12:11
So d'you reckon it's worth forking out the extra £££s for a pro Leblanc Eb if they're not really that much different to the Noblet Eb in terms of playability?
It's not for me as I've already got a belter of an Eb in the old R13 I got off eBay, but both a fellow player and another local player are struggling with the top notes on their Noblet Ebs (one player has a '70s one and the other a fairly recent one). Both players are finding the top register on their Noblets not as easy to pitch as it is on my R13 (even using open fingerings), but I'm really wondering if the pro Leblancs are any better.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-02-19 18:30
Chris, I have heard from several sources that the (I think discontinued) Leblanc Concerto Eefer designed by Tom Ridenour was an excellent horn. They aren't all that easy to find, but a good one may be worth the search.
Jeff
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Author: 78s2CD
Date: 2009-02-19 18:39
Chris,
I'm playing a fairly new R13 that I got after it became clear that I needed something better than my vintage Noblet to cut the top notes in the parts I was being given. The Buffet is immensely more satisfactory in both response and intonation. If there's really nothing to choose between a pro Leblanc and a Noblet eefer, then the solution seems obvious.
Jim
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