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An analysis of the HE-3 clarinet

Author: Dan
Date: 2002-12-19 19:51

Because it came so highly recommended and because I sensed that hard rubber would give a better sound, I ordered an HE-3 for a try out.

What follow is my assessment:

1)Packaging: I was rather surprised at the thin cardboard box and the fact that there was no extra packing material inside. The box was, however, securely taped and perhaps because the case was made of a soft material, they may have figured that they didn�t need any extra packing material. (This was shipped from the U.K.)
2)Physical inspection: It is a very nice looking instrument. The keywork plating was immaculate with no noticeable extra play anywhere. The pads appeared to have sufficient height clearance. The thumb rest was quite remarkable. A very thick rubber that seemed to �grab� my thumb. I couldn�t shake the instrument off my thumb. It simply stayed put. The pads were Pisoni yellow double skin bladder and seemed to be installed very professionally. Esthetically they looked very nice.
3)Pressure check: The upper section took around 1 second to descend from 3 to 1 oz per sq in. The lower section took a real nose dive�approx � second to descend. Pressing on the keys didn�t seem to make any noticeable difference.
4)Problems:
a)The bell would not go on the lower section. No matter how hard I tried after greasing the cork, it simply would go only about � of the way. The tenon cork was way too thick. I had to very carefully sand it for quite some time to finally get it to fit.
b)Putting the sections together was also rather difficult. I know some players like a tight fit, but I don�t think a child would have been able to assemble it.
c)It wouldn�t play below E4. G4, F4, and E4 were just fine. D4 was soft and muffled and C4 practically made no tone at all. I started doing finger pressure checks and found the F# trill key not seating properly. Upon closer inspection, I found a major problem. The outside post holding the machine screw for the F# key was installed incorrectly. The edge of the pad was touching the clarinet body and I noticed upon removal of the key, that someone had done some serious filing of the tubing to get the key to function at all. When I unscrewed it from the retainer, the key would seat and I continued checking tonal quality and intonation. (Upon reassembly, I noticed that the bottom of the F# trill key was so out of alignment that it simply would not go into the groove but rather hit the edge of the groove making it impossible to go down any further.)
d)Intonation: with the F# key quasi-fixed, I noticed several major deviations in the chalumeau section, especially trill key �B� which was very sharp because the pad height was so extraordinarily high. The altissimo section was quite flat with the flatness increasing as I went up the scale.
e)Tonal Quality: this, of course, varies from ear to ear, so I can only give you my impression. To me, it sounded rather hard. I was expecting a softer sound due to the hard rubber construction. In reference to the YCL-250, I would have to say that the Yamaha sounded better (IMO).
5)Conclusion: I was disappointed at the construction problem and with the sound.
6)Recommendation: I think I�ll just let the facts speak for themselves.

P.S. As long as the manufacturers keep turning out instruments with problems, I don�t think repairpersons have any need to worry about job security. (No sarcasm intended...just further enlightenment.)

I sincerely hope the above has some value to somebody. My Prestini clarinet should be arriving tomorrow. Can you stand another analysis? I don�t mind typing it up if anybody is interested.

Dan

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