 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ZCClarinet
Date: 2004-07-11 17:04
Hello everyone. I'm a high school senior who is now putting serious time into music (been taking private lessons for nearly a decade, somehow made all state ^.^) and specifically: clarinet. The problem with that previous statement is where it says "senior." College auditions are coming up, and living in the half of Maryland that couldn't care less about music, I need some advice.
First off- Clarinets. I'm on a old r13, and I've played other/newer r13s, and mine is average in response and kind of weak in tone, so I'm looking for a nice top quality clarinet to be used just for performances/auditions, though my r13 could pull me through the near college auditions. I know it's more the musician's roll to make the music, not the instrument's, but I'd like all the help I can get. Around me are three other new clarinents I've spent a few days playing on in front of my private teacher and my parents. A Leblanc Opus II is almost sub par in tone quality and response with my r13, as well as having weak keys and the extra auxiliary key currently gets in my way. A Yamaha YCLSEV gives me the clearest tone and fastest response out of the lot, but is weak in the chalumeau register as well as poping up on notes over the break between the clarion and lower altissimo. The Buffett Vintage r13 is the best one so far, with a beautiful dark tone as well response about equal to my old r13 (which I've been playing on forever) over any interval. However, none of these are a major improvement over my r13 in quality and feel, and thus I think not really worth buying. I'm thinking I should also try a Tosca, Prestige, and a Concerto II. Money is not a problem since I've saved up about $3000 and my parents will pay for half of any clarinet, considering the fact that this will be my good clarinet for the next few decades if not longer. Any thoughts? And what else should I be looking for when buying a new clarinet?
That was a lot... I'll leave the questions about colleges/auditions for a later time if I cant find the answers in other posts... Thank you very much in advance for your help!
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-07-11 17:28
Spend some money on what you've got; the college/conservatory auditions are based on what you can become, not on what your instrument is like. As you've noted, all the other instruments you've tried have their own weaknesses tghat you'd have to compensate for (and there's NO perfect instrument!).
A few hundred dollars wisely spent on what you have would be money well invested.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-07-11 17:48
If your "old R-13" is sounding tired, there are a number of things you can try to put some new life into it, before spending a few thousand dollars on a new instrument (there is a lot of debate about the quality of the newer instruments - but I won't go into that here. Do a search on this board if you want some opinions).
Many of us play and prefer the original older vintage R-13's (my favorites are from about 80xxx to 165xxx) for their unique sound and response. Whether it was the quality of wood used, overall construction or just the R-13 design at that time (which has subsequently been changed), it is often a very sought after series of clarinets.
When was the last time your R-13 was serviced? Slight leaks in the seating of the pads, or tone holes which need to be resurfaced can have a major influence on response. A good tech can definitely make a tired clarinet sound fresh again.
Have you thought of changing the barrel? Try some new stock R-13 barrels as well as some of the other bore configuations (Chadash, Moennig, etc...) to see if the response and/or sound is improved.
Lastly, you may also want to experiment with a different mouthpiece/reed/ligature set up just to see if there is a significant improvement to what you are striving for.
Mouthpieces over time can "drift". They also can be refaced back to original specs - That in itself can be the basis for a whole thread of discussion.
A new clarinet is not always necessary...GBK
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Author: ZCClarinet
Date: 2004-07-11 18:32
Great! I will wait on a new clarinet
Other than pad/cork replacement, what else is encompassed in "servicing"? Also, where should I go and what should I ask for? There are a few local music places, but nothing big. I'm not too far away from Washington, D.C. though.
I will definitely start experimenting with barrels! The difference just between the two that came with the R-13 Vintage encourages me to.
Thank you again!
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Author: pewd
Date: 2004-07-11 20:56
whens the last time you had a full overhaul on your horn? or a full repad?
my old (1977) r-13 came back from the shop like new after an overhaul.
and i sent in an old (1973) s-1 a month ago, with similar results.
what is involved in 'servicing' depends on what you ask for / need, and the competence of the shop and tech you deal with.
'tune up' or 'play condition' servicing usually entails replacing a few key corks and a few pads, maybe tighten a spring or 2., e.g., they're responding to , fixing specific complaints.
'repads' - they replace all of the pads, and all of the key cork usually. some shops also include tenon cork and light buffing of the keys.
'overhaul' - all new pads, key cork, tenon cork, some of the cork replaced with teflon (varies by shop), some new springs, posts tightened, wood cleaned, oiled, springs tightened, tone holes leveled, keys polished, screws replaced as needed, minor cracks or chips fixed, any bent keys dealt with, tenon rings tightened. basically put it back into as 'new' condition as possible.
the difference in 'tune up', 'play condition servicing', 'repad' and 'overhaul' varies widely depending on the shop.
someone will probably post a shop in your area, or list some of the major ones around the country, i presume someone will post a link to one of the many threads discussing that. i use prowinds.com fwiw. they do awesome overhauls, you have to call them to get on the schedule. you can also get great work the other fine shops you'll see listed in the sponsors links and in some of the threads here. try searching on 'overhaul' you should find some threads on the subject.
there are also a lot of threads here discussing types of pads- skin, gortex, cork, etc. and a lot of debate on which type is best. i use cork on the top joint , dbl skin on the lower on my r-13's fwiw.
good advice above on the barrels, mouthpieces, ligatures, etc.
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Author: LeOpus1190s
Date: 2004-07-12 07:59
a new mouthpiece, ligature, and barrel can make all the difference.
Buffet hasn't been very consistent. A lot of their horns lately are just crap. I like buffets better than say yamaha's or leblanc becuase of the tone quality that the buffet line can produce (if the clarinet isn't junk like 95 percent of what they are making).
Give the new selmer signatures a shot, they are truely fine clarinets and have been playing far better in my opinion than all the new buffet clarinets lately.
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