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Tuning: taking Wood From an older Buffet

Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-03-18 15:40
Attachment: Boofy's Tuning.jpg (144k)
Attachment: boofy with stock barrel and M30 Mpc.jpg (148k)

The attachments show how my 1961 vintage Buffet Full Boehm Bb clarinet self-tunes across its range.

I played Middle C, lipped the pitch to center the needle on my little Korg tuner than changed fingerings to another note and read the tuner to see how far the pitch had strayed. I used middle C as the starting point because it is a note (along with the key-Altissimo Eb) that is in tune on my instrument.

I recorded and plotted the measurements. Two of these plots make up the attachments. One compares three combinations: a Muncy synthetic barrel with a Vandoren M30-13 (88 beak) mouthpiece, a Muncy synthetic barrel with a Mitchell-Lurie M3 mouthpiece, and the stock Buffet wooden barrel with the Vandoren M30.

One plot shows all three sets of measurements --with several of the notes using alternate fingerings. The other plot just looks at the results of using standard fingerings and the stock barrel with the Vandoren M30.

Two comments:
The barrels make no difference;
The tuning is just as ragged with the M30/13 as it is with the Mitchell-Lurie;
Playing this horn in tune is a lot of work.

I conclude that this is a clarinet problem, not a barrel/bell/mouthpiece problem, and I'm seriously considering "having wood taken out of it."

Bob Phillips

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Re: Tuning: taking Wood From an older Buffet

Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-03-18 22:05

Your clarinet is really not that bad!
The intonation tendencies are typical of a buffet. The flat altissimo F and F# are typical and you almost always have to play with alternate fingerings. The low F is always going to be flat. I think if you get the entiore instrument 5 cents sharper and correct the few high pitched notes you will be in the -5/+5 range for most of your horn and that is pretty much as good as it gets...

Before taking the horn for wood shaving, I would seriously consider a shorter barrel with maybe a different taper (Moennig style) although your twelves look pretty good. This will bring your whole clarinet a few cents sharper. You can then experiment with putting some duck tape at the top of holes to bring the pitch down on the few notes that are high. For any given note the whole to modify is the one directly below the lowest covered hole.

Larry Guy's book on intonation training is a good place to learn how to tame one's instrument. Also, in general (although not always) it is easier to bring the pitch down than bringing it up. Also sometimes for a given chord you have to play away from the "needle in the middle" to make the interval sound good...

Clark Fobes articles are also very helpful:
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Equipment/Intonation.html

--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>

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