 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2011-10-29 19:39
Looking at some old threads, I have seen references to student keywork in some of the entry level Yamaha pro clarinets (eg. the 64, 65, 650 lines). How does this differ from professional or custom keywork in there more advanced models?
LJ
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-29 19:58
The key pieces on student/intermediate models are more utilitarian in that they aren't made with as many pieces or don't have as much detail or as many solder joints which keep the cost of production lower than pro model keywork.
Just a few examples - the crows foot on Yamaha student/intermediate models is stamped from sheet metal and bent to shape whereas the pro models have a two piece crows foot which is a bent wire with a Pac-Man shaped end soldered to it. The RH E/B and F#/C# touches on student/intermediate models don't have a bend in them but have holes in the narrow ends where the key barrels fit through - on pro models they're longer and have bent ends which are soldered against the sides of their key barrels. The touchpiece ends of the trill keys on student/intermediate models aren't bevelled/chamfered like those on pro models.
I don't know if Yamaha use stamped pad cups on all their clarinets, but often student models have pad cups stamped from 0.5mm thick nickel silver sheet instead of being machined from solid nickel silver bar which is more costly due to the amount of time and waste involved in making them. I think the speaker key may also be cast as a single piece.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2011-11-06 22:01)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-10-29 22:27
Speaking of "utilitarian" keywork - if you haven't seen this, then you haven't seen utilitarian keys at all.
--
Ben
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-10-29 22:34
Entry-level clarinets used to have clumsy keywork. If you pick up an ancient metal clarinet, the difference will be obvious. That's still the case on el-cheapo off-brands sold at low prices on eBay and in department stores. These clarinet-shaped objects have keys that are not forged but cast of pot metal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal. Pot metal keys can't be bent for adjustment and break easily.
Old Bundy Resonite clarinets had clumsy and rather uncomfortable keys plated in slippery nickel. However, they were built like tanks and are great for beginners and for outdoor use.
Today, student clarinets from the "Big 4" makers (Buffet, Yamaha, Selmer and Leblanc) all have strong keywork and the same layout as their professional models. I think the expression "student keywork" is obsolete, at least for them.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-29 22:50
If you compare a Buffet B10 with a B12 (both made by Schreiber) you'll see clearly where the expense has been spared in the keywork - the B10 keywork is very rationalised in its design compared to the more traditional looking B12 keywork.
Some DDR-era G.R.Uebel clarinets had keywork made from sheet metal, not too dissimilar to that of the Russian clarinet pictured in Ben's link, but only slightly more aesthetically pleasing (but only just). They also made bass clarinets, flutes and piccolos with aluminium bodies.
In the '50s B&H used die cast mazak keywork on their entry level clarinets, so the early wooden Regents and the B&H "77" had the same bodies as the Edgware and Imperial models, but had very cheaply produced keywork (and the B&H "77" sported an ebonite bell to further lower the cost). B&H weren't alone in using die cast mazak keys as there were Czechoslovakian and Italian clarinets fitted with them.
Schreiber and Buffet (among many other makers) nowadays use a lot of keywork pieces (such as touchpieces and fingerplates) and also single piece keys cast from nickel silver instead of having the various pieces machined or drop forged and soldered together.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2011-10-30 00:40)
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2011-10-30 05:38
>> That's still the case on el-cheapo off-brands sold at low prices on eBay and in department stores. These clarinet-shaped objects have keys that are not forged but cast of pot metal <<
Generally, that's not true. By far most of the very cheap clarinets I've seen had keys made from nickel-silver.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-30 15:52
Have to say that Yamaha keywork on their 250/450/650 models could be improved ergonomically by angling all the RH pinky touches upwards to make them nearer the lower ring key pillar to reduce the stretch like Selmers.
I've done this for a player who found the stretch a bit too much on her YCL-250 (and she found the keywork on my Selmers much more ergonomic), especially the RH E/B touch which she had trouble reaching and reangling them all by bending them upwards did the trick - although I did have to file the lower side of the lower ring key pillar head down as the F#/C# touch did have to be brought in fairly tight.
I don't mean angling them upwards so the touchpieces are pointing skyward, but angled in relation to their key barrels as they're almost perpendicular to them.
It's relatively easy to do and there's no danger of them breaking and the RH ring key pillar head doesn't have to be filed in most cases. The Ab/Eb and F/C touches then also had to be bent to make them run parallel with the F#/C# and E/B touches.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-11-02 13:26
One type of "student keywork" to beware of came on the market briefly, about ten years ago, on Chinese-made clarinets with misleading brand names ("Selner," "Baffet," etc.) and sometimes misleading indicators of country of origin (partially assembled in India or Russia and then shipped from there). On some of those clarinets, always with red plastic pads, the keys weren't even metal. They were white plastic, thinly plated with a metallic-looking material. The keys fit atrociously, with visible gaps in places between the pads and the tone hole rims. A flea market dealer told me she had bought this clarinet new through a catalogue that offered all sorts of miscellaneous merch. I don't think these clarinets are being made any more, but in my experience, red plastic pads are an absolute give-away of the lowest possible quality.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2011-11-04 16:46
Lelia Loban wrote:
> One type of "student keywork" to beware of came on the market
> briefly, about ten years ago, on Chinese-made clarinets with
> misleading brand names ("Selner," "Baffet," etc.) and sometimes
> misleading indicators of country of origin (partially assembled
> in India or Russia and then shipped from there). On some of
> those clarinets, always with red plastic pads, the keys weren't
> even metal. They were white plastic, thinly plated with a
> metallic-looking material.
![[whoa]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie10.gif) Ouch! I guess I don't assume bad spelling when ordering online!
Laurie (he/him)
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