 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-03-05 21:37
Hello - this question is to owners of SF clarinets.
How do they play, how is their tunning, what is the keywork like? I'm just curious.
thanks
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2002-03-05 22:32
I haven't played the clarinets, but be sure to look all over his website. It is wonderful resource.
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Author: joevacc
Date: 2002-03-06 01:03
I have never played one of his clarinets but I have seen his work up close. The basset horn that I saw was one of the most beautiful pieces of art work I have ever seen. (The keywork was most impressive!) Steven is a very nice man and VERY informed about instrument building. He, by my perception is knowledgeable of many, many schools of theory. Send him a e-mail I am sure he will be glad to answer it. Good luck and if he makes you a clarinet you have to post a picture so the rest of us can drool!
Best,
-=[Joe Vacc]=-
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Author: Jan
Date: 2002-03-06 12:36
Steve makes a lot of different kinds of clarinets, which you can see on his web site.
http://www.sfoxclarinets.com
He's a Sneezy sponsor.
He has two innovative designs for "modern" clarinets -
One is a series that uses French style key work on German bore clarinets; to my very amateur hear (and fingers) these have a very even tone over the entire range, and very good tuning.
The second is his Benade model the NX clarinet, that he has been producing for a few years, and this has a completely different bore design, and some innovative key work. It has remarkably even tone, and intonation. However, the bore design needs a mouthpiece with slightly different chamber dimensions, so to try them out, you need to use one of his specially modified mouthpieces, so they are a little more difficult to assess with just one cursory test.
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Author: Jan
Date: 2002-03-06 14:29
OK - so "ear" and "hear" are not the same word. I'm obviously an amateur typist as well as amateur clarinet player.
Contact me by e-mail if you'd like more information.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-03-06 17:29
diz -
There was a vigorous debate on the Klarinet board a few months back about Steve Fox's clarinets. Click on the Home link at the top of the page, then on the 8th link down, "Klarinet Archives," and search on "Hattner Fox" (without the quotes).
Dave Hattner, a regular on Klarinet and here, said he disliked the instruments, which he found unplayable. His problem was not with the workmanship but the underlying design, at least of the NX instruments designed by Benade.
I've played, but do not own, several of Steve's instruments, including his standard clarinets with French and German bores and his large-bore and small-bore NX bores. I thought the small-bore NX (in Bb) was the most successful, but it's very different from my Buffet and would take a lot of getting used to. Dave Hattner found them out of tune. My experience (about 1/2 hour of playing it in Steve's shop) was that the intonation good, at least on the example I played.
Steve's preference is for a German-style bore, which means high resistance and a consistent, creamy tone, at the expense of some flexibility.
I liked his C clarinet, and Dan Leeson has been enthusiastic on the Klarinet board about a small-bore basset horn Steve made for him.
Steve's wood work and keywork are outstanding. He has well thought out reasons for his designs, but they don't work for everybody. As with all instruments, but particularly for Steve's, which are unlike anything else, you have to give them a careful tryout.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Jan
Date: 2002-03-07 00:26
And just to clarify - David Hattner later retracted his criticism, and explained the reason that he did not like Steve's clarinets. So it is not really fair to quote the fact that David had a criticism, without relating his later apology for speaking in haste.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-03-07 16:03
Jan -
As I read David's postings, he still doesn't like Steve Fox's Benade instruments. He apologized for criticizing Steve's work generally, but he still says he can't get satisfactory results playing the instruments. As I said in my posting, his quarrel is with the Benade design itself, and not with Steve's workmanship or the accuracy of his following Benade's design.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: sylvain
Date: 2002-03-07 16:27
To me this looked like an adjustment problem.
The Benade design is quite different than the standard french or german bores.
I am sure that a pro player who has been playing buffet for many years needs a few days to get accustomed to the intonation tendencies and response of the instrument. I don't think many people have given this design a fair try.
I remember when I got my A clarinet. I tried a few picked the one I prefered, then my teacher tried it, told me it was a very good horn with good intonation. Only after a few weeks did I get really comfortable with it.
I wish somebody would start learning the clarinet on a benade design then switch to a french bore 20 years later and tell us all how he/she feels.
To me the computer geek, it's a bit like operating systems, some are clearly better than others, but everybody still uses the crapiest one just because they are used to it.
Best,
-Sylvain
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-03-07 17:37
My Stephen Fox C instrument plays really well. I use it for Klezmer and occasionally to play flute duets with my wife. The altissimo register is right on and I use the same fingerings as on my A or B-flat instruments.
I played on his instruments at the ICA convention in Columbus, Ohio in 1998. I fell in love with his basset horn, but alas don't have $8,000 or the need for one (but this will change if I win the lotto.) I heard William McColl comment that this was "really a wonderful instrument." At that time, Mr. Fox also showed french bore A and B-flat instruments, german bore boehm A & B flat, a C, an E-flat, a tarogato, and a replica instrument. Kurt Bjorling of "Brave Old World" has the next serial number C instrument after mine, and Steve extended it to low D.
My instrument definitely plays differently from my others - after all it is NOT a buffet, with all the good and bad things which come with that classification. The tuning is not the same but it is definitely good. It seems to me that I notice more issues going back to the Buffets from the Fox than I do going to the Fox from the Buffets.
I play with a group which for various reasons tunes high, so Steve made me a short barrel and shortened the instrument in the middle, so that with the tuning ring removed it would play reasonably well. Put the ring back in, use the long barrel, and we are back up to A-440. I find that I have to warm it up really well to get it to play in tune at high pitch, but this is the same as for any instrument.
At that same ICA, the Buffet Prestige and Leblanc C instruments I played were very flat in the altissimo register. Recently Brad Wong at Western Michigan University got a Patricola C, which he says plays really well in tune, but at the time I was looking for a C instrument the Patricola was not yet available. The Fox C was at the time priced between the Buffet and Leblanc, which made it a BARGAIN for a hand-made instrument.
Steve starts with mostly production keywork and modifies it. My only problem is with the crows-foot that the lower right-hand extension keys depress. This is mounted on an extension that is soft and needs adjusting more than it should, but since I have become aware of the issues and have been carrying a parallel jaw pliers in my case, there has not been a problem. Katz' 9th law: "Problems you are prepared for will not occur." Also, I suspect that newer instruments are made with this problem addressed.
Mr. Fox's prices are still bargains, but they are higher than they were. He probably decided that he didn't need to starve any more, and I don't blame him. If you want a custom-made instrument, you will be hard put to find a nicer or more accomodating builder to work with.
If you decide to buy an instrument, plan to play on the instrument for a few weeks, then take it back to Toronto for adjustments and/or modification.
Regards,
Ralph
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Author: Daniel
Date: 2002-03-08 15:38
I unfortunately don't own one of Steve's clarinets. But i have played them at conventions. I didn't play his Bb/A clarinets enough to really tell much about them. But i love his Eb clarinet. Once i can scrape up the money, i plan on replacing my 1965 Selmer with a custom fat body Eb from Steve.
He recently made a replacement barrel for my Selmer Eb that i love. It has Delrin rings and looks very classy. The pitch is wonderful and darkens the tone a bit.
He's a joy to deal with and always answers any questions i have about clarinet/barrel design, or music in general.
He's also got a CD out called "Foliage" with the Hans Gál 'Trio', David Foley 'Hommage a Henri Rousseau', and the Khachaturian 'Trio'. He plays his Benade NX Bb model clarinet, and his German bore A clarinet on the CD.
Daniel
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