The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SVSorna05
Date: 2004-02-15 03:55
Wondering when people are going to discuss this. Has neone played on one yet, just curious on what the reviews would be like. thanx
-Dain
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2004-02-15 05:48
I never played one but I saw one on EBay a couple of weeks ago. I did achieve sticker shock though. Starting price was around $4,000 USD I think it could have even been $5,000 USD (I can't remember exactly).
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Author: SVSorna05
Date: 2004-02-15 17:53
Liguorice i am aware of that but most of those posts happened before the actual clarinet came out i was more interested in people that have played on them now for a period of time. Thanx
-Dain
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2004-02-17 03:28
I have some photos that I took last month at the 2004 NAMM in Anaheim, California.
Email me and I will send you a copy, or, Mark, if you think it is of interest can I attach them somehow?
They played well for me; I suspect they'll get bought and played.
WT
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-02-17 03:31
Wayne Thompson wrote:
> Email me and I will send you a copy, or, Mark, if you think it
> is of interest can I attach them somehow?
Use the "Add Attachments" button ...
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2004-02-17 15:37
This button didn't work for me....
I am told:
"You cannot attach anything to this message. Either you are not the author of the message or the maximum number of attachments have been attached."
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2004-02-18 06:09
Nope. I get the same message. It won't let me.
Mark, obviously your attachment worked. What a great photo!
W
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2004-02-19 00:26
Wayne,
Make sure your picture file is of type JPEG and has an extension of .jpg .
A JPEG with an extension of .jpe will not work with this software.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-02-19 02:42
Wayne Thompson wrote:
> Mark, obviously your attachment worked. What a great photo!
Great-grandfather & great-grandmother, with children & some spouses. Taken in Quebec, Canada, early 1900s.
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2004-02-19 05:24
Mark has said he changed some code; I apparently have a 'proxy server' and that has interfered with the Board attachment process.
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2004-02-19 05:52
Attachment: P1010044.jpg (317k)
And finally, for fun, the whole display. They had a set of Greenlines, and a set of wood, plus one more Bb. ( And two oboes....) (Now that I've figured this out, with Mark's help, you're lucky I don't put up my picture of about 20 Howarth oboes and english horns, which would make you all want to give up clarinet instantly.) (But I won't.)
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Author: Keil
Date: 2004-02-19 20:40
They're pretty! what does the little key down with the right hand pinky keys do? Do you know if they come standard in unstained Grenadilla?
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2004-02-19 21:53
It imprints your Dunn and Bradstreet financial statement prior to purchase
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Author: LeWhite
Date: 2004-02-19 22:52
SO overdone. They have a massive metal logo at the top so everyone can see what a wanker you are, and the 'corrected' F is for people who, unfortunately, can't tune.
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Author: kenbear
Date: 2004-02-20 01:41
LeWhite,
The flat low F is a perennial problem with Buffet soprano clarinets; a design compromise has been made in favour of the 12th clarion C.
The low F is a difficult note to raise in pitch, particularly if played at forte, even if you have ears like a bat!
Though it has been available as a special order, IMO a production-line model with this vent is a long overdue addition to the Buffet line.
I'm with you on that dreadful badge, though.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2004-02-20 02:52
Well, so far we only have one person in the archives commenting on how it plays.
Anybody else has tried it?
How does it compare to the R13. RC, festival, Selmers and Leblancs?
-S
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: Wayne Thompson
Date: 2004-02-20 05:15
Yes, I also am really curious about how they play for others. The gentleman in the picture, endorsing them, is Haken Rosengren, who teaches clarinet at California State University, Fullerton. He was there when I played them and he was very serious about how much he liked them. I certainly respect his playing and opinion.
In hand, I don't think they seem overdone, at all. They're only a little different looking, and clean. They have no bell ring, and they have the round pad cups, similar to the new Leblancs. (I even like the logo; though I think the little round medallians of the modern Concertos and Opus's are the best looking logos out there.)
Of course they are pricey; that's probably marketing. I think they are to be competitive with the Prestiges, and that with time they will be priced the same. Again that is only my assumption.
Here's an even wilder speculation. Buffet has had obvious success with the R-13 in all it's versions. They want to keep the reputation and essential quality (real and imagined) of the R-13, but solidly improve it. This feels to me like an evolution. After various succusses with the Festival, Vintage, RC, & Elite, I think they hope to have a more solid successor to the R-13 with this horn.
The proof is in the pudding. Have any of you played it recently? Will the pros buy it? Are some of the tuning issues really better, are just different? Does it still have whatever that 'charm' is that Buffet holds for many? Those are my questions, and I understant that they won't be answered for maybe years?
I also realize that I write from a U. S. viewpoint. I understand that in Europe and elsewhere, Buffet and the R-13, don't have the same importance. How will the Tosca be compared to the RC, for example?
WT
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Author: JTS
Date: 2004-02-20 20:23
LeWhite:
I wouldn’t make the assumption that people with low F vents can’t tune. As some one else mentioned, the twelfth from low F to C on Buffet clarinets is often extremely wide, and the tone hole is usually placed so that the C is closer to pitch ( although probably still a little high). This of course will make the F flat, and on many a clarinets, it is sometimes impossible to correct. The extra key can be a hassle and and I would prefer an automatic system (which is unfortunately a complex mechanism). In general bending the pitch up or down, with either tongue position or embouchure, will change the tone color. Because everyone uses a different way of blowing not all instruments will have the same tendencies for everyone. I would personally rather have an instrument that played in tune for, so that I could change the tone color according to the music rather than the tuning of my instrument.
JTS
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2004-02-21 00:27
It is possible to get the low F in tune while not ruining the C with a passive tuned hole in the bell. I should indicate that I have been experimenting with a totally different clarinet - a resin student clarinet - so direct comparisons of tuning characteristics are not valid with any other horn (this horn had a 20 cents flat F and a relatively nice C. The placement and size of tone holes to tune properly depends on a number of variables such as the bore configuration, length, and placement of adjacent tone holes. There are some trade-offs with any adjustment to tone hole placement and addition of a new hole in the clarinet, but the low F can be theoretically corrected without an active system. Control by the player is one option but students without a solid embouchure would have trouble with this approach so a "hardware" fix may be the answer. (Disclaimer - I am refining a student clarinet for eventual sale).
The Doctor
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2004-02-21 04:36
Wayne,
I play RC prestige clarinets, because I think they benefit from a more recent design and are in general better in tune than the R13 and voice better.
Although the main reason why I play them is because of a stronger resistance and a "mellower" sound that I grew fond of. It is supposed to be due to the conical section of the lower joint. I don't know the details, I just like the way it plays.
Festivals are in in my opinion underestimated as they are an improved version of the R13, both in tuning and voicing. Almost every time I got the chance to try a few buffet horns I've found the festival to be superior to the R13. Maybe the price tag is too high, I don't know.
I am very curious to know from which instrument the Tosca is derived and how it plays.
Now for the low F note, every professional player will tell you that it is a problematic note. I don't know about german clarinets, but for boehm horns, the only horn that I was told had the low F in tune was the Chadash clarinet.
If it is true that no note on the clarinet is perfectly in tune and one always has to adjust, some are more problematic than others and low F is notoriously bad.
We should welcome the added feature not lagh at it, but that's just my humble opinion.
Unfortunately that's not gonna help me play my high F in tune, so I'd bette go practice now...
Happy clarineting and hopefully more people who have tried the horn will report here and make us salivate...
-S
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: thomas.b
Date: 2004-02-21 19:56
Sylvain wrote:
> Now for the low F note, every professional player will tell you
> that it is a problematic note. I don't know about german
> clarinets, but for boehm horns, the only horn that I was told
> had the low F in tune was the Chadash clarinet.
For german clarinets the low F and E are normally flat and stuffy. For that reason, professional german clarinets have correction keys for low F and E. They are opened with the right thumb.
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