 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kurt
Date: 2000-01-29 22:26
I've been wondering. With the price and rarity of Grenedillia wood (not to mention the ecological remifications of using it), why are clarinets not made of some other sort of wood? Bassoons are made of maple I believe, why not clarinets. While shopping for basses recently the prices seem to really skyrocket when going from plastic (resonite) to wood (grenedillia). Not all this can be contributed to superiour keywork, etc (actually the lower level wood ones from Leblanc for example seemed to share the same keywork as the cheaper Vito.) Why not maple, oak or walnut?
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Author: andrea
Date: 2000-01-29 22:31
maybe it has to do with the pressure and thickness required for a clarinet. the buffet greenline instruments are great with grenadilla resin and stuff. i think there might be one other type of wood used, but it is probably as rare. oh! the grain of other woods might be bigger and therefor the inside can't be as smooth, maybe?
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Author: Margaret Copeland
Date: 2000-01-29 22:45
I've been shopping for oboes. I think it depends not so much on plastic or wood or plastic/wood composite but on the quality of the instrument. A full conservatory keyed instrument that is basically hand made is going to be more expensive whether made of plastic or wood. I've been told that (from my bag pipe maker friend) that a piece of Delrin plastic is actually more expensive for him to buy than a piece of grenadilla. Plastic dulls lathes quicker and is more difficult to work with.
As for types of woods, they make recorders out of all kinds of wood like boxwood, maple, rosewood, various fruit woods etc. Some of these wood are obviously more rare and some have a tighter grain. The actual cost of the wood is probably the smallest factor in the price as compared to the care of making the instrument.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-01-29 23:12
First things first. Grenadilla has become a "generic" word from misuse; see Lelia Loban's article in the Equipment section.
Next, clarinets carry a lot of equipment on a piece of wood - and that equipment rides on a lot of metal with springs putting pressure on it constantly. It needs to be very stable. The dense woods (that "grenadilla" or whatever wood) is stable and strong enough to support all the equipment <b>and</b> have some pretty big and close together holes in it. If you look at boxwood clarinets from the 18th and 19th centuries you'll see that they've warped horribly - and that the key(s) no longer work because they've bound up.
There are pure plastic (PVC) and composite (resin & grenadilla dust) pro level instruments available should you want one. There are also clarinets made from other woods (rosewood, cocus, cocobolo, etc.) that are very beautiful and procatical.
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-01-31 02:44
Mark,
I like the idea of a Delrin clarinet. that stuff has a high melting point. You could play your clarinet on Venus.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-01-31 22:07
...but wouldn't the heavy sulphuric acid and carbonic acid atmosphere on Venus really change the acoustics? What would the horn look like and sound like? Are there any volunteers out there willing to take a really deep breath of 800 degree highly acidified "air" and play us a tune or two from Venus? Inquiring minds want to know...
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-02-01 15:33
Re: Venus, lets just play or listen to Holst's Planets!! I recall several pages of Rendall's discussion of materials of construction, a phrase of real meaning to me was [like]that "some woods are better indicators of humidity than to be used for clar bodies" prob related to their density and fibrous [grain] character. Also, I believe Brymer discusses this, as should all of our "good books". Don
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-02-03 13:56
You are right about the keywork being the same. I visited the Buffet Crampon factory at Mantes some time ago, and found that they produce all the keys for both professional and student models on the same machine tool cutters. They use the same nickel or silver baths as well. The difference is in the finishing and the final adjustment. The professional models are finished and fitted by hand and tested every step of the way.
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