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RE: Old vs new clarinets

Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-02-08 15:53

Asking whether old clarinets are better than new ones is kind of like asking whether senior citizens are better than kids. Which senior citizens? Which kids? And, better for what?

My favorite Bb clarinet is a 1937 Buffet, but because it's a wide-bore instrument, the tone quality might not quite fit in with modern R-13s in a modern ensemble where the director wanted uniform sound from all the clarinets in the section. Some old instruments are built to different pitch standards than instruments today. A "high-pitch" clarinet can be in perfect condition and a wonderful instrument, but no way will it play in tune with modern ones. Some old instruments are in such bad shape they're not worth repairing. Others have nothing significant wrong with them and play like champs. Some old clarinets were cheap junk from the day they were manufactured. Age won't improve them. Some clarinets made today are cheap junk, too, however, and the fact that they're *new* cheap junk doesn't make them better than the *old* cheap junk. And so forth . . . . It's impossible to generalize just on the basis of age.

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