 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Deanna Howarth
Date: 2000-02-27 15:58
I have always been sharp on my Vandoren B45 no matter what clarinet I play on. Is there any way to fix that?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jeff
Date: 2000-02-27 19:51
I had a B45 and I had similar problems. I would suggest upgrading to a different mouthpiece, such as a M13Lyre or a M14.
Jeff
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-02-27 21:25
Jeff wrote:
-------------------------------
I had a B45 and I had similar problems. I would suggest upgrading to a different mouthpiece, such as a M13Lyre or a M14.
-----
Just to be a bit more specific - this isn't an "upgrade", just a change. There's nothing inherently different in "levels" between these mouthpieces.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Laurie
Date: 2000-02-28 01:53
I seem to always play sharp .. Is there any way to fix this without spending another what $70 for a new Vandorean Mouthpiece ?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kim
Date: 2000-02-28 02:30
If you don't already, try a Moenning barrel, it brought my pitch right down. I mean, the B45 isn't a shabby mouthpiece whatsoever. I'd only change a mouthpiece if it didn't feel right, ie the reed didn't vibrate correctly. Try a different ligature too. That could help.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Dee
Date: 2000-02-28 03:57
There is a possibility that you may be "pinching" the reed. Get hold of a tuner. Check the way you normally play for pitch. Then try playing with the double lip embouchure and see what happens to your pitch. If it comes down, then some embouchure work may be in order.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2000-02-28 05:11
The B45 is tuned to play above 440, so there is an inherent problem with them for those who wish to play at 440. You could get it refaced. If possible, have the baffle scooped by whoever does the refacing. This will bring the pitch down, and add depth to the sound.
Chris
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: paul
Date: 2000-02-28 13:55
As a point of comparison, my factory supplied mp played absolutely perfectly in tune with my horn with absolutely no adjustment. Just mash everything together tight and go for it. Now, folks have told me that the factory mps on most horns, even pro grade Buffets are not very good. Okay, so I put the mp away and went for a Vandoren B45. Initially, this mp was even worse than the factory mp. I took the entire horn to my local certified Buffet tech and had him take a look at it with the B45 on top. Besides having a crooked side trill keypad, the B45 needed a little expert whittling work to take out defective "high spots" on the rails. It still plays a bit sharp on my Buffet Festival. I asked my highly experienced pro tutor about this and he said this is correct. You purposefully want your horn to play a bit sharp (a little bit, not a whole lot) so there is room for flattening the intonation with a barrel adjustment. This allows your horn room for warm-up and it allows room for you to tune to an ensemble or the entire orchestra. For me, this is about a single mm or so of barrel extension. He said this is normal and expected of all good clarinets, so there is room for tuning in real world conditions. So, in retrospect, I guess that the factory mp really didn't do me any favors being perfectly in tune with no room for adjustment. Over the years, I've gotten used to putting together my clarinet and allowing for the mm or so of barrel extension to get it in tune and keeping it in tune. This little bit of extension IMHO doesn't require a barrel ring. It's not that extreme an adjustment. Plus, not putting a ring on my horn allows me to use my A=442 barrel every now and then, which requires only about 1/2 a mm or so of extension.
I also have a Vandoren 5RVLyre and a Borbeck 13 mp. I used a good tuning meter to find the "sweet spot" for barrel adjustment for each mp. Would you believe it? The very good pro grade Borbeck 13 mp takes about 1 mm of barrel adjustment very much like the Vandoren B45, and the 5RVLyre takes a little less than a mm.
In summary, be glad that your B45 is constantly sharp by a little bit. It's designed and built properly to give you "wiggle room" for tuning your horn.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Laurie
Date: 2000-02-28 23:35
Hi Jeff - What's a tuning ring ???
~
Thanks for the sugestions. - I'm always playing with a tuner. Hehe. Well, Last week I got a new ligature - A Roanover ( sorry, the spelling is off ) leather one. It helped a lot. I'm always pulling my barrel out like a inch to an inch and a 1/2 in order to be in tune with the other clarinets. Anyone else have this problem ??
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-02-28 23:43
Laurie wrote:
-------------------------------
Hi Jeff - What's a tuning ring ???
--
I'm not Jeff, but I;ll answer anyway. It's a flat ring that fits in the socket of your barrel, normally between the barrel and 1st joint, that takes up the space that you have to pull out to be in tune. It keeps the "gap" inside closed up.
---
'I'm always pulling my barrel out like a inch to an inch and a 1/2 in order to be in tune with the other clarinets. Anyone else have this problem ??
---
Not an inch or inch and a half! My clarinet would be falling apart. If you meant a millimeter to millimeter and a half, that'd be in the normal range.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
