 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: graham
Date: 2000-03-25 01:59
I am doing a school report on the future of clarinet manufaacturing. Does any one know anything about this?
How about were I can find info on this?
Thanks Graham
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-03-25 02:06
Write to (at least):
Selmer, Buffet, Yamaha, and Leblanc. You can find their Web pages if you go to the Resources->Retail pages
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-25 15:13
Both Brymer and Lawson discuss to some degree the making of cl's, bore and tone hole design, as well as materials. Brymer and Lee Gibson go into the acoustic details as do most of our "Clarinet" books. There were some TV programs at least showing scenes in the actual manufacturing sites, as I remember, [others please help] and the ICA journal had a fine article a number of years ago on the tuning-improving work of Hans Moennig. Groves Dictionary of Music etc will also have some discussion. Luck, Don
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-03-25 19:20
There's an interesting article here on this site, about a project to farm the scarce African Blackwood as a renewable resource, instead of cutting it in the wild. I don't have the exact link, but if you go to the site map, the title is something like "African Blackwood Conservation Project."
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-03-25 19:39
Lelia, the link (it's not on this site - I maintain a link to it) is:
<B><a href=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jeharr/chuwa.htm>http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jeharr/chuwa.htm</a></b>
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-03-26 06:32
Don,
I remember a PBS program quite some time ago that was about the disappearing blackwood trees in Africa. I think the documentary was called The Tree of Music. Toward the end there were some scenes of the manufacturing process demonstrating the inferior quality of some of the wood today resulting in a lot of spoilage. A bell actually splintered to bits during the machining process. I don't remember the maker but it was one of the top four. If the docu-film reruns in your area try to watch it or record it; I thought it was very well done.
ron b.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-26 15:23
Thanx, Ron - Yes, your description does bring it back [a bit to me!]. Believe it may have shown some Buffet factory scenes. Lelia and Mark [above] spoke of the African Blackwood "crisis", perhaps it will promote greater use of cocobola, rosewood and maybe other suitable woods. My long-term interest has been more to the mechanisms to "clean-up" the weaker notes and just make playing improvements. Don
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Author: ron b.
Date: 2000-03-27 07:34
Don,
I think you're correct about the exploding wood being at the Buffet factory. There was some footage too of an attempt to re-plant blackwood trees, given the sad state of the land in that respect, a monumental effort. I think I still have a tape of that program somewhere.
A lot of different woods, as well as other materials, have been used over the centuries as well as oodles of keying systems. Improved machanisms (to clean up weaker notes etc.) might make playing even more enjoyable but many of them so far haven't seemed to find wide appeal. Do we become so easily set in our ways, more readily that we'd like to admit? I don't know but, I share to some extent your interest in that aspect. Knew a guy, decades ago, second cl in a local symphony orch and a machinist by trade. His horn, a Buffet by the way, was a wonder of improvements he'd made to the keying mechanism but I doubt it would be cost effective to mass produce such an instrument.
ron b.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-27 15:44
You say it well, Ron, I guess "resistance-to-change" is a basic trait in most, if not all people. I have found many patents on various "improvements" to woodwinds which may have been tried-out commercially and failed for several reasons. An example case is Selmer's Mazzeo models and other trys to improve the Bb [pinch], I believe Brymer's analysis indicates that the loss of throat-tone-resonance fingerings was that particular reason. He also speaks favorably of the "Reform Boehm" and the "Full-Boehms" where the keying complications were apparently undesireable to many cl'ists. So goes it, happily many of us are still looking toward perfection, I'd like so see it during my lifetime!!! Let's keep trying. Don
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-03-27 15:57
See Ron b.'s second posting above. Here's the quandry...
Many manufacturers aren't in the business to make the finest horn technically possible. They are there to make as many horns as they can so they can make as much money as possible. The fact that the clarinets we have are partially mass produced and partially hand made by superbly skilled technicians says a lot about the nature of the entire music instrument industry.
I forgot the web site, but I saw a large US domestic manufacturer use a CAD/CAM computer program to design a new tuba from scratch. As I recall, the manufacturing process was also going to be as computerized as possible, too. The message I got was that the goal was to be able to punch out as many tubas as possible. On the flip side, there is a world renowned piano maker that intentionally does absolutely every part of the manufacturing process by hand with skilled techs, using only all natural parts and pieces. Their goal is to make the world's finest pianos, no matter what the cost or price.
Now, I realize that Buffet and many other clarinet makers use advanced equipment in many of their processes. That's a fact of life in today's highly competitive manufacturing and sales environment. But, time and again, I see other folks' postings here telling us that the better clarinets get a lot more personal technician time to tweak this and that to get the horn to play so well. In addition, I personally had my clarinet regulated by a consumate clarinet performance professional and it has made a significant difference in both me playing it and the overall performance to an audience. Ditto for a mass produced clarinet mouthpiece versus a custom hand made one. There is a huge difference here (corresponding price difference, too).
The Graham is in for a real treat on his research paper. The answers will always be prefaced by saying "it depends". Anyone can punch out a musical instrument (of any kind) and sell it. That point has been proven time and time again. Anyone can attempt to play a musical instrument. (Ditto) I believe that the significant question is "What's the future of professional grade clarinet manufacturing?". Another excellent question is "What's the future of clarinet performance in light of the future state of the clarinet manufacturing industry? Will we all be doing it just by the numbers?".
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Author: Mario
Date: 2000-03-27 21:15
We would be interested in getting the results of this study on this site, so that we can read and learn.
Being an engineer by profession, I can see three trajectories of developpement taking place out there for our instrument.
1 - Material: Various kinds of wood, improving synthetic materials, better basis for keywork, etc. I believe that Buffet is fighting is competitive war along this trajectory first.
2 - Shape: One versus two part bodies, refined bore, improved tone holes location, dimensions and shapes. The customer manufacturers (say, Rossi) are competing along these lines.
3 - Mechanical improvements: Better keywork, a little extra key here and there, rollers maybe, improved springs and pivots, inserted tone holes, etc. I believe that the German Wurlitzer is competing along these lines.
My ideal clarinet (using todays' state of the art) would be made out of the Buffet greenline material, would have the Rossi general architecture, and would get Wurlitzer keywork.
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Author: graham
Date: 2000-03-27 23:16
Hey,
iwas wondering if wulitzer has a web page or email adress.
I sent email to Buffet, Leblanc, Yamaha, Peter Eaton, Howarth, Patricola, Ripamonti and Amati. Only Amati has gotten back to me. They were very helpful. Also buffet told me they forwarded My questions to france. I miss spelled a word and Peter Eaton sent it back to me and refused to answer my questions. I am a 14 year old woodwind player not a english major. Any way the more companies the better.
Thanks,
GRaham
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Author: graham
Date: 2000-03-27 23:24
I would like to also know what you guys want to be the clarinet of the future. The musician will make the disicion in the end.
thanks,
Graham
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Author: Mario
Date: 2000-03-29 20:05
I do not know Wurlitzer web coordinates (if any). To make matters worse, there are actually two manufacturers of clarinets called Wurlitzer in Germany. One (from former East Germany) produces student-grade instruments. The Wurlitzer that we keep refering to on this bulletin board is the one from West Germany. He produces some of the very best clarinets in the world and only do work on custom orders (like Rossi).
Maybe you can look back at the list of exhibitors from former ClarinetFest conferences (start with the International CLarinet Association link). Wurlitzer has been an exhibitor for quite a while and his coordinates might be there.
Or call "MusikHaus" in Dusseldorf, Germany, on KaiserStrass. Ask for the gentleman who fixes clarinets (himself a grand master technician of the clarinet) and knows where Wurlitzer the Master is. He is the one who alerted me to the existence of two Wurlitzer vendors out there. Getting in touch with a German contact (and finding out the details) will be an interesting experience for a 14-years old.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-03-29 21:09
Mario - if Wurlitzer isn't listed on Sneezy's retail pages then it isn't listed on the ICA site (due to some inordinate chumminess on the part of the underlying database :^)
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-04-01 01:17
The Wurlitzer web address is:
http://www.wurlitzer.com
Unfortunately, the site has to do mostly with guitars and drums. Evidently Wurli ain't what it used to be.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-04-01 02:08
Wrong Wurlitzer, Lelia. That's an "American" Wurlitzer - I don't even think it's the same as the famous organ company ...
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