The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

RE: Old Leblanc....very sharp

Author: Fred McKenzie
Date: 2000-04-03 21:56

Meredith H wrote:
-------------------------------
Being an older instrument isn't it likely that it was intended to play at a slightly higher pitch.

Meredith-

I have a Leblanc Bb Bass Clarinet that plays sharp. To use it at A=440, I have the neck pulled out as far as I can, and also pull out about 3/16" at the center joint.

Needless to say, it still has intonation problems. I recently wrote Leblanc to see when it was made, and they indicated it was from the mid-60s. They didn't say if it might have been made for some other country.

As a side issue, I have an old Selmer Clarinet sales flyer that advises that you sometimes need to pull out at the center, in order to compromise-tune some instruments. I suspect this is a vestige of the many old instruments (pre-1940s) that were made to a higher pitch.

This concept works if you are able to lip some of the notes to play in tune. Unfortunately, many of the old higher-pitched instruments had single-piece metal bodies that couldn't be adjusted this way. I think that is one of the major reasons metal instruments have such a bad reputation.

Fred
<A HREF="http://www.dreamnetstudios.com/music/mmb/index.htm">MMB</A>

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics