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Re: Arioso versus Allora

Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2006-08-01 00:52

FDF, what you say is absolutely true. I would not want some weird scientist dictate to me what instrument I choose and what my own feeling about the sound, playability, etc. were best for me. I might be interested if someone could conclusively show that one material for the body was superior, or at least different than the other. But, again, the discussion about materials has to do with - "Does the material of the body of the clarinet contribute significantly to the sound quality produced". One of the problems of course is the evaluation criteria which is a sticky wicket if other than spectral frequency analysis is used as the criteria. We at present do not know what series of frequency patterns contribute to the commonly described, but not universally understood, qualities such as "dark", "centered", "velvety", etc., or if the material somehow improves playability issues such as register shifts - how do you realistically measure this parameter? So, subjective criteria or a unified set of common criteria must be used to evaluate the experiment. If you want to sort out the contribution of material you must do the experiment - or not.

I would suggest that the Buffet experiment with the Greenline series of R-13's comes closest to approximating the proper experiment on body material. No thorough evaluation of the results has been done but perhaps should be. My evaluation of the comments from many threads on this BB indicates that there is no perceived or consistent difference noted in the sound quality of the wooden R-13 or the Greenline which has many different physical properties than wood. This may be a large enough sample set to analyze the question of material. (Disclaimer - I have no association with Buffet or receive any compensation).
L. Omar Henderson

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Arioso versus Allora new

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2006-07-29 17:36