 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2006-08-12 13:58
A friend has an almost new R13 "A" clarinet that plays almost 40 cents flat on throat Bb, A and Ab. The clarion register is reasonably in tune, and intonation gradually improves as you go lower on the chalumeau register. It comes with a 66.6 mm barrel. It also has the longest register tube I have ever seen, extending fully half-way across the bore. Trying a 64 mm barrel improved things somewhat, but not nearly enough to be acceptable. Would cutting the length of the register tube raise the pitch of the throat tones? Or, are there other modifications that can be done? Thanks for your suggestions.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-08-12 14:39
Changing the register vent tube can have a marked difference in the performance and response of the Buffet A clarinet.
However, there can be trade offs as to the tuning. As some 12ths may narrow, other may get wider.
Two of my Buffet A clarinets (237xxx and 274xxx) originally had VERY different size vent tubes, yet were only two years apart in manufacture date.
Changing one of them to a shorter variety made a big difference in the A clarinet, especially in the notes G5 to B5.
As one tech jokingly told me: "It's almost as if Buffet uses whatever size vent tube they have lying around at that time."
...GBK
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Author: William
Date: 2006-08-12 14:57
A & Ab (4's) can be easily adjusted be boring out the tone holes or by raising the heighth of the pad openings, without overly affecting the rest of the instruments scale. However, the Bb4 is often just simply a "flat" note and one must resort to using the side fingering which is often more reasonably in sync with the rest of the scale. All of this, of course, in case the register tubing adjustments do not do the trick. Ultimately, the Buffett A clarinets (even the "best" ones) will not play in tune by itself--they must be played in tune by the player. Good luck.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2006-08-12 22:14
You should be concerned shortening the register tube only if you want to eliminate undesirable undertones or your clarinet is overly stuffy. If you don't experience any undertones or stuffiness leave the register tube alone. Flat throat tones can be easily fixed by changing to a smaller bore mouthpiece (Riffault etc.) or by using the mouthpiece that was supplied by Buffet. (I know it's a crap but it has the right bore dimensions for your clarinet to play in tune).
Vytas Krass
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
Post Edited (2006-08-13 01:56)
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