Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2006-12-25 16:14
First let me say that I am glad that other people are playing with this! Keep it up!
I think that your recording is typical of what happens to the clarinet when put through most guitar effects processors - a hollow sound, devoid of expression. Adding leslie effect, wah-wah, or tremolo can help get beyond a sound that is sure different but not too exciting.
These devices are designed for the guitar, which has a BIG attach, and than a VERY rapid volume decay. The box boosts the level quickly and a lot, to allow a much more effective sustain than the instrument itself gives. The clarinet has a mild attack and no decay, so an unfortunate side-effect of these boxes is that they iron out all of your control over volume and expression.
There is also the problem that the clarinet's waveform is pretty straight-forward, and monophonic. The guitar has a more involved waveform, and can play 6 notes at a time. So a simple effects box really has more to start out with.
I have a <no longer made> in-mpc pickup and a Line6 Pod XT Live . Most of the pre-programmed patches were similar to your sample. But then I downloaded everything else on their website. A lot of them were similar, but some were really good, and a couple give the clarinet a real dramatic heavy-metal sound. That's what I wanted.
Haven't found a rock band that needs a clarinet yet...
Keep experimenting!
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The Clarinet BBoard
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