 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken Mills
Date: 2007-12-01 23:34
I need to go to a clarinet exhibit. Their specifications says that the barrel is only 56.5mm. Yikes! Does that mean that it is a high pitched clarinet when their other models have 66mm barrels? How high on the body is the mechansim when measured from the top of the barrel? I use a soft reed so I am attracted to such an instrument.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-12-01 23:58
The body is longer, the barrel is shorter- the total length is the same. The downside is that you cannot change to a standard barrel if you want to change pitch/tuning. You can change to a different barrel for German clarinet but they are not available many places.
Does anyone know WHY Yamaha made this change?
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Author: TaylorM
Date: 2007-12-02 01:47
I am pretty sure that model is a hybrid- german bore, boehm fingering system.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2007-12-02 02:21
Somewhere along the way, I believe I read that there is some acoustical benefit in lengthening the upper joint. I'll see if I can find the info somewhere.
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2007-12-02 02:29
The lengthening of the upper joint and shortening of the barrel was done for acoustical/tuning purposes. Having played a number of CSGs, I can tell you that this was successful. They are very even and in tune.
The instrument is not a hybrid i.e. German bore and French fingering. The ad copy states that it was designed as a combination of the two styles, but in reality it's more of a french bore that's just different.
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2007-12-02 05:50
J.J.... I might disagree with that statement because of the multiphonic properties of these instruments. Most of the multiphonics I know in the middle region of the instrument have a lowered bottom note by about a 1/2 step. For example, when fingering low F with the A key also open, you would usually get an open G and the C above that sounding at the same time. However, with these and other hybrid bore instruments, you get an F# and C. This result is quite common among hybrid instruments. So for me, it's more of a hybrid bored instrument than a French instrument.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2007-12-02 14:57
I agree with J.J., it is more of an "altererd" French bore. I don't base my opinion on multiphonics or measurements, just how it sounds when you play it normally. I have had Wurlitzer 100Cs and they sound and respond COMPLETELY differently.
That said, the CSGs are remarkable horns. For me, the best example of a mass produced horn today.....head and shoulders over Buffet.
Let's not forget to mention the amazing Lucien Deluxe pads. They seat completely flat, seal like cork and feature little resonating buttons in the center of every pad that may or may not help the sound. All I know is that they perform like cork and are as silent as the bladder pads that they are. Simply GREAT.
Oh, and by the way, the mechanism is in the SAME spot as any other standard French clarinet, and the pitch is also identical......just more even in its internal tuning.
............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2007-12-02 14:59)
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-12-02 16:50
That is the normal sized barrel for those horns, which are good instruments.
I have had orders for slightly longer and shorter barrels for these, sometimes with a very modest taper, but this has been for sonority changes rather than for intonation. Owners seem to like Kingwood and Rosewood for some reason, moreso than mpingo
Disclaimer: I am a maker and seller of aftermarket clarinet barrels.
Allan
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Old Geezer
Date: 2007-12-02 21:30
I have and regularly play a YCL-CSG. It does have superior intonation through all the registers. I think if I had to choose between it and my R13 I would take it. Yamaha claims that the changes in bore and barrel give it a slightly darker tone...It sounds that way to me. Also the natual throat tones seem more robust.
The intonation is great, but the short barrel gives pause...what to do if it plays flat? Warmed up so far it never has; but what if?
I'm thinking about one of those German reform boehms by Wurlitzer or Schwenk & Seggelke! They look super but with the falling dollar they must be $9,000 and up today...THAT gives pause.
Does the G in YCL-CSG really stand for German!?
Clarinet Redux
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-12-02 22:03
That's what someone in Yamaha told me a few years ago when they came out. That it was thought to be a 'German Boehm' (not 'Reform Boehm') in design. 'German Boehm', as I have understood, means "use a French mouthpiece but it sounds more like German and it doesn't have all thoes extra keys like the Reform Boehm."
... but I don't work for Yamaha so who knows?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-12-03 13:42
Yamaha do make German bore Boehm system (but definitely not Reform Boehm) clarinets - these are the YCL-856 (Bb) and YCL-846 (A). It uses a German style mouthpiece as well.
The CSG is definitely not one of these, even though it's outward appearance is fairly similar.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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