 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: rgoldem
Date: 2008-07-05 01:25
When did Buffet start making greenline clarinets? Thanks.
Post Edited (2008-07-07 20:17)
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-07-05 03:57
Hello,
I don't know the exact answer to your question, but I bought a new one shortly after I heard about them in 1997 or 98. If you need a more specific answer, I can ask my friends at Buffet.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2008-07-07 02:32
Redwine:
Do you still have the greenline and is it your primary clarinet? How does it compare to the wooden R13's tone-wise, blow-wise, and general quality?
B
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-07-07 11:28
Hello,
I do still have the instrument and, unfortunately, it's not playable any more. I was playing a big band job at the Italian embassy in D.C. several years ago, with the clarinet on a peg, playing sax, and an elderly gentleman fell off the dance floor directly on my clarinet! It broke at two tenon joints, the keys were mangled. I still have it as a potential project in the future. We'll see. It was my main instrument and it served me well. That accident turned into a 7 year swing where I played Selmer Recital, then Orsi and Weir, but now have swung full circle and am playing vintage Buffets exclusively now.
I do play a Greenline in the Naval Academy Band for marching and ceremonies and it plays very well, I think there are some aspects that are actually better than a wooden horn, and some that are not as good. I like the density of the sound with the Greenline, yet I assume that it does not project as well because of loss of vibration that wood gets. Of course, I love the environmental slant of the product and will only purchase Greenline in the future, if I purchase new instruments, for that very reason. It's also an added bonus that you don't have to worry about cracking. The instrument is not indestructible, however, as the extreme example above indicates, but also, I was rather gently tapping the barrel of my assembled Navy Greenline in the cup of my hand and the tenon broke. So, be as careful with these instruments as you would a wooden one.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: rgoldem
Date: 2008-07-07 20:38
I also heard bad things regarding the way these instruments break. Does it happen so often? Ben´s experience seems to be just another one. Some people like these instruments a lot because they are very stable and do not crack. Also, I understand that any instrument will break under accidental impact but I got the impression that these instruments break like glass. Can anyone else share their experience regarding this matter? How is the durability of these instruments when compared to the wood ones? Thanks again.
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-07-07 21:02
Hello,
Mine did not break like glass, rather, the tenon just broke completely off. It should be an easy fix to glue it back together, I just haven't taken the time to do so.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-07-07 21:19
Greenline clarinets were in troduced in 1994:
http://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/history.php
I bought one of the first models in 1995, it is an RC prestige that was going around the local conservatories for demos. I have never have any problems with cracking or breaking, or anything like that...
It definitely feels different, although I doubt that anyone can hear the difference between two well adjusted instrument (one wood, one GL) from a few meters away.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: klarisa
Date: 2008-07-07 21:29
I bought my festival greenline in december 1997 and really love it. (manufactering date is 26 novermber 1997 according to the buffet website) If i was to buy another clarinet it would surely be a greenline again. but since this one is still in perfect shape after all those years i don't think ill need another one in the near future.
The clarinet once fell of his peg on a concrete floor when i was doubling on sax but there was no damage, so they can take a small blow. But i does have a feeling like the material is more likely to break then normal wood.
For me the pro's are:More stabil in intonation; No cracking; Better for enviroment.
The only conn would be:easyer to break...
When i play tested my clarinet together with my teacher we had 7 Festivals to compare (3 greenlines, 4 wood). Of this 7 whe found 2 to be better on sound and projection, that was 1 greenline and 1 normal clarinet. On intonation we found no real difference between the clarinets when played in room temperature.
My previous clarinet was a wooden RC and has two cracks which is the reason why i tried and chose the greenline.
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-07-07 21:54
I guess there is an obvious trade off here...
On one hand you can aliviate your fear of cracking and changes do to your environment. For those of us who are environmentaly concious, it is a "green" way to pursue our passion.
On the other hand it seems as though you must still treat it, in terms of how you handle it, much like a wooden clarinet to avoid human-caused cracks. Which in my case and I am sure (or at leasst hope) in everyone else's case shouldn't be much of problem to do.
I think what Redwine experienced when he broke the tenon, lightly tapping the barrel in his hand, is caused by the lack of wood grain going in one, upward/downward direction. Imagine two cross cuts of wood, one with the grain and one against. The one cut with the grain will have much more tensil strength than one cut against. Since Greenline is one homogenous mixture of 95% Ebony dust and 5% carbon fiber (which doesn't sound like enough to add tensil strength, but who knows?) it lacks the grain striations to give it strength.
I do not have a greenline, nor do I plan to get one since my next clarinet(s) will be the Tosca. The Tosca has the most beautiful look with it's unstained wood and impecible clear finish.
Excluding the aspects of tone and related topics (since I cannot say) I think that the pros of Greenline deffinatly outway the cons.
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-07-08 01:37
The Buffet literature may state that it is >90 Grenadilla wood dust and some carbon fiber but the plastic content empirically must be much higher than even 20% in order to adequately bind it all together - which really makes no difference because it is what it is but not what they may have stated somewhere along the line - which too doesn't matter to me - I would buy a Green Line plastic clarinet someday anyway.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: kev182
Date: 2008-07-08 03:17
I have had a lot of experience with my greenline and can give you a realistic and truthful comparison to wood.
-It was very difficult for me to project in an orchestra with a GL... as soon as i switched to wood, the difference was night and day... the conductor noticed
-My greenline, without any provocation snapped in two...
-Close up, it sounded fantastic. Dark, Deep... had a different not worse... not better sound than wood. Generally it seemed it lacked the core and ring a wood clarinet has. And i chose this instrument out of 20 Bb greenlines.
sooo... i cant really see the uses of this instrument unless you are faced with playing outside frequently...
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-07-08 05:49
Well i'm sure that hand selection comes into play when choosing a greenline clarinet. Not all buffets were designed perfectly. My friend had a r13 that was 20 cents flat in the throat f, g and A notes. i honestly questioned buffet's craftsmanship with his buffet r13. i'm sure there are defects in the line, but not THAT severe.
How do you guys keep breaking your instruments? In Ben's case, i don't think any clarinet would have survived someone falling on it.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-07-08 14:16
"Not all buffets were designed perfectly."
HAH! That's the best morning chuckle I've had in weeks! And I haven't even had my coffee yet!
The overwhelming majority of clarinets produced by the large makers are not perfect...why do you think we spend so much time selecting our instruments? It is not only because we need to select what's best for us, but to sift through the dross.
I can only guess that the percentage of truly great clarinets produced by the small batch makers is slightly better.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-08 14:29
The feelings expressed by the members are interesting and telling. This is a clarinet that may be green, but is subject to more possible deviations than most other clarinets and is as expensive as anything out there.
And someone above says, "they all play differently", or words to that effect.
You know, I espouse hard rubber. One reason is that they all play with uncanny similarity. Another is that they cost 1/4 of the price of the wood or the green.
A third reason is that they are impervious to both cracking and as is said, "snapping in two".
Sherman Friedland
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-07-08 14:34
To second Sherman the Lyrique clarinets that I've played all do play with great consistency.
Could Ridenour be the smallest of the small-batch producers?
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-07-08 16:05
Just out of curiosity, is a hard rubber clarinet going to decay in the way mouthpiece do (turn green or yellow with light) or is there some magical curing process that prevents this from happening?
If it does indeed oxidize, it will create some sulfuric acid, which would tarnish silver plated keys or even corrode key work, especially in a moist environment such as a clarinet case.
Hard Rubber may be fine acoustically, but there's got to be a similar material that does not suffer from this oxidation process.
Maybe "The Doctor" can join the discussion?
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-07-08 16:46
Vulcanized hard rubber begins to degrade the minute after it is crosslinked in the vulcanization process - bonds break and rearrange. Newer rubber vulcanizing techniques have greatly improved the stability and longevity of hard rubber. The breakdown process can take many years and depending on the process used, the rubber can still , but also may not, maintain very good acoustic properties after many years - ob cit Chedeville mouthpieces.
Oxidizing agents including ozone in the air and UV from sunlight speed up the surface oxidation and breaking of crosslinked bonds which can more quickly degrade hard rubber. The colored (usually green or tan) sulfur compounds that discolor many mouthpieces do not form sufuric acid in their chemical formation but are reactions with sulfur, used as a catalyst and cross-linker, and chemicals in the air which form very stable colored sulfur compounds.
It also depends if the instrument is machined from rod rubber stock or is molded. The accelerators and final crosslinking patterns in rod rubber and molded rubber are different because they require different formulations of latex, sulfur, and accelerators in making and then curing the rubber. IMO the machined rod rubber has better acoustic qualities than molded rubber. Rod rubber made in the old Chedeville way is no longer commercially available and is a custom, and very expensive, process to duplicate today. Many believe that Delrin plastic has very good acoustic properties for instruments.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
Post Edited (2008-07-08 16:51)
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-07-08 19:10
Hello,
About 4 years ago, I visited China for the Musik Messe convention in Shanghai. My main area of interest was to test hard rubber clarinets. My thinking was that mouthpieces were made of hard rubber, the clarinet must be good too. I was right. I think te sound of a rubber clarinet is equal to wood. I found the articulation to be better than wood. I also found that none of the clarinets I tested (there were at least 50 of them, easily identifiable as copies of Buffet, Selmer, Yamaha, or Leblanc) had intonation that could not possibly pass as being of the western scale. I also found that the rubber was of a different formulation than mouthpieces, or it at least had a different vulcanization process. The hard rubber in the clarinets was much softer than what we find in mouthpieces. I am sure that Mr. Ridenour found a Chinese instrument maker that would produce clarinets to his specifications, so the intonation (although I have not tested them) must be much better than anything I tested in China. It is my opinion that rubber clarinets will be more stable than wood, if they are kept always in an hospitable environment. If the clarinets are allowed to come in contact with extreme heat, or direct sunlight, or even, perhaps, common air, they will oxidize (or whatever chemical reaction occurs) even faster than mouthpieces, because they are softer.
I did, in fact, purchase one of these Chinese clarinets and had it considerably altered to play relatively well in tune. It has discolored to a light brown color.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: BobD
Date: 2008-07-08 19:49
"Hard rubber" as a material for clarinets(and oboes) has been used for many years. The same is true for barrels, bells and mouthpieces. With the possible exception of the oboe there seems to have always been a "student" label attached to these instruments and many people insist on equating them with "plastic" clarinets. So far there does not seem to be a perfect material for these instruments.
Bob Draznik
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-08 20:55
Somewhere above I mentioned that I espoused hard rubber, which does change the subject from plastic (Greenline, by Buffet) to hard rubber. And so it goes.
Here is some knowledge that is incontravertible:
"Well, there's no material I know of that is as good as hard rubber. So, why not change to patina plating; it's as beautiful as silver, but will not oxidize and will out wear silver or nickel.
Personally, I prefer unplated keys.
But saying you want to change the body from an acoustically superior material for the sake of key plating is like saying you're going out to buy a box of mouthpieces for your reed."
Tom Ridenour.
This fellow has both designed arguably the best clarinets made in the past 20 years and helped numerous designers with their designs. It is my sincere belief that his hard rubber instrument is the best clarinet, regardless of the cost.
The most degrading process occurs within the bore of the wooden clarinet. As long as one keeps their rubber instrument in acceptable condition, there is nothing about which to worry, and the scale is better than anything I have ever played.
Harold Wright mentions in one of his last interviews that he changes his horns out of necessity every ten years or so. Hard rubber will last two or three times that length of time. Figure 30 years. A career.
Sherman Friedland
Anybody have the similar statistics for grenadilla dust and carbon fibers?
Post Edited (2008-07-08 21:25)
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-07-08 21:02
This link talks about sulfuric acid being emitted from hard rubber, I understand the green compound is not sulfuric acid (that would hurt!), the article talk about sulfuric gas released from rubber which when mixed with water vapor make sulfuric acid.
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn24/wn24-1/wn24-102.html
Whether or not this happens in a clarinet I don't know...
To come back to the Greenline. Obviously I am biased, as I have been playing one for years, but I won't be the one telling you material makes no difference. I simply don't know this for a fact. What I know is that if a clarinet is well adjusted so that it is in tune and has a consistent resistance across the instrument, one can make beautiful music with it.
My experience playing and trying clarinets, is that there are many more badly adjusted clarinets than bad materials.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-08 21:03
Ben:
Very interesting indeed, your feelings about hard rubber. I purchased a cheap no name hard rubber clarinet about a year ago because I had bought one, sold it, then felt the need to try it further.(There was something about the response which remained with me) I bought one without the case for 137 US. Made in China. The keys are very good and are as substantial as any of my wooden instruments or hard rubber.
The throat A is perhaps ten cents flat or less, with its long barrel, the rest of this chinese no-name horn is terrific. It was imported by a music establishment in the northwest.
I cannot tell a lie. Tom tuned it for me. His words were, "it plays like a big bore Buffet."
Best regards.
Sherman Friedland
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-08 21:09
Sylvain:
All clarinetists are biased, myself included. You sound beautiful on your Greenline. Enjoy it for many years.
Best regards,
Sherman
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-07-09 01:36
Sylvain, the chemical reaction forming the green and tan-brown colors does not emit sulfur dioxide which when exposed to water vapor indeed does make sulphuric acid. If the mouthpiece smells like rotten eggs in addition to being green or brown then it has formed the stable colored compounds and is also emitting the S02 - or the sulfur which combines with oxygen in the air to form SO2. Early rubber makers were not consistent in the amount of sulfur used - sometimes to excess - and when a lot of sulfur migrates to the surface and exceeds the slow reaction kinetics of forming the green and brown sulfur compounds to emit SO2. Rubber formulation is a tricky art and messing up your proportions of reactants just sligltly can have bad results down the line for the rubber produced. Vulcanized rubber today is much more consistent than in the 30's and 40's partly because of the machinery but more due to improved catalysts and accelerators in addition to sulfur to insure crosslinking completion without huge excesses of sulfur.
Sorry to stray from the Green Line thread too.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-07-09 14:50
Thank you Omar, as always an enlightening response.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-07-09 20:10
Hello Sherman,
It sounds as if the Chinese may be getting the intonation better than when I tried them. You only paid about $100 too much for the clarinet, as most of them I could get in China for around $35 each. Of course, you'd have to pay about $1000 for a plane ticket to save yourself the $100.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-09 21:46
Ben:
You know there are several clarinetists in China who have formed a company that is making clarinets designed for good intonation in hard rubber, but it is my feeling that it is the work of Tom Ridenour that has produced the clarinet that has the scale, which is THE major issue. The consistency is also rather incredible as many say on this very avenue. As has been said,nothing is quite as natural as hard rubber, the chemical composite of which I will leave to the scientists.
More than 50 years ago I wanted to go to Paris and have the Selmer company make me a set of clarinets made from another more stable material. You know, young kid, I thought I'd get a grant to go and have it done. This was not to be, however the Buffet Greenlines and the Ridenour Hard Rubber Lyriques are the horns of the future, of that there is no doubt.
always the best,
Sherman
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-07-09 22:00
S. Friedland wrote:
> however the Buffet Greenlines and the Ridenour Hard Rubber Lyriques are
> the horns of the future, of that there is no doubt.
Hmm. So how comes metal clarinets are more or less extinct? I could imagine that a body milled from solid aluminium could be just as good...
--
Ben
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-07-10 02:53
I'm still trying to find out how this statement, "Well, there's no material I know of that is as good as hard rubber," is incontrovertible.
Projection is an issue with hard rubber clarinets. You may not personally have had this experience. Tom Ridenour may not have, either. But it is an issue for many serious players.
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-10 12:01
Projection is an issue with any clarinet these days. If you would imply that it is not with a wooden instrument, you are in serious error.
I disagree with your statement. . I have never had a projection problem with any instrument I've played.
Projection is both a musical issue, and ensemble issue and even an emotional issue for some.
For an example, here is an anecdotal experience: Benny Goodman played with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchstra. The concert was scheduled in the Milwaukee Civic Auditorium, a huge cavern of a place. He came on stage and played a beautiful few notes. and said, "This is like spitting in the ocean". The concert including the Weber Concertino, and the Debussy Rhapsody.( I had reharsed his part with the orchestra) He didn't force a note, didn't try to compensate for the hall and simply played with the most beautiful sound I thought that I had ever heard.
I think I have the right to talk about projection, and I know that Tom Ridenour has as well. So, you've heard it from me, and perhaps you may think me qualified as being "a serious player". Disagree if you wish, but define your terms and your frame of reference.
Sherman Friedland
Post Edited (2008-07-10 12:05)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2008-07-10 13:44
"nothing is quite as natural as hard rubber"
Ah, but wood is truly natural.
Bob Draznik
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-07-10 14:11
Sherman, there is no question you are a serious player, but by your own admission you do not play in an orchestra anymore. Your needs appear to be different. A pretty sounding clarinet is not necessarily one that would hold up under the most demanding sound conditions. Tom Ridenour is a good player himself, but franly he plays with an extremely light sound that, while pleasant, would never project enough.
You can talk all you want about bias, but until more players with more traditional needs jump ship, it's hard to accept that these instruments are, hands down, no question, better.
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-10 16:03
JJ:
Let me put it this way; yesterday I turned 75. I have been a serious and professional clarinet player for almost 60 years and have played in all kinds and sizes of orchestras and chamber ensembles, really, I have more than 150 radio broadcasts on record.
You're not convinced because I am retired and do not play in a symphony orchestra any longer?
Projection was and still is my business. What is yours?
Until you reply, I suggest that all read the Leslie Craven unsolicited article on his hard rubber instruments.
And what do you mean by "jump ship"?
Sherman Friedland
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-07-10 16:15
Here is perhaps the finest metal clarinet ever made. (see below)
http://www.uark.edu/ua/nc/NCCollectionPage/Page/SelmerMetalFullBoehm.htm
It was the model played by Gaston Hamelin in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Serge Koussevitsky. In 1931, Hamelins contract was not renewed by Maestro Koussevitsky, specifically because Mr Hamelin played metal. Hamelin went back to France and Ralph McClane went to study with him. (We know that he returned to play Principal in Philly until he died from cancer. He produced some of the beautiful sounds ever made on our horn.)
The clarinet was later taken out of Selmers catalogue with the caveat that it "damaged our prestige." The late Wm McGibbon of Milwaukee, (who was my techy while I played princoal in that orchestra)gave me part of that information and I trust it to be true.
In any event, that was one of the reasons that the metal horn became extinct.
My first clarinet was metal. It was all shine and spiny and I loved it and vowed that after my first disastrous lesson, I would never squeak again.
I didn't. At least not for a while.
Sherman Friedland
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-07-10 18:14
I read the Craven article and I found it to be very thorough. He obviously likes the instruments. He does note that they may not be for everyone due to sound and personal preferences. Of course, this is the case with any clarinet.
At the end of the day, everyone has to decide what qualities are paramount in the instruments they choose. I don't feel as if I am disregarding your career by stating that I don't find you to be the absolute authority to speak about projection at this time. I'm not insulting Tom by saying that his style of playing is unique and is not what exists in most orchestra section in the U.S. today. Of course projection is a relative subject, but I don't think it's wrong to say that in my opinion one instrument projects better than another.
What is wrong is this attitude as if these clarinets are absolutely the best as if there isn't even a question. Well yes, there is a question. If they were really that superior, you would have more prominent players using them. This is what I meant by "jumping ship." Instead, there is a small group of players who like them quite a bit, and I have no doubt sound fantastic on them. But that does not mean that the instruments are still well-suited for situations where one must project over a 100-piece orchestra. And that was exactly what I initially said.
I actually think the Lyrique clarinets are very good and have recommended them to students and adults who return to playing. They have a lot going for them. But they are not the industry standard.
If the instruments really were that great, you'd see more orchestra principals using them. Instead, you have a small group of players who give the impression that they are the ones who have it "right." They've got it figured out, while everyone else is just a victim of bias. If only the rest of the world would see the light and come on board, then we'd really see something. Having tried the clarinets myself, I know how ridiculous that attitude is.
Post Edited (2008-07-10 18:17)
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-07-10 19:07
J.J.,
The reason why the wooden buffet R13 (and variations of) is the predominant instrument may be something totally unrelated to the quality of the R13 clarinet.
The same way that I don't take much value in blanket statements such as "hard rubber is the best", I take little value in "Most pro players play it so it must be good" or "no pro player plays it so it must be crap".
Most computers run Windows, yet it is crap. Marketing and social dynamics may have much more to do with the dominance of a material or brand than acoustics.
I am a greenline buffet player, not because I chose the best clarinet on the market, but because when I wanted a new clarinet, my teacher recommended buffet and I was offered a great deal on the greenline. I've had this clarinet for 13 years, will probably play it for many more years.
I would go as far as suggesting that these 2 facts: "my teacher recommended" and "good deal" are what really drives most clarinet purchases, including the ones of professional players. Because once one manages to achieve a level of excellence in playing with a particular instrument, why change? We are not all gear addicts.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
Post Edited (2008-07-10 20:42)
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2008-07-12 17:27
I come from a long line of yacht builders (cherubiniyachts.com/) and I know that simply combining wood dust, carbon fiber, and epoxy resin will not result in a strong structure. Tenons breaking off and clarinet tubes breaking in half is inexcusable. What Buffet should have done is to consult an engineer who knows something about how to incorporate carbon fiber into the structure so that the finished product would be strong and resonant. Guitar builders did that and the top-of-the-line C.F. guitars are as resonant as the best rosewood and spruce ones. If anything, they had to learn to make them a bit LESS resonant for better balance throughout the instrument's range.
Furthermore, it's kind of naive of Buffet to assume that just because the Greenline has rosewood or ebony dust in the mixture that the clarinet will sound like a top-of-the-line wood clarinet. What they should have done was to throw out dusty old concepts and apply the latest engineering technology to the problem. My guess is that they could have come up with a resonant, in-tune, robust instrument that would have been as good or better than wooden clarinets. It isn't magic after all.
B.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-07-12 17:51
Shhh....
Don't tell anyone...
The Greenline is a $2700 plastic clarinet.
...GBK
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Author: BandieSF
Date: 2008-07-12 19:33
I've never owned a wooden R-13, much less played on one, but I can tell you that with my current set-up, I've been able to produce the best sound I've ever had in all the years I've been playing. For the time being, as far as I'm concerned I've achieved my dream clarinet sound. If I were to give a verdict I'd say the greenline instruments are just as good as their wood counterparts.
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Current set-up:
Classical:
Strength 4 1/4 Legere Signature Series
Vandoren M13 Lyre
Jazz:
Strength 3 3/4 Legere Quebec
Pomarico Jazz*
Clarinets:
Buffet E11 Student Model
Buffet R13 Greenline
<http://operationhighschool.blogspot.com
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-07-12 19:46
BandieSF
Not to be the mean person on the board. But you just said that you've never played a wooden R13.
This means that you are completely unable to give an opinion in this matter.
"I've never driven a ferrari, but I'm certain that my honda prelude handles just as well if not better."
Idiocy.
James
Gnothi Seauton
Post Edited (2008-07-12 20:04)
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The Clarinet Pages
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