 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kathy
Date: 2000-10-06 15:52
Hi All,
I'm thinking about buying a new student-level alto clarinet. If any of you have experience with some of the different brands (i.e. Selmer-Bundy, Vito, Yamaha), I'm interested in finding out what you think of them.
In particular, I'm curious about the Yamaha, which in the Woodwind/Brasswind catalog appears to have plateau keys. All the other models appear to be open-holed. Since I have thin fingers, I'm thinking that the plateau keys would be a plus. Have any of you tried both the Yamaha and another brand? How do you like it compared to the other? Do you think the plateau keys enhance or detract from its playability?
I currently own and play an old Bundy (down to E, not Eb). It is very easy blowing, and even plays easily in the altissimo. However, the intonation in the throat tones is EXTREMELY sharp. Is this true on the Yamaha? How about the Vito?
Thanks,
Kathy
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Author: Al
Date: 2000-10-06 17:31
Dear Cathy,
Why buy an another Eb alto clarinet? Are you a student? Do you play avocationally? Many organizations supply alto and bass clarinets.
Perhaps you can modify your intonation problems with a little research.Perhaps by pulling the neck a bit and then testing. Perhaps by lipping down the throat tones or "shading" the three top joint "finger "holes", (plateaus) or a combination of both will help you.
Think twice about buying another alto clarinet.
Best, Al
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Author: Kathy
Date: 2000-10-06 18:13
Al,
I can't find a way to respond to your post without sounding snippy, so the best I can say is that I **want** to buy a new alto clarinet for my own reasons. I'm not asking for opinions on whether or not I should; I'm trying to find out what others think of the various student models, in particular the Yamaha because of its plateau keys.
Thanks,
Kathy
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Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 2000-10-06 19:05
Kathy,
I'll say up front that I'm not an alto, but a bass player, so my experience with altos is indirect. Having said that, I'll venture a few opinions: First, as far as I know all modern alto clarinets have plateau (closed-hole) mechanisms like the bass clarinet, although many old altos had open rings such as on soprano clarinets (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). Secondly, I'm pretty sure the Yamaha student altos (the plastic ones, that is) are identical to the Vito plastic horns and are in fact made by Leblanc/Vito (or were in the past, anyway -- I think I read somewhere that Yamaha now makes their own plastic clarinets). Finally, of the plastic instruments, I've always preferred Vitos to Bundys (or Selmer USA, as the Bundys are now known), at least as far as bass clarinets. I'd expect the similarities and differences between various brands of alto clarinets to be generally analogous to the respective bass clarinets. Good luck!
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Author: C. Hogue
Date: 2000-10-06 19:20
Here's my opinion:
I'd definitely stick with an alto with plateau keys, especially if you have smaller fingers. Make sure there's a vented LH key if you play in the altissimo register.
I formerly played on a well-maintained older model Vito (to low Eb) with plateau keys and a vented LH key. It played GREAT.
Personally, I'd avoid a Bundy alto like the plague.
So many people sneer at altos as weird, anachronistic horns. But I like them, and so do a cadre of others. I once played in a quintet with another alto clarinet, two violins, and a cello. We altos played transcribed viola parts. All five of us were blown away by the amazing sound we made.
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Author: LynnL
Date: 2000-10-06 19:24
Kathy,
My good friend, who plays Alto in our community band, owns her Leblanc which has plateau keys, but an Amati she traded about 3 yrs ago had open rings, I think! Anyway, she likes it alot. And, despite the ridicule some folks heap on Altos, it does complete our mixed clarinet quartet nicely!
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Author: Kathy
Date: 2000-10-06 19:29
Dave,
I've heard consistently from many sources that Vitos are preferable to comparable Selmer USA/Bundy models for soprano and bass clarinets, so by inference, I'd guess it's true for the Altos, too.
I didn't know (until now) that the newer Vitos have plateau keys, too. Does anyone out there know for sure whether Yamaha is now making its own model or if they are still Vito stencils? If they are still stencils, then the Vito appears to be the better buy, at least from Woodwind/Brasswind. I was just looking at their new online catalog, and the Vito costs $90 less ($809 vs. $899). Further, they have a photo of the Vito and it does indeed have the plateau keys. For some reason they don't have a photo of the Yamaha on the web, although it's in the new paper catalog - which DOESN'T have a photo of the Vito.
Thanks for the info!
Kathy
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-10-06 20:03
Plateau system without question, unless you have fat fingers and large-reach hands!! I own and have owned a number of altos, and have fond memories of my Leblanc, but feel my Selmer is better, even tho I have minor "reach" problems with small hands. From what I've seen, the altos seem to have more intonation problems than other cl's, so for me a wide tip-long lay mp with soft reed is needed as it is for nursing saxes into tune. There is a bit of current discussion of altos on "bassclarinet@e-groups.com" which may be of some interest to you. Don
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Author: Steve Hartman
Date: 2000-10-06 21:36
If the only problem with the instrument is sharpness in the throat register, I would suggest that you have a good repairman look at the instrument. Perhaps he/she could lower the pad heights and/or put something in the tone holes to adjust the pitch. You'd save quite a bit of money, assuming that you're happy with all other aspects of the instrument.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-10-06 22:30
My experience is with older altos than the ones you're probably looking at, and I;m an amateur, but FWIW....
I play a 1979 Selmer alto, full Boehm, with plateau keys. Previously I have played an old wreck, metal, whose make I've forgotten (junior high, ca. 1960!) and a plastic Bundy that was standard Boehm with open holes. I have small, thin fingers. Although I could cover the open holes, it was difficult. I vastly prefer the plateau keys! I also like the extended range. The Selmer has good intonation and a more resonant tone than most altos. The tone quality is closer to that of a Bb clarinet, with less of the "stuffiness" people often complain about in altos.
One trouble spot on many altos is the 4th line D (the D just above the break), which can sound muffled. The Eb and E above it are often pretty bad as well. On my Selmer, those are good notes. The tone quality is closer to consistent over the register break than on other altos I've tried. That was one of the biggest selling points for me. I don't know how this 20-year-old Selmer compares with modern models, but I like this clarinet very much!
I use the Selmer HS* mouthpiece with it. That is a comparatively loud mouthpiece that some people find too shrill on the Bb, but the Eb needs some help in that department and I think the HS* is a good choice for a Selmer alto. I use either Vandoren alto clarinet reeds or Hemke Premium alto sax reeds on it. The sax reeds sound louder and more focussed. I think if I played in a band, I would use the alto sax reeds for more projection. The clarinet reeds give more of a typically mellow alto clarinet tone.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-10-07 00:39
I understand your desire for your own horn. I'm currently playing an old contra alto that is borrowed from the local high school. I'm also shaking the trees trying to find my own so I can fix it up right and have a decent horn. As for the alto, the difference in price you mentioned may be in the type of pads used. The alto player in our band has a Vito that had problems. She took it down and had the bladder pads changed to white leather pads and says its a much better horn to play now. To the best of my knowledge, the only difference between the Vito and the others are the pads.
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Author: Ken
Date: 2000-10-08 19:34
I suppose Eb alto clarinets serve a purpose, but so does a can opener. I really think manufacturers should offer a lifetime supply of tylenol with every purchase. For me, it's an absolutely miserable piece of garbage to play when saddled with it.
They're all poorly made every last damn one of them and like blowing into a solid rotted tree trunk. They constantly fight against you in pitch and control and simply refuse to allow you to take complete command of it. Besides, with the exception of sparse band literature that requires that particular color and string transcriptions
that have no business being re-written they add NOTHING musical to any ligitmate ensemble unless you've got a choir of them barking away at each other.
If it was me, I would quit torturing myself, bag it and embrace the F Basset and buy one of those. Simply transpose up a whole step and/or re-write your parts. They're MUCH better made horns, tone color is almost identical, but richer and undisputedly more responsive and flexible. Most of all, it has a larger range and you can play that gorgeous, deep low "C". Believe me, the Band, the
conductor and/or ensemble won't be able to tell the difference between the two until you drop your Ds, Dbs, and then pop out that low "C" and MELT everyone!
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Author: MIchael Kincaid
Date: 2000-10-09 02:57
I have a lot of fun playing my second-hand Selmer Bundy alto clarinet.
Alot of the parts written for the alto aren't great, but sometimes they are--that's
all that matters. I love my alto. Michael
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Author: Fred McKenzie
Date: 2000-10-10 17:48
Kathy-
If you must have a student model, the Vito may be the best choice. If you can, try it before you buy.
Several years ago I found a Leblanc Alto in a music store for a surprisingly low price. It seems to work well and have good intonation throughout its range.
I found out later that what I had paid wasn't so low after all. It seems that there is little demand for Alto Clarinets. You pay top dollar for a new one, but there are bargains to be had for used ones. If you check E-Bay, you may find Vitos selling for under $200 and Selmer or Leblanc wooden Altos for under $400. If you prefer to purchase from a store, keep these prices in mind.
Fred
<A HREF="http://www.dreamnetstudios.com/music/mmb/index.htm">MMB</A>
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2000-10-11 05:32
One problem with the Vitos and other student line altos is they don't come equipped with an alternate Eb/Ab key. Without this key there is no way play low Eb then up a fourth to Ab. Even the current pro model Selmer and Leblanc don't have this key. I put in a call to Leblanc to see if I could special order an alto with the alternate Eb/Ab and they never returned my call. The alto is definitely the Rodney Dangerfield of the clarinet family.
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Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2000-10-16 03:57
Hey Ken, why don't you tell us how you really feel?
Kathy, I am another nut--just bought a used Buescher off E-Bay. I think I get it Thursday. Cost $150, plastic, reportedly good/vg condition. Some people just don't need a reason. Mine was, "because I can't play an oboe." If that makes sense to you good.
Luck,
Bob
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Author: Wes Brown
Date: 2000-10-18 05:53
Hi Kathy!
I only own one alto clarinet and that is a Selmer Bundy. I do some clarinet restoration and tuning in my spare time. On this instrument, I removed the keys and did some slight undercutting of the tone holes which made the low register character much more focussed as well as a little improvement in the low register pitches. As you may know, undercutting a tone hole will raise the low register note without changing the upper register note. I also added a couple of resonators to pads where the note was dull and less volume than others. After making sure that all leaks were gone and the key heights were proper, I refaced the stock mouthpiece and it is a wonderful instrument. The Bundy contrabass in EEb is also very good and mine plays as good as I could want and quite well in tune. On that one, a Selmer C* refaced mouthpiece is used. Plastic instruments generally have better pad seats than wood instruments with no chips or grain indentations to cause killer leaks.
The alto clarinet is a beautiful instrument that has not yet been fully utilized.
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Author: Kathy
Date: 2000-10-19 15:45
Hi Wes!
The alto I have now is an old Bundy (down to low E, not E-flat). I've been learning about clarinet repair in my spare time (I have several old junker B-flats I can work on). I don't yet have the knowledge or skill to attempt undercutting the tone holes, but when I learn more, I may just try it on this alto.
Thanks to everyone who responded to this post; the information is what I was looking for, plus so much more.
Kathy
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