 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: S.Koumas
Date: 2000-10-21 19:03
Hi again,
Recently i was chatting to a lady on the internet who said that she played the Clarinet. She said that her Clarinet was a Dazzler and made by Buffet or Vito if im correct. She also said that it comes in a variety of colours e.g. Blue, Green, Red, yellow etc... I was wondering if anyone knows if this is true and if so how much they might cost coz they sound really cool!
Thanxs in advance
S.Koumas
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-10-21 19:18
Vito makes a Dazzler, available in colors. I saw it listed for $640, and on sale for $299.
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-10-21 19:25
Yes, LeBlanc Vito makes the dazzler, although you must keep in mind that they are plastic student model clarinets. -- Nate Zeien
PS - Is it just me, or does anyone else think it to be odd that pro model saxes come in different colors, whereas we're stuck with student models. Granted, the process is different, but better grade plastic clarinets can be made. Different types of wood are available, such as rosewood, but not for my budget. Also did anyone see that "white" clarinet on ebay? A crudely painted Bb was all it turned out to be. Worth a chuckle nonetheless.
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Author: gRAHAM gOLDEN
Date: 2000-10-21 21:58
Hi,
I saw a white vito bass clarinet a few weeks ago. have they made dazzler harmony clarinets?
Graham
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Author: Bob Sparkman
Date: 2000-10-21 22:59
I believe the "Dazzler" is a Vito 7212 in color. I play an older one and love it. It tunes nicely, is very centered, and has a warm, "mellow" sound ---- great for jazz. I wouldn't try the Mozart on it, but it is far better than it shold be for a plastc "student" horn.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-10-21 23:07
I saw a small jazz combo in San Diego that had a red Dazzler and it sounded pretty good. The MPc was black so it was probably a better grade. They also had red laquered saxes and brass, a red trap set.
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Author: Gordon (New Zealand)
Date: 2000-10-23 16:32
As an experienced repairer and player I have found the following problems with the plastic Vito clarinets (model 7212):
Consticting burrs inside the bottom of tone holes, key cups lining up poorly with tone holes, soft spongy pads affecting clarity, wavy (non level) tone hole edges (which will be why the soft pads are used!), pivot screws that wobble so that linkages are insecure, a tendency to 'warble' on the one-&-one Bb fingering, Valentino key corks that 'creep' off the keys, poor 'bridge key' alignment geometry, and fuzzy sounding notes from inaequate venting.
Another important problem is that it is quite common for them to break in half at the centre tenon joint. A repair job is easy to hide cosmetically on a black instrument but colour matching adhesives to shocking pink, fluro green, etc would be close to impossible.
Do yourself a favour and get a black plastic Yamaha, hopefully made in Japan where the design and manufacturing standards are so much higher than those of USA for all makes that I have encountered.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-10-23 16:52
Gordon Wrote:
Do yourself a favour and get a black plastic Yamaha, hopefully made in Japan where the design and manufacturing standards are so much higher than those of USA for all makes that I have encountered.
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I've been playing my first clarinet, a plastic Yamaha CL-2, for almost two months now. I am very impressed with it's quality.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-10-24 00:36
Mark Charette Wrote:
The mid & lower end Yamaha clarinets are assembled in the US.
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A winning combination.
This brings to mind something I've been thinking about. A couple of the large instrument retailers indicate that they test and adjust, etc. the new R-13s that they sell. One retailer includes this "service" in the selling price, and the other charges a couple of hundred dollars. I don't want to ask why it's necessary to do this with an expensive instrument with a superb reputation. France is not really that far away from some parts of the US, and the weather is not too different from where I live, and from at least one of the retailers locations.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-10-24 03:10
Bill wrote:
One
> retailer includes this "service" in the selling price, and the
> other charges a couple of hundred dollars. I don't want to ask
> why it's necessary .
I have that kind of thing done with:
All the new cars I've bought
All the new homes I've bought
All the new clarinets I've bought
All the new pianos I've bought
All the new bicycles I've bought
All the new trumpets I've bought
All the new saxophones I've bough
All the new guitars I've bought
...
If it's got mechanical parts, it will go out of adjustment when it's new. My grand piano took about 2 or 3 years before it was really settled in (and we could start doing the really good voicing on it). After a few years things get settled in and only minor tweaking is needed.
The "few hundred dollars" you were speaking about probably included different pads and a complete re-work of the mechanicals. That's not just an "adjustment", it's more like taking your Porshe to a really good tuner.
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-10-24 09:01
I don't know if the Vito clarinets have gone downhill lately, but I have one that is 25-30+ years old and has served me quite faithfully for quite some time now. I have found it to be quite a reliable instrument. It may not be as well made and designed as my R-13, but it is still quite a well made instrument for the money. I myself started out on a Vito, until I saved up enough money for an R-13. It may be something quite recent, but I have not encountered the problems that Gordon listed on the newer Vitos. What he described sounds like me to be a horn with abuse, and poor repair. -- Nate Zeien
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-10-24 11:50
Mark Wrote:
If it's got mechanical parts, it will go out of adjustment when it's new. My grand piano took about 2 or 3 years before it was really settled in (and we could start doing the really good voicing on it). After a few years things get settled in and only minor tweaking is needed.
The "few hundred dollars" you were speaking about probably included different pads and a complete re-work of the mechanicals. That's not just an "adjustment", it's more like taking your Porshe to a really good tuner.
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Here's exactly what they offer for a NEW R-13 as a service special for $200:
- Tighten joint and bell rings
- Check & adjust the fit of all tenons & sockets
- Regulate & balance spring tensions
- Check & clean all tone holes for wood chips
- Repad the top joint in cork
The other retailer, for no additional charge, tests and selects the best R-13, adjusts and climatizes it, and readjusts it after seasoning.
I would expect the instrument to change and require service after playing for a period of 3 to 6 months, but not when its fresh from the factory.
I don't see this service associated with other maker's professional model clarinets.
I am not being critical, but perplexed. My objective is to purchase an R-13 at the end of November.
The point I wanted to make earlier was: Yamaha made in Japan, assembled in the US = fine quality. Extend this to R-13 made in France, adjusted in the US = fine quality.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-10-24 12:14
Bill wrote:
> Here's exactly what they offer for a NEW R-13 as a service
> special for $200:
> - Tighten joint and bell rings
> - Check & adjust the fit of all tenons & sockets
> - Regulate & balance spring tensions
> - Check & clean all tone holes for wood chips
> - Repad the top joint in cork
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Uh huh. That's from IMS. Did you notice "repad in cork" and "regulate"? That's the expensive part. They will also do the "normal" stuff for free.
> The other retailer, for no additional charge, tests and selects
> the best R-13, adjusts and climatizes it, and readjusts it
> after seasoning.
That's puffery - how can they select the "best" R-13 for everyone? What happens to the clarinet that isn't "best"?
Climatizes? What does that mean? They have a special "climate chamber" that accurately reflects my Michigan climate?
What you do if you can't visit the store (and a trip to Chicago, New York, or Indiana isn't all that expensive from many parts of the US) is to order 3 at a time & check them out. Some are good, some aren't. If I couldn't do that due to shipping / customs, I'd have someone here who is in the business of selecting clarinets (Tom Ridenour comes to mind, there's more) do it for me. At least I wouldn't get a dud - I'd get something that Tom Ridenour likes, which is probably better than I could do by myself.
> I would expect the instrument to change and require service
> after playing for a period of 3 to 6 months, but not when its
> fresh from the factory.
It needs adjustment when it's new, believe me. Most are not well regulated when they arrive. Recently Buffet has taken to inspecting and re-regulating all the clarinets coming into this country via the "Gold service" - there was a horrible QC problem with clarinets being out of whack a few years back. That's one of the reasons Francois Kloc of Buffet has had so much of an impact in the US - there's been a night & day difference in quality I hear. But ... they still need to be checked over by the store. If you want to have it re-padded in cork and prefessionally re-regulated, then the $200 isn't all that bad. If you don't know if you'd even like cork - then the $200 would be wasted. Wait until you know what the effect would be.
> I don't see this service associated with other maker's
> professional model clarinets.
> I am not being critical, but perplexed. My objective is to
> purchase an R-13 at the end of November.
I have to say that when I went to the Yamaha factory in Michigan that the Yamaha Pro end clarinets shipped directly from Japan were in bad shape adjuistment wise. They had to be re-done just like any other clarinet.
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-10-24 19:52
In response to a couple of Mark's comments
>That's puffery - how can they select the "best" R-13 for everyone? What happens >to the clarinet that isn't "best"?
Indeed it is, however, to a certain point it depends on personal preference and personality. Each horn has its nuances, its own personality I you will. You have to try them out and see which one is best for you. A funky horn is a funky horn, though, whatever your preferences may be. As Mark mentioned, if you aren't prepared to make the decision for yourself, it would be a good idea to have someone capable that you trust help you in the decision making process.
>Climatizes? What does that mean? They have a special "climate chamber" that >accurately reflects my Michigan climate?
They have to put something in the advertisement to brag about their $200 air humidifier they put in back. Maybe their climitization is an air conditioner in the coffee room. After all, there's no way the general public would know. :-)
-- Nate Zeien
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-10-25 05:15
Climatizing here in S. Texas would mean on day in a steam room, then on day in back window of a '59 Chevy in the hot sun and repeating this for a few weeks.
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Author: Jeanie
Date: 2000-10-25 22:44
There are a few on yahoo auction right now, they have a white one, a yellow one, a blue one, a green one, and a red one. They are quite wild looking!! LOL
-Jeanie
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2000-10-26 14:48
I've seen them in a local music store. Now, what you need to do is get together with four other clarinetists, each buy one in a different color and then swap sections of the instrument. Then you would have some wild-looking clarinets.
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-10-26 19:42
In some ways they might make interesting marching band horns for schools. Alternating clarinets in school colors. -- Nate Zeien
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