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Re: Soprano Selmer Privilege

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-07-03 19:53

WONDERFUL HORNS !!!

Of course I started off loud just blowing to check the "sheer enjoyment factor." The Priveleges take all your air and more, playing with great sonority and wonderfully even intonation. An additional perk that I never thought I'd run into outside of Wurlitzer, is that the sound and resistance was perfectly even all the way up through the altissimo (rather than that old tired three clarinets in one feel that we muddle through on Boehm systems).

The "A" and "Bb" clarinets have very similar resistances, unlike the R13 crowd of clarinets; more like the Yamaha CSGs I know and love.

The down sides are few but worth noting: Unlike the Selmer Brochure claims, the physics of the Boehm still keeps the low "E" and "F" low and the clarion "B" high, though maybe does smooth this out some (too close to the CSG solution to tell them apart).

The adjustable thumbrest is set farther up on the lower joint (I guess Selmer is listening to the majority of you on this but I find it unusably high).

And the kicker for me is that there tends to be an overall "choke point" when playing very soft to moderately soft. I don't know how to describe this other than to say it feels as though the reed has just gone soft and collapsed. Switching back to my horns the feeling was gone. This is the same effect I experienced on the Selmer Signature and the Leblanc Concerto II.

This last issue may be one of voicing (getting used to the response characteristics), but I need to work out a solution for myself on the Concerto II before I sink nine grand into a set of horns.

For those of you who already play Selmers or play Leblancs, these are INCREDIBLE horns and may even be INCREDIBLE for the rest of us.

......still mulling,

.....................Paul Aviles

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Soprano Selmer Privilege new

Paul Aviles

2009-06-26 17:43