 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-10-28 17:02
It is finally time to put that A clarinet into my double case and get really serious about bribing a string quartet to go to work with me on the Mozart 5tet.
So, I've got a pretty good Buffet RC Bb and thinking that it might be good to get an RC A. Two of those have just been snatched away from me as I was reaching for them.
After 4-years with the RC, I've can pretty well know how to treat the next note for timbre, loudness and pitch; and I think it would be helpful if my mew A would behave the same way.
My question: Is there a disadvantage to having different makes and models of Bb and A clarinets?
One of my colleagues has a Selmer 9 and a Yamaha something-or-other, another has a couple of "selected and fiddled" Buffets, as does another.
What about putting a stinky rubber horn in the box with the RC?
Bob Phillips
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-10-28 19:27
Gee, I don't know Bob, my A clarinet is an F. Uebel and the Bb residing in the same case could be (depending on the day/my mood/sunspot cycles) a 1920s Kohlert, or maybe a Boosey & Hawkes Series 8-10, or maybe a Penzel-Mueller. Just play what you like and don't worry about "matching" anything except for the styles and pitches of your standmates and the ensemble.
As for the stinky rubber horn, why is it stinky? It's been mentioned that the sulfur which offgasses from hard rubber will tarnish silver plating (should your RC be thus equipped), so this might be a problem.
Caveat: I'm just an ignorant amateur player, so let's see what the pros have to say.
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2010-10-28 20:12
I've been playing an R13 Bb and an RC A clarinet for years. Frankly, I found the RC to be a better match for my Bb clarinet than most of the R13 A's I've played (and it replaced an R13 A). Less stuffy in the LH clarion notes and better intonation in the altissimo. Purchased it in Paris -- thus an "F" serial number. I did replace the original barrel with a 1mm longer one. I assume that the ones imported to the US already have an A440 appropriate barrel.
To mangle Duke Ellington's logic : " if it plays good, it is good!"
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Author: William
Date: 2010-10-28 20:26
It is not necessary to have A & Bb clarinets from the same make & model. It is more important to have two clarinets that play with similar resistance and accoustics. The only real advantage in having a same make and model set of clarinets is that the keywork will more likely match and switching may be less of a hassel. However, I have never found that to be a big deal as my fingers have always been quick to adapt to any new keyboard, especially after having the little finger keys bent into similar positions. I am not lucky to have a set of Buffet R13s and a set of Leblanc Concertos that have almost identical resistance and tuning tendencies. I could very well play with any make-model configuration although I am currently favoring the Buffets. Similar playing resistance and tuning tendecies are of far greater importance than simply a match of make & model--even Buffet Prestige models.
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