 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Amanda Rose
Date: 2001-01-07 23:59
Hello,
Well, all I am wondering is why plastic clarinets are never given the same producation care as their wooden counterparts. There may be no such thing as a plastic professional clarinet, but it seems to me that most every upper level clarinetist will find a need for a plastic clarinet at some times during their career.
So, why haven't any companies taken pride in making upper level plastic clarinets? You know, couldn't they do things like using top quality pads, or undercut tone holes on the plastics? It wouldn't make sense to put silver keys on it, but I'm surprised no one has tried...
Thoughts? I'm not looking for brand name suggestions on plastics. I know all that. I'm just curious if any companies have ever *tweaked* their plastics to be upper level quality. You know, "The Pro's Plastic". It could be a marketing scheme!!!
Amanda Rose
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Author: Gary Van Cott
Date: 2001-01-08 00:15
They do actually. The Buffet Greenline clarinets are essentially "plastic" clarinets since they are made of a composite material.
Howarth, a small UK maker, does make professional level plastic instruments and sells them for exactly the same price as their wood ones.
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Author: Mike B.
Date: 2001-01-08 03:16
The following excerpt is a wonderful story by Alvin Swiney. It refers to Oboe's, but I believe it is still relevant:
"When I moved to Philadelphia in 1978 there was a young man in Mr. Moennig's shop having his plastic oboe worked on. Mr. Moennig was working on the half hole to improve the ascending slurs from A2 to High D and G2 to High D. He referred to this procedure as the High D response modification. Finally Mr. Moennig finished the job and had the young oboist to try the high D and it popped right out. After the customer left I leaned over to Mr. Moennig and asked him about the plastic oboe. I said that guy must not be a very good player if he is using a plastic oboe. Mr. Moennig exclaimed, "Are you crazy? Do you know who that was? That young boy was Dick Woodhams! He took de Lancie's place in the Philadelphia Orchestra this year! He likes to play and he feels that the plastic is much more consistent than wood. And most important of all, Maestro Ormandy likes the tone as well."
From that day on I never judged another player for using a plastic
horn. If it works for you, Great!"
Alvin Swiney
The full story can be found in the Klarinet Archives at:
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/05/000635.txt
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-01-08 04:31
Amanda,
people believe that more expensive (and rare) woods and materials make for a better tone, and no amount of evidence is going to change that feeling. In the early 1900s plastics were new and expensive and it was all the rage (there was plastic jewelry that looked like jade - and was priced higher than the real thing). Now that plastic is cheap people think that something made of plastic can't be any good ...
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-08 08:09
As far as I am aware plastic Yamahas have undercut tone holes. And the ones I see from Japan go very well indeed.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-01-08 14:46
And I'm currently playing on a hard rubber, one-piece-body Kohlert bass clarinet that plays even better (just slightly) than its two-piece wood "twin" which I just sold. There's nothing physically or acoustically wrong with plastic and hard rubber for clarinet bodies -- the problems are purely in people's heads --- perception and marking (therefore saleability).
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Author: Amanda Rose
Date: 2001-01-09 03:09
Hmmm... all said and done, I'll be on a search for the perfect plastic (that is, after I ever find the perfect A which I won't be able to afford EVER) Anyway, thanks for the input.
--stores it in her musical memory bank--
Amanda Rose
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