 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: salsacookies
Date: 2011-03-05 21:46
Hey guys, I'm new here and I have a question about a clarinet that I'm currently using in a symphony. I'm playing a Selmer Series 10 A clarinet that belongs to a community college that the symphony is affiliated with. The 1st clarinetist discovered it in the instrument closet years ago with the plastic still on it. I'm sure it was a great horn back then. Now, it has horrible intonation problems. Basically from about middle C to third space C is consistantly a quarter tone sharp. The throat tones are terribly stuffy and congested and the chalameau register is very flat. I've tried using my Bb barrel which is a little bit longer and it helps but only marginally. I've tried using different mouthpieces(I normally play on a B45) and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I've been looking for my own A clarinet, and am kinda tempted to get the Vento A/ Bassett combo, but I don't know if it would be a good investment or a crappy one. What do you guys think of this Selmer? Is it fixable or past its days?
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2011-03-06 01:26
Instead of the Venro,check out Tom Ridenour's Lyrique A clarinets. Excellent instruments for the money, plus great, personalized service and easy payment terms. The TUNING is excellent on Tom's clarinets, too!
http://www.ridenourclarinetproducts.com/clarinets.htm
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-03-06 19:36
Have you had the Selmer checked over by a good tech to see if there are any obvious problems?
I wouldn't expect a clarinet of this calibre to behave in the way you say unless something had fundamentally happened to it.
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Author: salsacookies
Date: 2011-03-06 20:15
I haven't had it checked out yet. It hardly ever gets played because all the clarinetists before me have had their own A clarinet. It belongs to a college and I've been thinking about getting my own A clarinet, but until that happens, I need to figure out what's wrong with this thing.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-03-06 23:02
A clarinets rarely wear out as they get so little use compared to Bbs.
The fact that this has had little/no recent use tends to indicate possible drying out or warping of a pad somewhere or some misalignment of mechanism.
I feel sure that that there is probably nothing wrong with this clarinet that a good tech couldn't fix relatively easily. Just don't let anyone who doesn't understand clarinets mess with it.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2011-03-06 23:19
Just to be completely clear - is this a Series 10 or a 10G?
Karl
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Author: salsacookies
Date: 2011-03-07 01:13
It's a Series 10, serial number V0129 which puts it at about between 1966 and 1967
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Author: salsacookies
Date: 2011-03-09 01:13
I got in touch with my old clarinet instructor because his wife played in the orchestra before me and used the A clarinet that I'm using. He said that she also had problems with it and has had it in a reputable shop several times and there was no difference. He said that there's probably some cracks on the inside and that's what's making it stuffy. He also said that it might just be an oops at the factory.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2011-03-10 19:46
Could the original barrel have been switched with some other barrel? Or could some student have taken the original barrel because it worked better with another clarinet? I tried an old Selmer clarinet that had serious tuning problems that were fixed by using the appropriate barrel. Good luck!
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Author: salsacookies
Date: 2011-03-10 20:05
It has the original barrel. I've tried using the barrel to my Bb selmer series 10 which is not the original barrel for that horn. It's a buffet barrel, but it's longer than the A barrel, so i thought it might help the sharpness. It does make a slight difference, but not enough that it's easier to deal with and it makes the chalameau notes flatter. My old teacher said that there might be some internal cracks in the upper joint and that's what causing all the stuffiness.
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