 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Lisa Chien
Date: 2001-04-10 19:04
I just wanted to relate to you what happened to a group of us as we were selecting a clarinet. A fellow student and our teacher went to the woodwind store in New York. My friend wanted a Buffet R13 and he brought me and our teacher along so we could offer our opinions.
Although I was listening and playing, my main purpose was to shuffle the unwanted clarinets and pick up three more. After about 2 dozen R13's I asked and brought back 3 R13 greenlines. I passed them each one and blew on one myself. Our instructor played his greenline for a couple of minutes and said, "the keywork is excellent, but...I the tone doesn't sound better than a plastic student model," I passed him mine and he played it after a couple of seconds said, "this sounds exactly like the other (greenline) one." My friend passed him the third greenline (he also did not know that they were greenlines and said, "This one doesn't even sound like a Buffet." Our teacher played this one for a couple of scales and said, "all those last three sound no better than a student horn." At that point I confessed that they had been playing greenlines and not wooden R13's and my friend said, "you know I tried to push the sound, tried to change it but it seemed very inflexible." Our teacher said, "while they were definately in tune, they just didn't have that special sound that when you hear it you say 'Ah that's a Buffet.' Enough joking around. Bring some real wooden clarinets this time!"
The point is that my friend had in his mind "the classic R13 sound." Our teacher specifically asked my friend what type of sound he was looking for. During the selection process he put aside excellent clarinets that both "brighter" and "darker". But ultimately they were both looking for a sound that really sounded "special." And that probably meant they had in there mind a specific clarinet sound and wanted something to match or top it. Maybe I should have brought more greenlines. After all we only tried three and tried at least 2 1/2 dozen wooden one. But after the unanimous thumbs down, I brought out 3 more wooden R13's. Ultimately, the clarinet one buys is based on the sound one has in his head.
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Author: James
Date: 2001-04-11 16:14
Where is this woodwind store in NY?
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Author: jan
Date: 2001-04-11 16:38
i also tried the greenline becuz my wooden R13 cracked. I tried several of both types, R13 & greenline and agree it just doesnt have the kind of sound i would expect from an R13. I thot it was all in my head since I had in my mind it wasnt exactly ALL wood. so, maybe it wasnt all in my head. but in the end and to my surprise ended up choosing the selmer signature even tho its not as popular as the R13.
jan
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Author: Bill
Date: 2001-04-12 12:08
Author: James:
Where is this woodwind store in NY?
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I assume that it is the WoodWinds and Brasswinds store in Manhattan. It's on 50 West 23rd. I've been there a couple of times, and purchased my R-13 on the second visit. Lots of clarinets to try, helpful staff, and no pressure to buy.
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Author: Lisa Chien
Date: 2001-04-12 14:19
Yes the woodwind store is on 23rd between 5th and 6th. Also after selecting three fine clarinets he finally chose and bought a wooden R13. He made a very deliberate, and, in my opinion, a good choice.
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Author: beecee
Date: 2001-04-17 12:52
Of course the person who was testing really could have known what these were (they are clearly marked with the green logo on front, the barrel and top joint) and already had his mind made up about this new horn. Change is very hard for some people. To say an R13 sounds like a student horn leads me to this conclusion. From experience I can tell you, an R13 does not sound like any student horn, greenline or not.
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