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Just auditioned pair of Selmer Presence Clarinets

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-08-06 21:36

The first clarinet of the pair I tried was the Bb. I was instantly taken aback by the tendency for the sound to choke off in the throat notes above a mezzo forte. I have a similar experience with the Selmer Signature and the Leblanc Concerto, but since there is mention of this horn being more akin to the Privilege, I was quite disappointed.

Then came going up a scale. Starting from the fourth line "D" onward the pitch starts to drop. This is really noticable moving from the "G" sitting on the staff to the second ledger line "C." The "C" is resoundingly flat....no question. The altissimo follows suit.

This is a VERY BIG problem. I am playing on a Vandoren Masters CL4 which is a sharp mouthpiece. If I were to have used a 13 Series or Gennusa Excellente, there would have been no tuning these notes at all. The only concession I am willing to make is that this clarinet only came with the longer 66.5mm barrel rather than also having the 65.5mm. It may have made a bit of difference (maybe) in the tuning, but NOT the response in the throat notes.

I almost did not try the "A" which would have been a mistake. The "A" clarinet not only had a very responsive throat register, it was also quite free blowing for an "A." The other interesting factor here is that it sounded more "mellow," without having the associated resistance.

The tuning of the "A" was also in line with a good clarinet, quite even and none of the objectional qualities of the "Bb."

So I am left bumfuzzled. Was this "Bb" just a bad apple? Does this point to constancy problems from one to another (do you have to try 10 different ones to find one good one)?

Selmer is 'lumping' the Presence and Privilege into the same marketing spin. So are the new Privileges also inconsistant? Has Selmer changed the acoustics of the Privilege along with the cosmetics?

The indicator that my worst fears may have come about, is the bad review of a Prililege we got recently from another poster recounting how ALL the altissimo notes where flat...........just like the Presence I just played!

hmmmmmmmm

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

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