Author: TomS
Date: 2015-03-01 18:41
I once contacted Ted Ridenour to see if Tom had an E-flat in development or as a future product. Ted said that he understood that the E-flat had terrible inherent tuning characteristics, a limited market, and therefore not on their short list of projects. That's a shame, because if anyone could improve the design, it would be Tom Ridenour.
Back in the 1960s and earlier, the E-flats were always in use in concert bands in our area. As a matter of fact, our conductor picked the VERY BEST player to endure the torture of this little critter. And, they could play anything the B-flat players could! We just took it for granted. The instrument of choice, above all others, was the Selmer Series 9.
For unknown reasons, the quality of clarinetists just fell off a cliff in the 1970s, and the E-flats stayed in the storage room.
All sort of horror stories on how professionals try and play in tune, especially in the highest register ... some even finger the notes up 1/2 step and lip it down to pitch, so I've heard ...
IMHO, the E-flat is critical to the sound of a wind band. That little dash of spice to the woodwinds is essential and without it, it's a bland band sound.
Tom
Post Edited (2015-03-01 22:48)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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