 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-04-27 01:31
I just went through a brand new Ridenour bass clarinet and I was pleasantly surprised. I would give it grade "C+", and before you go up in flames, let me remind you that it is a passing grade and for the money I think it could be a good choice.
It was under approval so I did not attempt to do any significant repairs. The side F# (right hand upper joint) and the left pinky Ab/Eb were almost impossible to use. Adjusting the spring tension helped both.
The register was out of regulation and the F/C pads were out - no big deal.
I would give the padding an "A". The G/D could seal better - this is a difficult pad to get correct - so this is not unusual and easily dealt with.
The posts for the left pinky keys were a little loose - one more than the others. This isn't hard to fix - and best to do early. Also the rods are too short, they go deep into the posts before they are snug.
The G#/C# (left pinky) didn't open enough I increased it until it ran into the key for the forked Bb/Eb. Then I did some key bending for the Bb/Eb key to gain more opening. It is improved, but some key grinding will be necessary to increase it further. This is a design issue, but can be dealt with.
The left had notes D,E F F# were all stuffy for me and not vented adequately in my opinion. To increase the venting would require a lot of key bending as the felts on the key feet are very thin. Also the first finger key (with the little hole) has a long tube that extends down into the tone hole. I'm not sure that the F could be made to sound clearly. I wonder why it is so long.
The customer also noticed that in inside of the bell (the U-tube portion was un-plated and corroded. This didn't bother me.
I looked inside. No loose bits of hard rubber hanging around. I did noticed some chips out of the north and south sides of the inside some of the large tone holes. This didn't bother me.
Keys fit and finish was better than I expected. Not up to the standard of the expensive alternatives, but acceptable.
I'm working from memory, but I think I covered the major issues.
Steve Ocone
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Author: bassclarinet101 ★2017
Date: 2016-04-27 02:17
Thank you for this review! I've got a customer looking for a bass clarinet within a set price range, and I have been looking for more up-to-date information about the Ridenour low C bass clarinet.
-Daniel
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2016-04-27 02:21
This test instrument - you say you "went through" a brand new instrument. So this was sent to you direct from Tom Ridenour?
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-04-27 02:24
A customer had it on approval. It went first to the clarinet instructor who made a list of issues, and then it went to me.
Steve Ocone
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-04-27 05:06
Tom's site says that all instruments are hand-adjusted. This report shows that at least for this instrument that didn't happen. Some of the problems could have been caused if the case hand been dropped, hard, but not all of them, particularly the design flaws that required keys to be ground down.
I know that Tom and his people watch this site. I'll be interested in their response.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-04-30 02:59
The bass clarinet came back for some more work. I actually had to grind down the C#/G# key in three places to get enough venting. The Bb/Eb key (forked fingering) wasn't fit well. The screws couldn't be secured without the key binding. It turned out that it was sitting on a post underneath that was holding a spring. I did some more grinding so that he key cleared the post and I was able to properly fit the key between its own posts. I did find some pads to tweak so that they would seal better. All and all this is par for the course for Chinese instruments. Crude screws. Crudely fit keys that have a lot of play. Some designs that aren't thought out well. I also found another wobbly post.
I did not find it easy to play in terms of how it felt under my fingers.
Still if you want a low C Bass clarinet and don't want to spend big bucks, this may be an acceptable option for many.
Steve Ocone
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2016-04-30 08:12
This tells me this was a used, not new, instrument. You don't go grinding on a brand new, under warranty instrument. Sorry.
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2016-04-30 08:28
The type of grinding Steve mentioned is done to clear some parts of keys from touching other parts. It has to do with the key design and nothing to do with whether an instrument is new or used.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-04-30 09:39
If you've ever had to work on a brand new average quality Chinese-built instrument, chances are you are going to have to do a fair amount of remedial work (ie. grinding specific parts of keywork) to make them work.
If it's a used instrument, someone would've already done the majority of the donkey work on getting them to work as (near to how) they should, so far less work in that respect to the next person to take a screwdriver (or grinder) to it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-05-01 03:58
I posted a bunch of descriptive photos to my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AnnandStevesMusic/
I've only been on Facebook a few months. I don't know if everyone can see it. If not. I can try to post them here or elsewhere.
Steve Ocone
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2016-05-03 00:27
On the LH pinky finger low D, I made a cap for the 'U' support for the long rod attached to it to keep it from bending up, and that kept it in position for better leverage (less effort). Also as some low note springs were redundant, I released them and lightened others, and together these changes make that D key very usable. I also added cork pieces under parts of the key mechanisms to reduce the open position on the low notes that reduced the needed key travel without detuning the [normally open] pitch of those notes.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-05-03 01:09
> On the LH pinky finger low D, I made a cap for the 'U' support
> for the long rod attached to it to keep it from bending up, and
> that kept it in position for better leverage (less effort).
> Also as some low note springs were redundant, I released them
> and lightened others, and together these changes make that D
> key very usable. I also added cork pieces under parts of the
> key mechanisms to reduce the open position on the low notes
> that reduced the needed key travel without detuning the
> [normally open] pitch of those notes.
Good ideas. I won't get to them this time. Today I worked on the octave mechanism so that third RH finger doesn't have to press so hard. This bass clarinet will be used by a young girl
Steve Ocone
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