 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2017-01-30 04:49
Does anybody know how the Selmer Centered Tone bore compares to the older Selmer Albert system clarinets? I played an old Selmer Albert the other day. It felt very similar.
Tom Puwalski
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-01-30 09:27
Hi Tom, your buddy from the Iggie Gennusa days. The bore was straight and a shade smaller on the Albert. But just a shade smaller. At the most about 0.10". You may feel the low B/E bell to have a bigger center to the sound. That's about it. It's been 35 years since I last played them so during this time the bores surely have changed in size, so they may be almost the same.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2017-01-30 19:36
Hi Bob, I'm really enjoy playing my new Yamaha CSVR, I think it's the best "modern" clarinet I've ever played, and I've played them all, All the Buffets, all the current Selmer models and most of the "custom" instruments currently in production.
The only "vintage" horn that I really love to play is the Centered tone. I've been intrigued with the reason why. The CT has a very different tone than all the modern clarinets. Why no one including Selmer doesn't make this bore clarinet is beyond me. Things I've always heard about CTs is: They're out of tune, they are very "uneven" in response. It does have a killer sound, not the "pingy" sound that I grew up hearing and emulating the Iggy ping. But for a clairnet that doesn't have "ping" it has something else, something really special. That's what makes it very different from all the '"no pingy" clarinets I've played. It doesn't ping but it isn't dull.
It's all fun, my examinations of all the clarinets being manufactured have taught me a lot. The first being Price doesn't determine how good a clarinet plays. Out of all the clarinets I've played over the last 4 years, the best one, in my humble opinion, the Yamaha CSVR, is the least expensive out of all of them.
Tom Puwalski
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-01-30 22:17
I agree Tom. I hate seeing people pay $29,000 for a set of dead horns when they can get a Yamaha CSVR or the CSG right out of the box that plays so great. No work needed. What's amazing is the Yamaha A clarinet is so easy to play! It plays like the Bb! It's hard to tell the difference. You sometimes have to look at the horn to figure out which one you are playing on! With Buffet's there is no mistake. With Buffet's the A clarinet is stuffy. Not the Yamaha's! And you can attack the upper register. I was screwing around with the Spohr Concerto the other day and hit the high C without fear. On a Buffet you pray. Both of us are double lip players so you know what it's like trying to hit a high C on a Buffet. Usually you have to bite and it hurts as a double lip player, so you play the lower written chicken part instead. I will be recording some pieces later this summer on the A clarinet.
I have to admit I had to adjust the key rings on the Yamaha's. They were a shade low for me. I added some teflon to one of the screws to get rid of some play, but these were 5 minute adjustments, I surely wouldn't call it a repair.
I had a few Selmer's and liked them a lot. Big bores and big bold sounds. The Selmer 9* A clarinet was so free sounding compared to the stuffy Buffet A clarinets. I like playing jazz and that set of 9* clarinets surely gave you the freedom to to open up. The Center Tone horns were just like that. Mellow, but surely far from dead. A big sound round sound. Lot's of great player use Selmers. David Shifrin did for years, Anthony Gigliotti, Steve Williamson with the Chicago Sym is using the Signature. He sounds amazing. That's a huge hall. And you can pick up some of these great horns for $500 to under $1000! The 9 series, the 10 series, and the Center Tones. It's so worth it! Get a decent mouthpiece with a 108 tip opening or so and you will fill any hall effortlessly. It's probably Anthony loved these horns in Philly. That's a huge hall too. I'm not positive, but I think the orchestra at one point had 120 members so he needed that power.
I'm glad you have some Selmer's to kick around. They aren't Yamaha's, but they are fun horns. I came very close to buying the Signature, but when I tested the Yamaha's for 1/2 the price I was in shock.
Put some bore oil in them and repeat this for a few days. I'm sure they need it.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2017-01-30 22:19)
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