 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2017-08-09 08:35
I saw the all Black Clarinets (Soprano to Bass) at ClarFest, and thought they were just hideously ugly.
Couldn't pay me to play something that reminds me of a black hole. I wouldn't think that the audience would like the asthetics either.
Maybe they play fantastically, but the look is a big no to me.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: gwie
Date: 2017-08-09 11:01
It's just like all-black cars. Some folks like the aesthetic.
It's for the exact same kind of reason people don't like the look of Backun's clarinets. I love the contrast between cocobolo and grenadilla when paired together, while others think it's just awful.
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Author: donald
Date: 2017-08-09 12:44
You see, I think Backun clarinets look hideous while other people gloat over them. Funnily enough a maker/repairman I know is putting a bunch of keys through for black plating this week, and will do one of my ligatures... Just this afternoon I was considering also sending in some of the keys from my Festival b flat because I thought it would look cool.
Takes all sorts eh?
Don't get me started on gold keys... ugh
Post Edited (2017-08-09 14:14)
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2017-08-09 14:58
Almost as ugly as gold keys. Though I wouldn't mind playing them if they paid me to play them (instead of me having to buy them that is).
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Author: Ed
Date: 2017-08-09 15:24
It is all personal. When I first saw Lowenstern's bass I loved the look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_ppnwR7iY
I agree with Donald. I always thought the Backun barrels and clarinets were really unattractive. The fat barrels always looked to me like those nature videos where a snake swallows a large rodent.
I won't even bet started on some of the ugly ligatures out there! To each his own.
Post Edited (2017-08-09 16:30)
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Author: donald
Date: 2017-08-09 15:32
But it does not matter that my friends and I think they are ugly, a bunch of people think they are cool. And I love the all black clarinets. This is all a bit pointless
Post Edited (2017-08-09 15:34)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2017-08-09 15:34
Early on, I didn't think that a differently colored barrel on a Grenadilla Clarinet looked good, but I liked how it played a lot, and got used to the visual.
Example of the black was when Pyne barrels were big back in the 80's and there was no barrel ring. Was too much black space between the A key and the Ligature. Looked really strange/off balance to me.
A beautiful instrument should have clarity in its look (of course sound is more important) which the all black did not at all have.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Ralph
Date: 2017-08-09 16:02
I picked up one of the black key clarinets and the keys had a good feel to my fingers. My guess is that this is a marketing idea trying to appeal to younger players to try and buy a Selmer. There is always a certain percentage of the population that wants to have something different or to be different. We'll see how long they remain available.
Ralph
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-09 16:08
I saw a video of the all black Privilege bass and it looked bloody ugly.
Definitely has that all black car with black alloys look about it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-08-09 17:37
Tactically effective, though. When lives are at stake leave nothing to chance!
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2017-08-09 18:12
That's the way i felt years ago the first time I saw gold key clarinets. Also the first time a student showed up with the bass clarinet bell gold plated. Several years after, I gold plated my bell and neck, love the sound. If I was not retired and thought a black clarinet or bass played better than what I had, I'd buy it in a second. If it starts to sell it will become common. That's what many players said in the 70s about the Rovner ligature when i helped him promote it because i loved it. Statements like it looks to funny, i can't play a ligature I wasn't hired on, the idea sounds good but it can't possibley work. In 20 years it became the most copied design in ligature history and I think it's still the best design I've ever tried and still use them. And look who plays gold plated keys these days now.
An open mind is a terrible thing to waste.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Ralph
Date: 2017-08-09 18:37
While I was in the Selmer booth, a Yamaha representative at the Selmer booth checking out the black key clarinets. If Yamaha introduces a black key clarinet, we'll know the concept has merit.
Ralph
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2017-08-09 19:00
Haven't seen the all black Selmer yet...not sure what I'll think. Can anybody post a pic/link?
For my tastes, the worst looking are the Backuns. Too whimsical and Lord of the Rings-ish for me. They're not the only ones making them like that, but seem to be the leading example.
I can't stand the look of ringless bells and barrels either, so the old B & H horns are not for me, stylistically. In the middle of the pack are vintage Buffet R-13s and Selmer CTs/BTs (I like the LOOK of the Buffets better than the Selmers, but like how the Selmers play).
For my money, the best looking clarinet of all is probably the Fritz Wurlitzer R-B from the early '50s.
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/2012/12/jazz-clarinet-gear-review-1951-fritz.html
All personal taste though, and decidedly secondary...sound is king.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-09 20:21
Yeah - it looks like its all plastic and it's perhaps one of, if not the most expensive low C bass on the market.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2017-08-10 05:27
I had fun chatting with friends about playing the black-out clarinets in a dark theater pit. Now, where the hell is my bass? Oops, where's that other clarinet gone off to?
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-08-10 05:43
The traditionalists may burn me at the stake for saying this, but I think they look cool. I'm actually considering getting some spray on bed liner and painting the neck and bell of a cheap bass clarinet I have lying around. You'd never have to worry about tarnishing and it would help protect against small dings.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: gwie
Date: 2017-08-10 08:40
All black with some custom LED lighting, then we're talking.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-08-10 13:41
I had one of the black key Bliss instruments. It played quite well, but the black plating wore off in a few months, the keywork was flimsy and went out of adjustment if you looked cross-eyed at it and the Cadenza mouthpiece was rubbish. I sold it on and the present owner loves it.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-10 15:50
Black nickel plate does wear out through contact.
I don't know what kind of black coating Selmer use, how durable it is or how easy it is to redo if damaged.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-08-10 18:47
C'mon now... it just black paint. It's not like it's an invisibility cloak or something.
It the violin world can accept carbon fiber violins we can handle this.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-08-10 19:38
Marketing has evolved from selling product to selling experiences to selling a sense of identity. Some of the younger (meaning just about everybody) programmers at work use dark UI settings to write code that make it quite difficult to read anything or see color differences, and they turn out all the overhead lights in the cube farm. Part of the same thing. Put some tasteful bat wings on the keys somewhere and maybe it would do even better. Well, the benefit of a market system is that eventually, people can get what they want if they want it badly enough.
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2017-08-11 01:06
I also think Backun Moba is the ugliest clarinet ever made...
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