Author: sax panther
Date: 2017-10-30 18:48
I'm a semi pro/advanced amateur I suppose - I have a boring day job, but studied music at university and now play for money in several bands, plus occasional pit work and session work.
I've got a Leblanc Opus that I bought in 2000, plus an older R13 (1973/1974) that I got from the auction site out of curiousity for around £350-400 a couple of years ago.
I flit between the two - they sound different, but I wouldn't say one sounds "better" than the other - I can't decide.
The Opus is less resistant, and more in tune, but I'd say the buffet's sound has a bit more "presence" in the throat tones and lower register. Might not make a lot of sense - it's hard to describe! Over the past month or so, it's the R13 that I've been taking to gigs. Next month...it might be the Opus. Depends on my mood!
If I had to pigeonhole them, I'd pick the Opus for playing light, playful stuff, and choose the R13 for more "serious" sounding stuff. To use some recent examples of pieces I've played in a concert band, my Opus sounds right for the fast, fun, perky clarinet solo at the beginning of the fast bit in Shostakovich festive overture, and my R13 fits the mood better for the clarinet solo in the slow movement of the Holst suite in F. But they're both good instruments, and obviously, given the variation between clarinets of the same model - it would be entirely possible to find someone who has the same two models as me, but whose experience is the other way round (ie resistant Opus, free blowing R13 etc)I haven't tried any Yamahas, or the newer Selmers.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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