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Re: Kessler Custom Clarinet

Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-01-17 21:51

Lukas, a clarinet’s “playability” can mean more than the instrument body itself.

For example:

The type of mouthpiece used:

From a past BB posting: “I bought a nice Hammerschmidt mouthpiece that was recommended among the professional clarinetists of its time. This remarkably improved my playing and tone. I never thought that a mouthpiece could have such a big influence on the tone projection and playability of a clarinet.” http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:UMzlH-n0OXIJ:test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html%3Ff%3D1%26i%3D256577%26t%3D256497+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-b (click on “Text-only version”, then look at first response)

The reed thickness (from 2 independent sources verifying the same parameters):

“The thickness of the tip and heel and the profile in between affect the sound and playability.”
https://www.normans.co.uk/blog/2013/10/reeds-what-size-strength-do-i-need/

“The thickness of the tip and heel and the profile in between affect the sound and playability.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_(mouthpiece)

The ligature used:

“Every difference in a ligature's configuration will have an influence on tone, intonation, and playability.” http://curiousclarinetist.blogspot.com/2011/05/interview-with-phil-rovner-ligatures.html

And, finally, the size of the clarinet bore:

From another past BB posting: “I have found that a smaller bore makes the clarinet sound darker and project more, but it requires more air, and has more resistance. The larger bore clarinets have less of a focused, projected tone, but they have more ease of play. They also tend to be easier to bend the tone colours with.” http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=108810&t=108786

So, IMHO, playability can vary with different mouthpieces, reeds, ligatures, and bore sizes.

I think it would be best if you were to define what playability means to you, then you might have a greater chance of getting the response that you are looking for.

Just my 2 cents worth…

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