Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-01-23 08:51
OK I can agree with the sound of the projection being different. As I stated, Yamaha did not want to copy Buffet and I'm sure glad they didn't. I have played the horn in the Kennedy Center hall and so did the late National Symphony player Loren Kitt. For those that don't know there are a few halls at the Kennedy Center. This hall sucks. It's been renovated a few times but it's still hard to hear yourself play. I didn't know Loren very well but for years he was a Buffet player I think. If I'm wrote forgive me. I do know that hall takes a good horn to fill it with a nice sound. Loren was using a Kaspar for years. I'm not sure what he was using at the end of his career, but I do have his Kaspar measurements. The Yamaha filled this hall well, the one I am playing on which is pretty much the same as his. Not long ago when I played there a clarinetist said my CSVR's sounded better than Loren's. Grrrrrr! Lets start by saying it's not the horns it's the player! I probably just have a nice sound. The CSVR's pretty much all sound really good, you can make some changes of course which I will go into greater details. So as for POWER mentioned a few times you have the power. Actually when I'm playing with the movie studios the horn of choice now is by far the CSVR's most of the doublers are not using Buffets.
As a player that performs a lot but not as much this past year, I'm looking for that PING and that RING in mouthpieces and horns. Yes the R13's have that ping and that ring, and the Yamaha's do too, very much so. Yes the ring may be different, but the horns project really well. As stated above there is not a better A clarinet. It is so easy to play. This year I did perform the Mozart Quintet and the Concerto and I've said this before that the slow movements are the hardest. But the Yamaha A clarinet takes out that fear when playing. The Buffet's can scare you with the resistance. I also played the Copland twice and hitting the high F on the Buffet's softly in the altissimo register can pop to the A above it. With the Yamaha , that fear went away and I could attack the notes up there with total bliss. No fear. Maybe the shorter facing helped too.
So I think we are all actually 100 percent in agreement here. Yamaha's are different, for some people key adjustments may be needed when new, a 5 minute fix depending on the size of your hand, the horns are ready to play a concert that night, tuning in general is very good, but a Yamaha barrel change may be needed depending on the bore and length of your mouthpiece, the sound is amazing as I received standing ovations when I performed all of these pieces this year, and the horns will fill any hall as Tom P talked about and as I stated with regards to the Kennedy Center. Also the HUGE Orchestra Hall in Chicago where John Yeh plays. Even Greg Smith has shown interest in trying out the horns from our email conversations. He may have already tried out the horns. I'll have to find out.
So Yamaha can make barrels too to make the intonation better and also techs will adjust notes if needed. One guy there is like a Hans Moennig. If you want a reverse .010" taper, you got it! You can send both horns, the A and the Bb with your special mouthpiece and tell them to make them play perfectly in tune, cork pads, extra keys, gold plated, and in a few days your horns will arrive exactly as you wanted.
The keys are special, well the silver keys are. A patented silver plating. My horns are now just over a year old and I just wipe them off with a silver cloth found online from silver plating companies. No buffing, just a fast wipe. There is no pitting, no acid marks, the horns look new.
I'm not here to sell you a Yamaha, but I am one of their Artists. Thanks to John Yeh who recommended me. But I would have bought them anyway. I wouldn't have sold 8 sets of R13's, (16 Buffet clarinets) if I wasn't completely happy.
Last thoughts, I waited about 2 months before dumping the Buffets. This was when I felt I was getting a better sound out of the Yamaha's compared to the Buffet's and also felt so great playing these everyday. Each day got better and better. Yes the first week I thought the horns had a brighter sound, before talking with John Yeh and I bought a set from Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center, and I shipped it back. I didn't like it. So I do understand this post and confusion.
Please allow that adjustment period and arrangements can be made at Yamaha. So after a period of time you can still return them. But for the people that I've hooked up with at Yamaha, maybe 40, they've all kept their Yamaha's.
For kicks I'm getting their electronic midi saxophone! Maybe in a few weeks.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2018-01-23 09:18)
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