Author: clarnibass
Date: 2018-02-11 12:34
There are good and bad clarinets from just about any decade. I recently had a clarinet from the 40s that had tone and intonation as good as any modern clarinet.
Statistically, new(ish) clarinets are more likely to be better, though some older clarinets already had "natural selection" in a way, but not necessarily.
Re older clarinets having a rich tone missing from new ones, that's complete BS.
In some ways new clarinets (in the last few decades, and it keeps advancing) can (and often are) made in more modern ways that can be more accurate... but sometimes it's not really true.
Certain things required much more care to make accurately back then, so it's more of a way to get the same accuracy cheaper or faster, rather than better.
Some design features are definitely significantly better now, but to be honest clarinets had very little changes compared with most things so the difference isn't huge.
In some ways design changes, even if advertised as improvement, are done mainly to reduce manufacturing costs. Examples are the Buffet pivot screws (with plastic sleeves) or the Selmer sprung bushings in the hinge rods (on saxophones).
An annoying problem I find too often on new clarinets at least from one company, is misalignment of posts, resulting in binding keys when rod screws are tightened and/or you can see the key move while tightening the screw.
Another is low quality pads that often tear in less than a year.
Far more important than new/used/age is the condition and the specific instrument.
Post Edited (2018-02-20 10:13)
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
