Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-10-16 20:57
The main difference during the time the 10G was designed and first marketed was that it was intended to make unnecessary the after-purchase shop work that was needed to make an R-13 off-the-shelf play its best, or even in some cases well. Anthony Gigliotti allowed Selmer to use his Moennig-adjusted (really, in many ways, significantly modified) R-13s as models on which to base the new 10G designs. Gigliotti and the designers at Selmer went on to try to produce a more "centered" tone quality and improve further on Moennig's improvements to the intonation of the R-13s. There were some changes made over a few years to the bore and the keys (for example, angled RH lever keys instead of Buffet's straight ones).
As far as a direct comparison is concerned between 10G and the R-13 of the time, it would almost depend on what specific R-13 you're comparing. If it was one modified by Hans Moennig or one of the many technicians he influenced, the difference would be less that it would be between a 10G and an unmodified R-13.
My only point of comparison is my 1950s R-13 Bb (very definitely from Moennig's shop) to my pair of 10Gs, the Bb being about 10 years older than the A. I like the R-13 very much (it was my only clarinet before I bought the 10G Bb) and still use it as a backup, but I find the tone of the 10G to be a little deeper (to my ear as I play) and the altissimo pitch to be better (the R-13's F#6 and sometimes F6 tended to be slightly flat). I also think the R-13 feels lighter over-all, as if the wood used for the 10G may be denser, or the 10G body may be thicker (more total wood mass).
All of that said, I think in the end it's a "case of personal taste" or, maybe more to the point, a case of comparing specific instruments, especially if newer 10Gs toward the end of their manufacture (when Gigliotti was not as involved in monitoring them) are involved. And, of course, obviously, it's still possible to buy a new R-13 with whatever improvements have been made to its design in the 50 years since it competed here in the U.S. with the 10G.
Karl
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
