 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-08-09 17:53
From another website (link I got off this bb) I I got the following:
First, make sure the tenons are lightly greased; wipe off any excessive grease. When assembling the joints, hold the clarinet at a point where no keys will bend. The brand logos should be in a line; this will align the bore to the proper specifications. Buffet clarinets are bored with all joints assembled; the logos are stamped on all four sections for the purpose of bore alignment.
The grease info is clearly correct. Is the info about the lining up the logo's correct? A few years ago my teacher $ I spend a lot of time twisting barrels & bells on my R-13's to get the best sound. The logos do not line up. Also the above statement does not account for replaced barrels and bells.
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-08-09 18:22
I have heard several experts say that everyone should experiment with (circular) position of barrel & bell to find the BEST position. Results vary. Best, mw
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-08-09 18:26
Roger -
Assembly of the upper and lower joints with the logos aligned is OK as long as you keep your finger on the upper joint bridge key ring (for the left middle finger) and don't touch the rings on the lower joint.
However, the "traditional" method is to start with the upper bridge key outside of the lower one and gently twist the sections together.
Buffet barrels and bells almost never work best with the logos lined up. I saw the well-known teacher Leon Russianoff give a dramatic demonstration of this.
Take a small Post-It, cut half a dozen very narrow strips (about 1/16" wide) and trim off most of the part without the adhesive.
Hold the instrument by the barrel in your right hand, play a not to loud forte open G, twist the barrel from 12:00 to 12:30 and play again, then from 12:30 to 1:00, and so on. You'll find 2 or 3 spots play best. As you find them, put on the Post-It strips, lined up with the register key. Then experiment with the spots you've found to determine which is best. On my barrels, I've taken a small screwdriver and scribed a tiny line in the wood of the barrel, just above the tenon ring. You could also use White-Out or a bit of nail polish.
Then do the same thing with the bell, testing on middle B. The difference is smaller, but it definitely exists. I line up the mark with the post for the low E pad, but you could once again put dots of White-Out or nail polish on the back.
It's an easy (and free) way to make the instrument play better.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Tim2
Date: 2001-08-10 02:56
Very interesting. I've never thought of this before. I <B>assumed</B> that barrels are uniform in their bore shape. I will try this for sure. Thanks, Ken. Maybe this is why some days are better than others.
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-08-10 12:42
Ken
I live in Tallahassee. Back in 1986 or so the Clarifest was here in Tally. I had the privilege of watching Leon Russianoff teach three students (master classes I guess is the technical term). It was one of the highlights of the festival---He really knew how to connect to students and was a dedicated teacher.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2001-08-10 16:12
If you look at the Tree of Music video that was on PBS about the Mpingo wood, you will see the tuner in the Buffet factory turning the barrels and bells of Prestige Buffets for best sound, probably before stamping the trademark on them. I always do this on clarinets, marking the top with black nail polish. It always seems to make them better, even plastic Yamahas, such as my granddaughter's. When trying barrels before buying, one can also adjust them for best sound before deciding. It seems that it is a matter of physical alignment of the bores for best acoustical matching.
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