Author: David H. Kinder
Date: 2025-03-15 18:01
I think there's more sentiment about the past, and there may be a study about how dense the wood was back then compared to today(?).
I like (but I'm not in a position to verify) what Michael Lowenstern says about clarinets on his website:
https://www.earspasm.com/collections/clarinets
"Once set up properly, there is almost no difference between two clarinets of the same model.
Whaaat? Well, in the past, clarinets were
1) drilled by hand, not by a computer, and
2) not usually set up properly before you bought them.
So the variation was often huge — tone holes were not precise, there was less science involved in the wood cultivation, springs were all over the place, and pads were seated wrong. But now that all manufacturers use computer modeling, CNC machines, and other automation, the difference between one Buffet R13 and another Buffet R13 is very minimal. (That said, there’s still a fair bit of human error; springs and pads are still a mess, which is why I fly each instrument up to my technician upstate to get set up! And I pay for that so you don’t have to."
Ridenour AureA Bb clarinet
Ridenour Homage mouthpiece
Vandoren Optimum Silver ligature (plate 1)
Vandoren Traditional and V.12 #4 reeds
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The Clarinet BBoard
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