 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-09-30 19:48
I just thought
Clarinets are made of wood, medal and plastic materials.
I have never heard of a wooden or plastic sax.
As base clarinets can be wood or plastic, I do not see any technical reason a sax could not be wood or plastic (esp a soparano sax)
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Author: sarah
Date: 2001-09-30 19:52
I think the metal on a sax contributes a lot to the sound, so if it was made of wood, it probably wouldnt sound like a sax. I imagine that metal clarinets sound very different than wood ones, i have neer heard one though
sarah
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2001-09-30 20:07
Charlie Parker played a plastic saxophone made by Grafton in the 1940's and 1950's. During WW2, metal for frivolous things like saxes was hard to come by, so people experimented with plastic. While they don't sound bad, the Graftons are very difficult to maintain. There are also sax-like horns made of wood.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-09-30 20:12
Saxes sound like saxes because they are a conical bore driven by a single beating reed. Material contributes very little to the fundamental sound of the instrument.
Metal clarinets sound just like any other clarinet. Its sound stems from the fact that it is a cylindrical bore driven by single beating reed. Reed and mouthpiece control it more than anything else. Cheap student horns sounded like cheap student horns and good ones sounded like good ones.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2001-09-30 23:03
I just wanted to add a little to it.
I have an "Edfred's American" metal clarinet that will be 100 years old this December and is in perfect playing condition, whatever that means to a silver-plated brass clarinet. It was the second to the last instrument built in 1901, as per the ending serial number for that year and the starting one for 1902.
It has a very nice, deep, dark clarinet sound, yet it has some of the "tinniness" of a brass horn.
Since I am also a sax player, when I'm in the right mood I really enjoy its sound, although it does have some intonation problems similar to most other metal clarinets.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-10-01 00:52
It would be very difficult to make a wooden sax: choosing very big lot of grenadilla or other wooden material, making continuous conical bore. Even a bass clarinet has a metal for curved part. In case of metal, it is easy. They use ice to make those shapes.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2001-10-01 01:47
The tarogato, a Hungarian wind instrument, is very similar to the soprano sax, only it is made out of wood. It sounds very much like a soprano sax.
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Author: Jim
Date: 2001-10-01 12:24
Not certain of this, but I think Parker played a King alto when it wasn't in the pawn shop. Yusef Lateef and Roland Kirk played plastic horns. Not really positive about Lateef.
Jim
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2001-10-01 14:20
Here is a link to a good article about the Grafton... the plastic sax mentioned above.
<Center><a href="http://www.saxgourmet.com/grafton.htm"><B>Grafton Plastic Saxophone</b></a></center>
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Author: Mike B.
Date: 2001-10-01 15:26
Charlie Parker played a lot of different horns, among them a Grafton AND a King (and God knows how many others).
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Author: Jim
Date: 2001-10-02 11:14
Mike: I would appreciate learning your source for the Parker material as of 10-1-01. I try to keep a list of equipment used by some of the older players, but to be honest. I never seem to develop the info to the nth. I do not intend to publish anything, let someone else get caught in that web, but would like the reference source for my own use. The source of the reference is more important to me thatn the actual list of equipment.
Thank you for your cooperation and consideration.
Jim email: bigcage@hotmail.com
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Author: Azzacca
Date: 2001-10-02 13:11
I was just at the local Renaissance Festival on Sunday and walked by a place selling wooden "saxes". The owner was demo-ing. It was a straight thing with a few tone holes and he was using a sax mouthpiece. It sounded like... a clarinet
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Author: Mike B.
Date: 2001-10-02 15:02
Jim -
I don't mean to come across as an expert on Charlie Parker (I'm not). But, there are a lot of references to Parker playing a Grafton in 1947. He also apparently played a Conn. Not an academic reference, but www.mouthpieceheaven.com has a list of player setups. Regards.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-10-02 15:12
Rite, Terry, as Ben Franklin [may have] said, "A little bit of learning is a dangerous thing". Except for the soprano saxes in Bb, C [and others?], the saxes developed as lower pitched insts, and needed to be curved for easier playing, and had to be conical, and therefore not made of wood! As with the Eb question above, C Sachs gives good info. Don
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