Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-05-27 15:18
"I was surprised to find that I can play your exercise at tempo without any problem. The design of the 1193 has changed since 1984"
I'm not as surprised as you. Buffet certainly made a lot of changes since then. I didn't even know the 1193 model existed in the 80s. I think Buffet (and other companies) make small (or even big) changes all the time without letting the players know, but almost all players are not interested in those technical things in the first place.
I suspect (but can't be 100% sure since haven't done research) that the companies made the holes smaller in recent years. For example something I am sure about is Selmer only making the hole smaller last year in their new Privilege model (I think it is smaller than the former model). I'm not sure when Buffet changed to smaller holes, or what size holes they had on their older instruments.
"On the other hand, while I realize you have been asking for data points, I think your sample is too small to draw empirical conclusions about the model as a whole (though the analyses of Volta and Bakun would seem to justify your working hypothesis)."
Do you mean you read my past posts on this? In this thread I never mentioned how many samples I tested, so maybe I should.
I played and found this problem to exist on one 1193 Buffet from 1999, seven 1193 Buffets I've tried in the end of 2004, and one 1193 and one 1183 Buffets I've tried a few months ago.
I've tried one Selmer 35 that was bought in 2000, one Selmer 37 that was bought sometime in the 90s, and one Selmer 37 I've tried in the end of 2004. All three without the problem. I've also tried two low C and one low Eb Selmer Privileges a few months ago. As I said I am not sure if the Privileges had the problem or not because I just didn't bother to notice at the time and can't remember. If they did, it was definitely less than the Buffets.
Also, in the bass clarinet convention I've had the chance to hear many soloists on both Buffets and Selmers (and some Leblanc) and I remember hearing some of the players with new Buffets struggling just slightly more for those intervals than the Selmer players.
I have to completely disagree that my sample is too small.
"As a result, it's not clear to me that the size of the register tube, by itself, is necessarily the cause, if there really is a problem. At least, it seems to me, it could be the register tube in conjunction with something else"
Basically, after enlarging my register hole a little, speaking to very experienced people like Volta, Sparnaay and Backun, testing so many bass clarinets, hearing many different bass clarinetists on different instruments, I think I'm half way there, but can already say this is the cause of this problem I have. I still can't explainhow come some people don't have the problem with the regular size hole, but most of those probably haven't made a big comparison with different size hole or other instruments like I have.
A few days ago I spoke with a member of this forum who is a new owner of a late 90s Buffet 1193 and he said he does notice the problem, especially when comparing with his old Kohlert bass clarinet (though in every other way the Buffet is much better).
Chris P. said he can play the phrase with the regular hole. His problem wasn't improved by enlarging the hole, but it is a completely different problem, which I didn't have with the small or larger hole.
The other half of the experiment will be installing the screwed in tubes and have what I think is the most accurate test possible for this, since the comaprison will be done on the exact same instrument with the same neck.
"It could also be, however, that finding and changing the "something else" would also solve the problem without, e.g., introducing intonation issues."
I should have probably posted this sooner - When I originally posted this it was very little after I drilled the hole. Now after I had much more time to play with it I can say there is practically no difference in intonation. I've played with groups and didn't have tuning porblems at all. Also, the problems I did notice were most likely caused by other factors like extreme weather changes we had here recently (for example, the difference in intonation because of the weather between today and just one week ago are huge in comparison with the difference I heard after drilling the hole). I am sure I just played at a day that was sharper and only for a few seconds. Now I can say the intonation is not affected in any way that would even cause me to consider to prefer the smaller hole.
I also received a message from Volta a few weeks after I originally started asking him about this. Volta tries a lot of different things to experiment and maybe somtimes they add/change them to their standard model.
Here is what Volta wrote me (translated to English by a friend): "This morning I tried a neck with a 4-mm tube, the sound is better, the sound in the 12ths is clearer and more powerfull. The intonation is scarcely affected; higher on B-flat, B, and C."
Nitai Levi
Jerusalem, Israel
Post Edited (2006-11-19 18:10)
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