Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-07-02 20:00
Attachment: NeckBrokenTube.jpg (44k)
Attachment: NeckTubeOut.jpg (41k)
Attachment: BigTubeOnNeck.jpg (82k)
Attachment: NeckNewTube.jpg (62k)
Hello
I have some updates.
Today I installed the threaded tubes, after I finished with all the important concerts I had lately. I have holes in these sizes: 1mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 3.5mm, 4mm, 4.5mm. I've played each size for a few minutes, and tested all the problems. I checked the legato intervals problem which caused me to investigate it in the first place, plus all notes that use the upper register hole from E to high altisimo.
1mm hole - Basically non existent. When I play low notes and press the register key the low note keeps playing like there is no register hole at all.
2.5mm hole - Plays the clarion ok, with especially ease of playing the altisimo, they just pop out easily like any other note. The legato intervals problems exists and is very bad. Impossible to play with this size.
3mm hole - Clarion is ok (slightly better than the 2.5mm hole) and altisimo is pretty much as easy as with the 2.5mm hole. The legato intervals problem is better than the 2.5mm hole but still very annoying and the clarion notes have a delay.
3.5mm hole - The legato intervals problems is almost solved completely. The altisimo is just a tiny bit harder than with the 3mm or 2.5mm holes but it fixes the interval problem so good that it is meaningless. I have no problem playing the altisimo notes with this size hole.
4mm hole - the legato intervals problem is solved completely. It is as easy to play low A to clarion E as it is low G to clarion D. Altisimo is a little hard to play. With the smaller holes altisimo just pops out easily, but here I have to be much more focused with the direction of the air to make them play correctly.
4.5mm hole - doesn't really have any advantage over the 4mm hole, except altisimo is even slightly harder to play.
Overall I think I will use the 3.5mm hole for now (but I will keep experimenting). I chose this because I think there is almost no difference with the legato jumps with this and bigger holes, and almost no difference with altisimo with this and smaller holes. The tiny differences I can feel I doubt an audience could hear at all. This is the best middle ground for me.
I might sometimes change register hole size based on the music I am playing (though I'm probably too lazy for that!). When improvising (most of what I play) I definitely need the bigger hole, but if I happen to play in an orchestra I might go with the smaller hole.
In a perfect world it would be something like this: 4.5mm hole for E, 4mm for F to G#, 3.5mm for A and Bb, 3mm for B and C, and 2.5mm (or maybe 3mm) for C# and up.
If at all possible to build, very good would be a triple register mechanism, where the one up to D# is the same one as now, for E to C it will be a 4mm hole, and for the altisimo a 2.5mm hole. I can't really see how that would be possible since some altisimo notes use right hand fingers while others don't, etc.
I attached some pictures. The first one shows the original tube broken in the middle of drilling it out. The second picture shows the original tube out, and the hole on its way to get bigger. The third picture is the big tube on the neck. The last picture is the neck on the clarinet with the big tube and one of the screwed in tube on it.
EDIT: By now I have been playing with these tubes for about six months and I have settled completely on the 3.5mm hole register tube.
Nitai Levi
Jerusalem, Israel
Post Edited (2006-11-25 09:29)
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