 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2014-02-15 04:41
Believe it or not, there is a youtube channel called ClarinetdeMetal, which, despite its name, features mostly saxophone performances but also at least two performances on--you guessed it--metal clarinets.
The surprise is that the two players featured do not sound terrible at all; they sound pretty good. The first one is a student of Italian jazz clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi taking a master class lesson on how to play Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee."
The metal clarinet has some nice depth of sound, especially in the lower register, and even though the student falters a little here and there in this difficult be-bop head, he plays the instrument idiomatically in a way that sounds like--well--a clarinet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSDVCFgOA68.
You can look up the second clarinetist on the ClarinetdeMetal channel. He plays the folk song and dance "Formigao" in a lighter tone that becomes more beguiling as he goes along. (After 1 minute, 50 seconds, the talking stops and the music starts on this one).
Can any of you metal clarinet collectors make out which metal clarinets these two are playing on?
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2014-02-15 10:56
Why should it be surprising that "the two players featured do not sound terrible at all"?
I have an H.N. White King Cleveland metal clarinet--not even one of the top metal clarinet models--that I'd play in any venue with no reservations.
Once again, it's not the material that the clarinet is made from, it's the overall quality of the instrument.
Metal clarinets got a bum rap, not because of the material they were made from, but because so many junk metal clarinets were made. That bum rap was generalized to apply to all metal clarinets.
B.
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2014-02-15 13:07
My first clarinet was metal, a Greville Paris chromium plated one. It cost $18 new in 1935. Ray Adams, principal of the Allentown Band, played a metal clarinet. Also, I believe Sherman mentioned them in one of his columns.
richard smith
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2014-02-15 14:21
Do you know this here: http://www.clarinette-metal.fr/quelques_exemples_musicaux.htm
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2014-02-15 14:45
Indeed, all metal clarinets are not created equal. I've a Pan American 884N, a four-piece instrument with a screw-on, double-walled bell. It gets compliments for its nice tone whenever I bring it out.
Unfortunately, the keywork is easily bent and an ergonomic nightmare. It does not get taken to very many gigs as a result.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2014-02-15 19:48
You can take a well-overhauled pro-quality metal clarinet (Selmer-Paris, Haynes, Silver King, Bettoney Silva-Bet, etc.) into any concert hall and unless they SEE it, nobody will know you're playing on a metal instrument.
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2014-02-16 01:32
Some flautists also play metal instruments, and they don't sound terrible, even if they (the flutes) are not pure gold like Emmanuel Pahud's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkRkNAxHO20
... and my Silver King certainly would sound good ( with a Vandoren B45. and Rico or Vandoren about 2.5)- if not it's my fault.
Post Edited (2014-02-16 01:40)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-02-16 14:57
I've heard some metal saxophones that sound like the real thing too.......Wonders never cease. I have 3 metal clarinets and all sound no different than wood or plastic horns. I've never come across any explanation for their demise.
Bob Draznik
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2014-02-16 20:20
Bob, metal clarinets are more expensive to make -- all the toneholes have to be soldered to the body, for example.
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