 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: cezzy
Date: 2007-01-12 18:23
Hi all,
I have a thirteen year daughter who took up the clarinet just over 2 years ago. She has come on leaps and bounds and just been given a place on the city junior youth orchestra. Her clarinet tutor is one word and that is fantastic! My daughter has also been lucky enough to have the same music teacher up until last July who also was a clarinet player. He took my daughter under his wing and his constant encouragement did her the world of good.
So I shall get to my point. My daughter is currently is using her standard student Buffet Bb B12 which is fine instrument for the job but my daughter is now playing in so many differing activities, (school orchestra, school big band, school wind ensemble, anything else the school asks her to do, city clarinet ensemble, city wind band, and now the city junior youth orchestra) and would like to try a differing sound but has no idea what she wants? We have been offered a friend's Boosey and Hawkes 1010 Symphony Bb clarinet and as I have no experience of clarinets at all, I would value any opinions please?
My friend has offered to let my daughter borrow the 1010 which my daughter has accepted and my daughter is going to speak to her clarinet tutor tomorrow to ask his opinion. All by luck, my friend and my daughter's tutor both know each other and it was my daughter's tutor who advised my friend to buy a third clarinet thus forcing her to sell her beloved 1010! Don't think it is a conspiracy, just circumstance.
So any opinions please on the clarinet and also is it a good one for my daughter to move onto? Or does it matter? Her tutor will obviously give good feedback but I value listening to others who have experience with this instrument as I have none.
Many thanks in advance (I hope)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2007-01-14 01:18
The Boosey 1010 is a world-class instrument.
It is also a "large bore" or "English school" design - it has a distinct sound that can be a bit much for beginning players to control.
The standard "French school" design clarinets are more flexible in dynamic control and familiar to most instructors. I would recommend considering such an instrument if your instructor has admonished the other player to make a change...
FYI - The older Boosey clarinets, made before the Acton vent design change seem to be better players.
If it was me, I wouldn't sell the Boosey to make way for another instrument - I would find another teacher.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bassie
Date: 2007-01-14 15:25
The 1010 is indeed a special piece of kit - they really don't make them like that any more. Nice to have. If you fall in love with it, why not make it your first instrument? But it's not 'middle of the road' by any means, and not the sort of instrument you'd expect a student to be learning on. The natural step from a B12 is a wooden Buffet called an E11. Every man and his dog has one of them ;-D. But if you're simply after a different sound, the first step is to go mouthpiece-shopping...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-01-14 17:05
Your daughter's tutor should certainly play the B&H 1010 and let her know whether he thinks this particular instrument is a good one. If it is, there's no reason to go to anything else. It will need an English-style mouthpiece, though. A French-style mouthpiece like the one on her Buffet will be out of tune. A top quality mouthpiece will make a big difference. I’ve played excellent ones by Edward Pillinger and Peter Eaton.
The Acton vent that Synonymous Botch mentions is a vent on the side of the lower joint, facing the palm of the right hand and attached to the right-hand rings. It improves the intonation on the large-bore 1010. Many players prefer the older instruments, but they’re often badly worn. A newer 1010 will also be excellent.
If your daughter’s tutor recommends that she stay with Buffet, the decision depends on what you can afford. If you have the money, the best upgrade is to skip the intermediate models and go to the Buffet R-13, which is a professional clarinet that the overwhelming majority of professional players use. However, a new one costs nearly $2,600. Used R-13s appear constantly on eBay, but they're a crap-shoot. The R-13 has a lot of variation, and you shouldn’t get one (even new) sight unseen. The tutor may well know of a good one, and I would take his advice. If he doesn’t, a good source is a high quality restorer such as Walter Grabner. He often has used R-13s for under $2,000.
If that's still more than you can afford, I think you should stick with the B12 and get a top quality mouthpiece and barrel. The rule of thumb is that the closer something is to your mouth, the more effect it has. The reed is most important, followed by the mouthpiece and the barrel, and a top quality mouthpiece and barrel makes a big difference. I’ve put my professional mouthpiece and barrel on an inexpensive plastic clarinet and had a hard time telling it from my R-13. Walter Grabner makes excellent ones at $185 each.
Good luck to your daughter. She’s on the greatest adventure there is.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
