Author: Aures22
Date: 2007-01-19 03:57
Hi, all. I just tried a new Signature Bb and I was pleasantly surprised by the way they played. I felt and heard numerous improvements when compared to the older ones that I've tried. It felt like the uncomfortable stuffiness and strong resistance was reduced and the resistance felt just about right for playing. I was able to achieve a wide dynamic range with a same focus, shape, and intonation throughout. Tuning was very accurate and it actually was the best I've heard from any Bb clarinet. Issues in the 3rd altissimo registers I had like difficulty in speaking, maintaining control, and sound quality were gone and apparantly solved. It had a nice centered, dark, lovely sound throughout that was unique.
I returned this instrument twice during trial periods because of the many problems I felt, but now I have to reconsider this instrument. It really is one of the best clarinets I've played ( I have nearly 20 yr exp ). I compared it to the other Selmers like the St. Louis, Arthea, and it was a clear favorite in many ways. And, it is in my view a better and more developed clarinet than the Buffet R-13. Also, compared to the Leblanc Backun Symphonie I tried, the Sig. was still objectively and subjectively better. The Symphonie had a nice resonant sound, but there were some tuning problems. The response was not exactly to my liking, but I may have to get used to the instrument.
The serial number of the Signature I tried was PO8XXX and is one of the latest one from Paris I believe. I don’t think I’ve seen the same model instrument improve this much before. People please try them cause I think you will like it a lot.
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P.S. I feel that the Bb Signature has more center in terms of pitch, color, shape of the tone, but I don't mean that it's not flexible. When I tried the horn, it was flexible, but in a different way than say a Buffet R-13. The R-13 I tried was too flexible and made it difficult to play in a solid fashion. Too much phrasing nuance allows more room to make mistakes.
Post Edited (2007-01-25 17:08)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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