 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-02-20 03:14
I know this might be a conspiracy and such, but i'm starting to question how instrument producers select the choice of grenadilla wood. I underestand why in the past there has always been the battle of the big three i.e. selmer, leblanc, and buffet as they were all sepreate entities altogether (wood choice wise) It seems from my perspective that selmer clarinets had a tendency to decay faster over time i.e. crack, chip or it could be the possibility that they were used more oftenly. Leblanc clarinets have noticibly denser wood, and i can't comment on buffet clarinets as i haven't owned one long enough to speculate.
If there was a blind smell test, would you be able to distinguish clarinet brands? Call this a little farfetched, but i think where manufacturers get there wood supply ultimately makes the difference.
Where do these manufactuers get their wood supply from? Is there a geographical reference other than Africa? if you could walk up to a representative, would you be able to find out what conditions they harvest the grenadilla wood?
can you by only smelling determine whether wood is quality or not? Kinda like the way old chedeville mouthpieces had that terrible taste but had very nice qualities.
pardon the rambling.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-20 04:21
Lark clarinets (and pretty much all other Lark instruments) all generally have a distinctive sweet/sickly smell when you open the case.
Yamaha Customs smell like a freshly painted room - the cases have a sort of matt emulsion smell.
But new grenadilla joints can smell of a variety of things (when burnt - during serial number stamping with heated numbers) - from a burning wood smell(!) to a honey-like smell and some other exotic fragrances similar to incense sticks.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2007-02-20 05:17
Among memorable smells, I have Marince Corps canvas waterproofing (UGH), and that great smell of my then-new 1961 Buffet (JOY). SIGH
Bob Phillips
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bill
Date: 2007-02-20 12:37
My Series 9 (B-flat), S4875, smelled like no other clarinet I ever had. I don't know if Steve Fowler (repair tech) was using an especially fragrant batch of oil during that time or what. It was a musky, herbal smell ... almost ... "olive." I've never picked it up off of any other clarinet again (I sold the Series 9).
Bill.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: voodoosausage
Date: 2007-02-20 13:11
I've always used almond oil to oil the bores on my clarinets, so they have the mixed smell of wood and almonds. It's pretty nice.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2007-02-20 14:33
I know out of the Selmer Paris clarinets I've played that they all smelled the same to me. The girl who sits next to me in class plays an R13 and I played it once and looked at the insides and it didn't smell like mine at all.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: D
Date: 2007-02-20 18:31
I have two clarinets (Bb and A) bought at the same time from the same manufacturer and they are the same model. Smell different though.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Neal Raskin
Date: 2007-02-20 21:22
I just want to say that I LOVE the smell of LeBlanc clarinets. I bought a Normandy 4 in 7th grade and loved the smell of it. A couple years ago I bought a Concerto II and it smelled the same as the Normandy. I love the smell!
Neal Raskin
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bassie
Date: 2007-02-21 12:12
The wood in my Selmer Paris moves quite a lot. But it does smell lovely and has done for many years, even with the occasional application of some nasty cheap modern cork grease.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mk
Date: 2007-02-23 01:10
you cannot tell the quality of wood by smelling it in my opinion. Having read many books on woodworking, much can be told of wood quality based on grain characteristics and feel while working with it. Over the years I have handled many clarinets, and have found that the top rate players have acquired great instruments with little respect or interest in "wood characteristics" or "smells". Tone quality and intonation would rank as most important. Great instruments in my opinion, are random and like a flawless diamond, somewhat diffucult to procure.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-02-23 13:02
Chris P wrote,
>>But new grenadilla joints can smell of a variety of things (when burnt - during serial number stamping with heated numbers) - from a burning wood smell(!) to a honey-like smell and some other exotic fragrances similar to incense sticks.>>
My husband used to make wooden writing pens as a hobby. I make incense as a hobby. (In 1999, I self-published a booklet about the history and folklore of particular blends of incense for specific uses, "Incense: Ancient Magick for A Modern World," under the imprint of Asenath Waite Publications.) A few years ago, when my husband made some pens out of grenadilla (and gave me one), I made incense out of the grenadilla sawdust he generated from turning the wood on his lathe. The incense isn't pure grenadilla, because two of the other ingredients also have a scent: powdered orris root and aromatic resin. I used the resin known as dragon's blood in the grenadilla blend because of the association of the clarinet as "the dragon's tongue." But, the grenadilla definitely has its own pleasant smell, in the same family of aromas with sandalwood.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2007-02-23 13:06)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mk
Date: 2007-02-24 02:38
having turned many barrels over the years, I too can remember the smell of black wood as it machines. I am only hoping that persons working with wood have the sensibility to wear protective breathing masks, as i am sure that the dust is hazardous to the lungs.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-24 08:21
About as harmful as breathing in diesel fumes just walking around London I'd imagine.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2007-02-24 13:17
"sweet/sickly smell"
Some (much?) of the smell is probably due to the glue used in the case itself.
Certainly some woods have distinctive smells e.g. Sandalwood , Cedar and Pine but I have never experienced a distinctive smell of Grenadilla in a clarinet out of its case.
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-02-25 13:06
>>Certainly some woods have distinctive smells e.g. Sandalwood , Cedar and Pine but I have never experienced a distinctive smell of Grenadilla in a clarinet out of its case.>>
I do smell that slight incense aroma, not so much in a clarinet being used regularly, but in one that's been well-stored in a clean case for a number of years, and also in a brand-new clarinet. After writing my earlier message, I got out the plastic bag of grenadilla sawdust from my incense-making toolkit and took another sniff to refresh my memory of the pure scent, since as I mentioned I did put other aromatic ingredients into the incense. No doubt about it: grenadilla has its own smell, a very pleasant one to my nose.
Re.: breathing the sawdust from lathing: Breathing any fine, particulate matter is unhealthy and my husband and I do wear respirators and goggles when we saw, sand or grind wood. I haven't heard anything about grenadilla or other types of blackwood being particularly toxic, but some people do develop an allergy. Cocobolo is notorious for producing an allergic reaction. My husband can't work with cocobolo any more--gets a severe rash and has trouble breathing. He never had that problem with blackwood.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mk
Date: 2007-02-26 00:18
diesel fumes can't kill you as easily as dust from walnut from what i've been told. I'm pretty sure walnut wood dust is toxic. Wood turners who do the salad bowels beware!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Detru Cofidin
Date: 2007-02-26 04:43
Call me ignorant, but I've never actually paid any attention to the smell of my clarinet. Perhaps the only real smell I've ever noticed has been slightly of key oil which is never very much, or bore oil when I used to use it.
Nicholas Arend
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tim P
Date: 2007-02-26 12:23
to Lelia Loban--- my wife assures me that she likes the sound of my clarinet practice. but after reading your post she now thinks we ought to burn my clarinet to make the house smell better.!!!!!!!!!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-02-26 12:33
>>to Lelia Loban--- my wife assures me that she likes the sound of my clarinet practice. but after reading your post she now thinks we ought to burn my clarinet to make the house smell better.!!!!!!!!!
>>
;-) Shadow Cat hates the sound of my practicing and hopes that the right incantation of yowls and hisses while burning that incense will make the clarinets spontaneously combust....
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-02-27 07:39
I notice that most wood has a similar smell, but I notice a bigger difference in the smell of the metal.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-02-27 12:19
>>I notice that most wood has a similar smell, but I notice a bigger difference in the smell of the metal.
>>
Yes, silver smells completely different from nickel. If the keys are nickel or silver plating over brass, and if the plating has worn down, that brass smell is so strong it can make it difficult to sort out any other scents.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
