 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Mags1957
Date: 2007-05-11 00:18
It seems that Tom Ridenour is having a sale on his "A" clarinets - $795. He only makes one model of "A", so this is a good deal for anyone looking for a nice "A". Do a search to read reviews and form your own opinion, just thought I'd share the sale info with the board ( a while ago someone on this board mentioned that Gary Armstrong was selling Buffet E-11 Eb clarinet for $995.00, and I happily bought one, so it is in that vain that I pass along the info).
I am not affiliated with Tom Ridenour in any way. I do own a Lyrique A & Bb and like them very much.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: glin
Date: 2007-05-11 01:19
This is his Arioso "A". Predecessor to the Lyrique. I suspect there are similarities, but I would also think that the Lyrique would be an improvement.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mags1957
Date: 2007-05-11 02:18
Yes, good catch, you are correct. I have no experience with the Arioso, but I suspect it is very similar to the Lyrique.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-11 02:36
The Arioso A clarinet is the clarinet of which I speak when I wrote my review of Mr. Ridenours instruments. It is simply the most facile, most interesting instrument , tuning and timbre and ability to achieve large intervals, leaps either up or down is just a joy, an absolute joy.
I find my judgement of the sound and the response to be strangely magical
especially in the context of playing sets of clarinets, for more than 50 years. It is unquestionably superior to my Arioso Bb in all of the points taken above. And, there was nothing that had to be gotten used to, as been the case with many comments I have read. So, I continue to praise this horn, especially the A with no reservations. I keep looking for things with which I find difficulty. I have found nothing.
You know what? Its scary, it is so good.
Sheman Friedland
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-05-11 13:53
I recently played (albeit very briefly) one of the Arioso "A" clarinets and I thought it was a mediocre instrument. But I guess there's a lot of sample-to-sample variation as with any clarinet brand/model.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2007-05-11 14:50
I agree with David that there is some variation between instruments of the same kind. When play-testing my new Lyrique at Tom's studio I found that it was a bit nicer to play than the other 3 (4 in all) he had ready for me to try. However, I'm in the fan camp for Tom's work.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-12 14:13
After your "all-too-brief" trying of this A clarinet, just what did you find worth writing about. How was it mediocre? Can you specify? That would be helpful.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: glin
Date: 2007-05-12 21:15
Message to David Spiegelthal: That Ridenour clarinet that you briefly played: could it have been mine? If so, you should know that this is the TR147A, not the Arioso. I think it plays ok for me, other than that flat low F and sharp long B.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-05-13 00:37
I stand corrected -- see glin's note above -- the 'mediocre' "A" I tried was indeed his. My apologies for the error.
By the way, Sherman, the TR147A I tried was 'mediocre' from the standpoint of tone quality (little color to it), intonation (quite a few notes a bit too far 'out' for my taste) and a general slight stuffiness to the response. But keep in mind I only blew on the thing for a few minutes (albeit side-by-side with my own "A" which I liked far better).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 02:17
Hi to all.
My experiences with these clarinets of Ridenour is a bit different. In addition to my A clarinet of which I am very delighted to own, I purchased 6 Bb clarinets from 123 Music, called Allora, over the period of a year. I had been interested in a non wooden, but non plastic clarinet for many years, and because hard rubber had been a choice for large university band section years ago,(I think it was Northwestern that bought a slew of them because of their imperviousness to severe weather conditions), and because of the Essay, "The Myth of Grenadilla" by Ridenour, I really wanted to try some of these. To put it succinctly, they were unbelievably consistant from one to the other. There was little difference from the standpoint of tuning on a meter, timbre, after several days of testing. It figured that they had to be quite similar because they very obviously were mass produced from the look of them, the feel of the keys and because China is not yet a place where hand finishing exists to any degree. No, they were not stuffy at all, not in my opinion,were unusually free-blowing and for the price, I was knocked out. (Yes, I returned them all, except the A))
The Arioso, I got last of all, from a dealer in Jersey perhaps, and it was prepared badly, though it was practically for nothing; it played as the others but the dealer messed the preparation.
My thoughts were , what a wonderful instrument for a student to purchase and even use for everything in preparatio of a career without the terrible expense entailed by the purchase of the french instrument, of which I own a few and have played many over the years. Hence my advocacy of these horns, and my A is discussed above. I have no interest nor relation with the designer, Mr Ridenour, save for the fact that in my set of Opus, I felt as though these were created by a master designer.
My interests lie with the thousands of students crowding into Universities to study clarinet, and the precipice their finances have to climb to get a horn that will always bind, sometimes crack, and in my belief,is not the best horn for many hours a day of long band rehearsals.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-05-13 02:28
sherman wrote:
> China is not yet a place where hand
> finishing exists to any degree.
You actually mean, I'm sure, that China is a place where manufacturers don't want to pay extra for hand-finishing. Real Chinese instruments (not the "tourist" variety) are just as equisitely fashioned as any Western instrument, and the skills required for such finishing abound in China. It just means it won't be incredibly cheap.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 02:36
Mark;
You may be correct. I am 73 years old, Conservatory and European trained clarinetist who has been principal clarinet of a major symphony orchestra. I myself ,have never seen or heard of an exquisitely fashioned clarinet from China. Please inform me.
thank you, Mark
Sherman Friedland
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-05-13 03:32
sherman wrote:
> I myself ,have never seen or heard
> of an exquisitely fashioned clarinet from China.
You wrote that China is a place where hand-finishing does not exist to any degree. You did not specify a clarinet, but made a general statement.
Perhaps I was unclear. When I said "Real Chinese instruments" I was referring to instruments such as the pipa, yongquin, erhu, et al. Hand-finished, exquisite instruments, made to the highest standards. The skills for finishing instruments of all types is already there.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-05-13 03:43
(Disclaimer - I am a maker of the Forte' Clarinets)
There are many companies that have fine quality products made in China and they specify every last detail from materials to the degree of finishing and they have many quality control checks along the way. It is possible to get any product made today in China, with their increasing manufacturing infrastructure, to any level of quality that you wish to pay for - from my own experience having other products produced there.
The instruments that Tom now sells under the Lyrique name sake are different than the previous TR147 and Arioso models. The Allora was made for a big box store under his contract for the Arioso models but were not set up or tweaked to any great degree by Tom himself. He has also sold the design rights for the Arioso model to a Chinese company that is producing them currently.
It is IMO a mistake to equate the new Chinese Arioso line with the ones that Tom had produced, set up, and tweaked for his customers. I spent a fair amount of time at the recent TMEA convention examining and play testing the current Chinese Arioso clarinets (Bb, A, and C) and comparing them with the Arioso models that I had play tested the previous year at TMEA when Tom had his own booth there with his Arioso clarinets. IMO the new Chinese production models have far less quality in fit and finish, evenness in intonation, and quality of sound than the ones that I played the previous year at Tom's booth.
So, IMO, there are two forms of Arioso floating around and Tom's new Lyrique model. It is probably unfair even to compare his new model with his previous model because of the differences between the two. There seems to be a mix of opinions but really to be fair each clarinet should be evaluated within a model line and not between newer, older and manufactured under license instruments which may be different than the others.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 07:00
Mark:
You quoted what I said in my posting.
"I myself have never seen or heard of an exquisitely fashioned clarinet from China"
That is not as you say, a general statement. It is about the clarinet.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 07:17
Omar:
Initially the Allora clarinets were handled by Mr Ridenour, and especially some of the "A" clarinets. He told me this.
As I said in my posting, I purchased and tried 6 of these instruments over the course of last year, including the superb A which I kept.
All of the six were very similar, and they are no longer available. Since the company called Arioso has been sold and he is no longer associated with it, the kind of instrument they are producing is (I'm told), for a younger student clientele. I agree with you and would suggest that prospective buyers request them only from Mr. Ridenour
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-05-13 13:43
sherman wrote:
> Mark:
> You quoted what I said in my posting.
PLEASE re-read my previous response to you, where I pointed out you made a GENERAL statement, perhaps only reflecting clarinets, but it doesn't scan that way - it came out as a general denigration of all Chinese handwork, which I know for a fact is incorrect.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 13:58
Mark: I scan very well. You chose to read it as a general statement concerning Chinese artifacts. I did not scan it that way, and still does not. I would never make such a statement. This is a clarinet bulletin board. I made the statement about the clarinet, period. Your interpretation is your own, and certainly not mine.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-05-13 14:00
sherman wrote:
> You chose to read it as a general
> statement concerning Chinese artifacts. I did not scan it that
> way, and still does not. I would never make such a statement.
I'm very glad of that. Others, on this very BBoard, HAVE made such statements.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 20:43
well, ok, now I have to practice.
I have agreed to play an entire concert of works for Solo Clarinet in Boston at the Berklee College of Music in September, and all have not been finished as yet. All are dedicated to me.I have my hands full, but full is better than................ This brings the list of commissioned or dedicated works for me, to 51.
play well, and stay well. All
Sherman Friedland
Post Edited (2007-05-13 20:45)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sherman
Date: 2007-05-13 20:54
Mark:
I had put that entry on my site, and after re reading it, I agree, it certainly could have been read as you interpreted it, no question. Frankly, I would have appreciated your generosity in allowing me to say what I meant, not as I said exactly, but I can well understand your irritation. It has been a long time, eh?
stay well,
sherman
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: musiciandave
Date: 2007-05-19 11:37
For only $795 for an A Clarinet that has a decent scale is great. I've got high school students who could benefit from that (youth orchestra playing). When I was young I played on a old wooden Conn A Clarinet which was more similar to blowing into an elephants trunk.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-05-19 16:11
someone needs to change the original posted message to Arioso "A" for 795 not the lyrique.
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: musiciandave
Date: 2007-05-19 16:58
Ouch, I didn't like the Arioso Bb at all so wouldn't go for that one either. I would be willing to try a lyrique though as it seems to have gotten good reviews maybe for an outdoor clarinet.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mags1957
Date: 2007-05-20 03:14
"someone needs to change the original posted message to Arioso "A" for 795 not the lyrique."
C2thew: I tried to edit the title of my post when glin first pointed out the mistake, but I couldn't figure out how to edit the title. Is it possible for me to do, or must a mod do it?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2007-05-20 03:36
[ The thread title and all subsequent posts have been ammended - GBK ]
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
