Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2008-05-22 14:22
A short report on Clark's visit to NYC:
I got tix for Clark to see WICKED on Broadway for last Wednesday's matinee.
I asked if he wanted to sit in the pit and hear the band...he declined, smart man!
Before the matinee he had a large bag of clarinet accessory goodies filled with barrels, mpcs, Eb extensions, etc. He had just come down from the Met when he had Jim Ognibene, Bass clarinetist with the Met Orchestra, try his new Bass clarinet mpcs.
Jim took one and loved it.
He handed me a new L2 FOBES clarinet mouthpiece, and it instantly worked on my horn, I was amazed! So, I told him to give a good listen out front, and tell me how his new mpc sounded from the audience of our 2,000 seat Theater at the Gershwin.
He handed me 2 Eb barrels, one Grenadilla and a CocoBolo , the Grenadilla was a 43mm, and worked great right away, so I put in on and also played it for the matinee. Then he wanted me to try his new new bore clarinet barrel, also CocoBolo 67mm. Sounded OK, so I used it.
Also, he asked me to try one of the Bass mpcs he had brought in for Jim, and it exploded with sound on my horn...twice the sound of my BILL STREET with half the effort, and the pitch was great!
So, there I was, 5 minutes before show time at WICKED, with 2.000 people ready to see and hear a great show, and I'm playing on all brand new equipment! He said. "you are a brave man!"
I immediately noticed a big difference in the Bass sound, response and pitch, all better than my 20+ year old STREET, so that's a winner.
The Eb barrel focused my sound easier, had better pitch, and was easier to handle, than my custom-made BACKUN Eb barrel, so it's also a winner.
The clarinet mpc was a closer facing than my custom-made HITE JJM, so I slapped on a slightly harder reed, and it came to life. So, along with the new FOBES Bb barrel. the new FOBES clarinet mpc, the new FOBES Eb barrel, and the new FOBES Bass clarinet mpc, I bravely went into the pit to meet my maker!
I must have made a difference because many of my fellow pit players came up to me at intermission, and complimented me on my "new sound" and "special colors" that they really enjoyed. It made me feel good that they all noticed Clark's new equipment so quickly.
I felt relatively comfortable, with very little adjustment necessary to make all the new pieces work. All in all, a very exciting experience.
BTW: Don't try these antics at work, only at home, just to make sure they are really OK for you!
One more thing; the FOBES Eb extension works great! I've been using it for months at the show and even at the NY Phil., and it makes a huge difference on the Eb clarinet. The general pitch is vastly improved, the response is quicker, the tone is darker & richer, all good things, give it a try.
I took Clark to lunch at a fine Thai Restaurant in the Theater District, The BlueChili, which I highly recommend. Clark is charming, very bright and cheerful, he loved the show, and was amazed that all his "stuff" sounded so good. I'm thrilled he was there and had brought all his wonderful products for me to try.
So, I'm sold on FOBES...go for it, my friends. We had KASPAR, I had HITE, now we all have FOBES...!
(Disclaimer, I am not paid by Clark Fobes to promote his products, or given any special discounts. I just like his equipment! JJM)
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
Post Edited (2008-05-22 14:45)
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