Author: Tom Henson
Date: 2008-05-24 18:39
Hello Liquorice,
Let me try to clarify things a bit. It was late at night and my post only takes you through the learning how to properly play on a German mouthpiece before you make any decision about the tuning characteristics of your clarinet. I never said or made the claim that these clarinets have perfect intonation, and indeed we all have seen similar tuning issue up high with sharpness. It was my goal to educate those that do not know how to play on a German mouthpiece how much different they are and why they will fail if they approach it by comparison to playing on a French system.
If I am reading your last post correctly, you do not play on a Reform Boehm clarinet, but a French system. Hopefully you have had the opportunity to play on one to at least see some of the things we are discussing here. If I am incorrect is my assumption, then please forgive me.
Even the best matching mouthpiece that I have does not completely fix the sharpness up high, but it gets it down enough that I can get it close using various methods. Do I have to work harder to do this, yes. But that is all part of the learning curve to play on these instruments.
Those that choose to play on a Wurlitzer or another brand of Reform Boehm do so mainly because of the unique sound qualities that they have. If you looked at the photo that I attached, you saw how Leitner & Kraus has changed their barrel design in part to give them more options for tuning and sound character. These instruments do play better in tune out of the box, but they also have a different sound character than the Wurlitzer. Those that I have talked with in the Netherlands say that the average person cannot hear these differences, but I would think the person playing them would. I know because I have a set of both and they do sound a little different. I would not say that the Wurlitzer’s sound better than the L&K clarinets, only different. The L&K clarinets are based on the older bore design and have a more focused sound than the newer Wurlitzer bore. To some they may sound brighter. One of the main reasons I bought the L&K clarinets was because I wanted a clarinet set based on the older bore design and Wurlitzer no longer makes them. It had nothing to do with me being dis-satisfied with my Wurlitzer's. Yes, I have been frustrated with them at times. I was also intrigued with the new barrel design of the L&K clarinets.
However, even the L&K clarinets are extremely sensitive to the mouthpiece/reed that you use, so if you use one that does not match well the bore, then you have the same tuning issues you see on the Wurlitzer clarinets.
Also, take note of the statement that I made about "but like many things German, is very, very complex in design and execution. When done well it is outstanding, and when done poorly it is simply bad."
I don't see this statement as a claim that everyone else is having intonation issues and I am not because I know how to play them. Wurlitzer, like any other manufacturer, including Buffet can make outstanding clarinets and really bad ones. With Wurlitzer, the bad ones just cost more. I have played on many brands of clarinets and this is true for every brand made. The only advantage that you have when buying a French clarinet is that you can test play it before you buy it. With the German clarinets that are truly hand made, this is not so. You place your order and pray that they make you a good clarinet. If they don't, then you indeed have a problem.
Since you are from Europe, you should be aware that most of the clarinet students order a Wurlitzer through their teacher who has a relationship with the maker. This is how it is done in Germany for the most part.
If you speak or read German, do a search on Google.de for the phrase "Wurlitzer premium kunden". You should be able to find some posts on Klarinette 24 from several German professionals explaining about the best way to order a Wurlitzer clarinet. This may not be a system that is practiced or known outside of Germany, but if you read between the lines of this discussion, you will begin to see that, like any company that manufacturer things, some of the people that make them are better than others. They state in no misunderstood terms that if you order the clarinet directly from them and not through a premium kunden that the quality of the clarinet that you get may be quite different from one ordered through a respected professor. This discussion also goes on to say that the time it takes for them to make your clarinet is directly related to the level of quality that you will get. Surprisingly, they claim that the shorter time it takes for Wurlitzer to make it, the higher the quality will be. They also say that a professional level clarinet from them should only take 2 months to get, and the longer it takes the lower the quality generally will be. Very strange system.
Now I am simply referring you all to this discussion thread on Klarinette 24. I did not write this, nor can I confirm that this is true. I ordered my Bb clarinet directly from them and did not go through a professor. I did, however, have a close friend that has worked with Wurlitzer a lot, and as such, I would say he was a premium kunden. I can tell you that my Bb did have some problems that took 2 trips to Germany to fix most of them. One of the things that I did have looked at last month was tuning. I think they did improve the tuning and my scale is more even than it was before. Is it perfect, no. It still has sharpness up high. So this is why I went through all of my mouthpieces until I found the one that worked best.
My A clarinet was ordered by my friend for me and it was even shipped to his house. This clarinet is outstanding in every way. It still has sharpness up high, but not as bad as on the Bb. This clarinet could be a template for how the keywork should be set up. The keys were so perfectly made and adjusted that it just opened my eyes to what can be done regarding the set up of a clarinet. My friend, who had clarinets setup by Hans Moennig, said that my A clarinet was every bit the equal of the best work that Hans did on the Buffet keywork. It is simply an outstanding clarinet. Not perfect, but the sound is just incredible.
If you listen to the YouTube performance by Wenzel Fuchs on the Mozart Concerto (Rondo), this is exactly how my A clarinet sounds. You be the judge if you like this sound or not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLYokufORqk
It was then that I realized that the way a clarinet played is probably 50% manufacturing and 50% the skill of the person setting it up. I have another question to ask regarding the fact that French clarinets play better in tune. How much money do professional players spend to get their French clarinets set up properly? Morrie Backun and others have made an entire career from improving, fixing, and setting up French system clarinets. I know many people have easily spent the equivalent cost of the instrument itself just on accessories and customization work that needed to be done. Even Robert Marcellus would not have had his sound had it not been for Hans Moennig and all the customization that he did on his Buffet clarinets.
This is not necessarily so for a hand made German clarinet. You pay a high price to buy it, but all of this fine tuning and setup is included in this price. If you are not completely happy when you pick it up or get it for the first time, they will take it back and work with you to make adjustments as best they can and not charge you. Even my L&K clarinets made 2 trips back to Germany to get problems fixed when I first got them. Keep in mind that these are truly hand made in every respect, so there are always going to be some minor issues when brand new. You just have to work with them to get them adjusted and to your liking.
When I sent my set of Wurlitzer's back to them for overhaul, I had several keys on my A clarinet that were damaged from a stage door swinging back and hitting my clarinet. I was charged only for the overhaul. Everything else that needed to be repaired, fixed, replated, or replaced was simply included in this price. I do not think I would have received this kind of service if I had sent it back to Buffet or some other repair place. I would have been charged for every part, every minute of labor, the replating of the keys, and I would have paid much more for the repair. So I am very, very happy with their high level of service.
Learning how to play on a Wurlitzer, or any other Reform Boehm clarinet will take a complete dedication to learn all of the good things and bad things about them and try to master them. If a person that has bought one of these instruments does not realize that going into to it, and decides that they are not willing to make this effort, then my recommendation is go back to a Buffet or another French brand and you will probably be happier in the end.
When I made the decision to purchase my first Wurlitzer, it was the culmination of a year's worth of research. I had literally gone as far as I could go with my Buffet clarinets and yet still felt something was lacking. I was told by a highly respected repair tech that I had better clarinets than even some of the first chair players in major orchestras that he had worked with. And yet, I was still not happy with the sound and playing characteristics. Like Robert Marcellus, I was searching for something more and I found it in the sound of the German RB clarinet. Even as prepared as I was to make this radical change, it was still the most difficult thing I have ever done musically and I am still learning about them every day. Even with all of this work and frustration I have no doubt that I made the right decision, for me. It may not be right for someone else.
It looks like you are from Switzerland, have you had a chance to talk with Rene Oswald about the Wurlitzer clarinets? You probably have. He also makes his own line of mouthpieces and reeds. He would be a very good source to discuss the mouthpiece issues with and I am sure he is quite familiar with all the issues we are discussing.
My question to you is, if the professionals that you know are so frustrated with the tuning issues with these clarinets, why don't they simply change back to a Buffet or another French brand? Why do they continue to play on them if they have so many problems? If I were still a professional, I think at some point I would have to decide what is the better compromise, instrument wise, in order to perform at my best.
I have played my Wurlitzer’s on many occasions right alongside of Buffet and Selmer clarinets and have never had a problem matching intonation or blending in with them. Yes, some notes took effort to match pitch. Granted, I made an effort to blend and listen closely also. I never once had a single complaint from those I played with saying I was out of tune or my sound did not blend.
There are also other cases where the RB clarinets are played alongside French clarinets and I am not aware of any reported blending complaints. Steven Bates plays them in Washington, DC alongside French clarinets for the Opera there, so I know it can be done. There are many others I could also mention, but you can see some of them listed as artists on the Wurlitzer web site.
Regarding my statement about what may sound out of tune up close may not farther away. This has to do more with the way the human ear works and the partials that our ears can hear. As sound travels, some partials will carry farther than others and the character of the sound may indeed sound different from a distance than up close. This goes back to what I was told by those in the Netherlands playing on the L&K clarinets vs. the Wurlitzer’s. Even though they can hear the difference up close, the audience cannot from a distance so much.
Intonation is based upon the dominant partial being heard above all others. This is what makes a C a C. But when you start to add other partials to the mix, the sound character changes. If you start to emphasize the higher partials, then the note will begin to sound brighter or sharp to the human ear. If you emphasize the lower, then it will begin to sound dull and flat. It is the design of the Wurlitzer clarinets that the partials produced will result in the sound carrying farther in a concert hall as perceived by the human ear. What may sound bright and sharp up close, may lose some of this energy as the sound radiates out and thus it will have the effect on the human ear to sound less bright or sharp the farther away from the source. This also goes back to what I said about Wurlitzer tuning a clarinet based more upon the sound character of the notes than actual interval. As long as the scale is even, you should be able to find a mouthpiece and reed combination that should get you close.
Lastly, I was told that the Wurlitzer A clarinets tend to play better than the Bb's. I do think there is some truth in that. I think the bore of RB clarinets simply works better with a longer tube. This may explain why L&K decided to come up with their new barrel design. Because the mouthpiece and barrel can affect the upper tuning the most, they lengthened the barrel in order to have more influence on the upper bore design. This may indeed be why their Bb clarinets tend to play better in tune out of the box.
Tom Henson
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The Clarinet BBoard
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