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Author: Tom Henson
Date: 2009-01-07 16:51
Hello Menedez,
I have been so busy lately that I have not had time to follow up with you on your tuning issues.
Last I heard was you were sending them back to Wurlitzer to work on them. Did you do this and did Wurlitzer make any improvements to the tuning?
I have talked with a couple of people about the Segelke Reform Boehm clarinets and generally heard good things about them. Their single biggest drawback, and one that I can not overlook, is that they do not have a connected bridge key between the upper and lower joints like the French clarinets, and all other Reform Boehm systems. This means it is not possible to use a forked finger for Eb & Bb, although you can use the alternate fingering with just the left hand.
In general, I have acknowledged that Wurlitzer clarinets can play high in the left hand in the clarion register, mainly the A, B, and C. Both my Bb and A have this tendency, but the A less so. Wurlitzer was able to improve my Bb, but next time I send it in for an overhaul I will have them do a little more work on this. Better to make tuning adjustments a little at a time than all at once. Once you go too far, it is ruined.
I also believe that every clarinet made, regardless of the type of system has some tuning issues simply because of the compromises that must be made when designing them. There is no doubt that some clarinets play in tune better than others and Wurlitzer is no exception to this statement. That is why you have to play 50 R13's to find a really good one. But when you do, it is very good.
Of all the professional players that I have talked to who do play on the Wurlitzer Reform Boehm clarinets, all have told me they choose it in spite of the tuning issues simply because of the sound. I choose this system for the same reason and would do it again, even knowing more now than I did when I first bought them.
I will say again, that changing from a French clarinet (R13) to the Wurlitzer Reform Boehm has been the single hardest thing I have ever had to do clarinet wise in my life. Especially given that there are few people who are qualified to help someone with this difficult task.
Also, I have never played a clarinet system that is so incredibly sensitive to the mouthpiece/reed that is used. Both from a tuning standpoint as well as the character of the sound itself in different registers.
I believe that one of the biggest things that make the French system so popular (and easier to play) is the way the bore and tone holes are designed. There is so much flexibility in the bore characteristics on a French system that it makes it the perfect choice for Jazz especially. I also believe that a French bore clarinet is much more forgiving in how you play it and the reed and mouthpiece that you use. It is amazing just how a French clarinet can be a little out of adjustment and yet still quite playable.
This is not true for the Reform Boehm clarinets. Especially the Wurlitzer model 185 with it's very complex key system. In my personal experience of working on many R13 clarinets and now my Wurlitzer model 185's, it is completely different in how you work on them. Yes, replacing a pad is still the same along with certain other things, but that is where it ends. The keywork on these clarinets is so complex as to boggle the mind. On the bottom joint there are several adjusting screws that affect as many as 9 different tone holes with a single adjustment screw. I would caution anyone that has these clarinets from just getting out a screwdriver and making changes from the factory settings. I can say that once you make changes in the adjustment screws then you can start to have all kinds of tuning issues as well as voicing problems. I learned this the hard way, believe me.
Following up on this, this is the other problem with owning these clarinets. There are very few people outside of the factories where they are made who really understand and know how to properly setup and adjust these clarinets. Like I said, there are several adjustment screws on the bottom joint that affect many different tone holes. Once you change one, you find that it throws off the others and then you adjust more and more and more. Finally, you end up with a clarinet that does not want to play.
I would compare working on the Wurlitzer 185 Reform Boehm clarinets to working on an Oboe for the complexity of the keywork if not even more.
Getting back to the tuning issues that have been discussed here, I do agree that Wurlitzer has some issues. I have stated that before. I also have said that other makers do make good Reform Boehm clarinets that play generally better in tune. I have a set from Leitner & Kraus that have excellent intonation. Segelke is another maker that is very well respected. However, I have played on Wurlitzer Reform Boehm clarinets that did play very well in tune, so to make a general statement that they don't spend enough time on the tuning when they make them is simply not true in my experience. This sounds more like a sales pitch than someone who has first hand knowledge.
There could be many reasons why Wurlitzer Reform Boehm clarinets play sharp in the left hand vs. other brands, but I doubt it has anything to do with the quality of workmanship in general. In my first hand experience, Wurlitzer clarinets are still made to a higher finish level than the other German makers of these clarinets. That is another reason they are still considered by most people in the know to be the best. If anyone has every gone to their workshop and seen how these clarinets are made they would probably agree that Wurlitzer is passionate about making high quality clarinets, and they hold fast to their own concept of how a clarinet should play and sound. Wurlitzer clarinets are not made for the masses.
My Leitner & Kraus set cost less money, but it is also made to a lower fit and finish standard because of the lower cost. To be honest, my Bb from them was not even playable when I first got it because some of the keys were fitted so tight they would not even move. Granted, this could have been the wood adjusting to a new climate, but I had to send my Bb back to them 3 times before it was usable on the level that I wanted. This was certainly not so with my Wurlitzer clarinets whose keywork was setup to the highest level I have ever seen with the exception of Morrie Backun.
My Wurlitzer A clarinet keywork setup is the best I have ever seen of any clarinet I have held in my hands. It would be the equivalent of the best Morrie Backun or even Hans Moennig could do given their skill and knowledge. The quality of the keys, how they are made, shaped, feel, spring tension and reaction, and key location, tells me that whoever made this clarinet was indeed a "master" craftsman. It is simply a joy to play and the sound is just amazing. Yes, it plays a little sharp in the left hand clarion register, but I can adjust enough to get it well in tune.
I had earlier compared the sound to that of Wenzel Fuchs' A clarinet and I stand by that remark. Yes, he plays on an Ohler system, so you could say you are comparing apples and oranges, but the sound is the same and this is another goal of Wurlitzer, to make Reform Boehm clarinets that sound close to what the Ohler sound like, but with a French key system. I would say they are very close in that respect.
Tom Henson
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Re: Problems with intonation in Wurlitzer Reform Boehm new |
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The Clarinet BBoard
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