 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-07-08 23:58
We all have prejudices, so don't deny it. I have seen on this board mention of the Buffet Mafia. I have seen monovision suggestions to newcomers regarding the purchase of their first instrument. There are discussions where contributors proclaim the superiority of their mouthpiece. Many forum members sign off with a list of their equipment (in an effort to brag?). Reeds, ligatures, barrels, bells, materials, etc. The list is exhaustive.
I don't mention this because I begrudge anyone the opportunity to be prejudiced about their own equipment. I mention this because I think it is fascinating that we all aspire to play the same instrument well, and while the instrument itself is such an individual choice, many of us insist that our set up is the best, and we make great attempts at proving ourselves right.
When I was in high school and started caring about what equipment I had, I was taught to be prejudiced. Bundy clarinets were for losers. Rico reeds were for the unskilled, everyone who was anyone had to own an R-13 and play Vandorens. To do otherwise was to have second tier equipment. I have never thought much of Selmer, LeBlanc, or other instruments. To this day, I would probably never shell out the money to give Rico reeds a try.
In thinking about why I feel this way, I have no good answer other than I was told my equipment was the best and I have never played on anything since. I would love to play a bunch of different instruments, mouthpieces, reeds, etc. blindfolded, and see what I choose as my favorite, without previous knowledge of brands. I wonder if my prejudices would be confirmed or denied.
So I'm here to ask. What ONE piece of equipment are you completely prejudiced about? For me, it's my Charles Bay mouthpiece. MO-M, K-C-14. Made just for me back in 1984. Easily tops anything else I've ever played and it's better than your mouthpiece.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-07-09 00:42
Some of these ideas are valid though.
I wanted to expand my mind and challenge my repair technique so I got an old plastic Bundy for $25. I gave the same care and attention I give "pro" quality clarinets. Initially, it was great, but after a month of daily practice, it fell out of regulation and stopped responding well. I don't have this problems with "better" brands.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-07-09 01:03
I agree with you about many clarinetists being prejudiced. That's why, especially when it comes to mouthpieces, reeds and even clarinets I always advise to try many different makes and models. I think the prejudices were much worse years ago when just about everyone played Buffets in the major orchestras in America. But now many players play on different makes and models and many of the famous players as well. As far as you're not willingness to try Rico reeds, there's a hugh difference between the Rico of the old days, the standard Rico reed, and the many new Grand Concert Reeds that Rico makes. Even though I'm a Rico artists I still suggest a player try different brands to find what's best for the player. By the way, I play Buffets and Selmers. I used to play a Charles Bay MP but now play a Morgan, for nineteen years now, and I use Rico Grand Concerts reeds as well as make my own. If you need to know, I use the Rovner metal ligature on clarinet. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2009-07-09 01:51
Ed makes some great points. If there's one thing I'm prejudiced about, it's Rico Reserve reeds. The last box I bought was a bit of a disappointment because I only got two good reeds from it (I worked on the others, and although they're better, they're not great). Still, I haven't found another reed that gives me the response and sound of a Rico Reserve, and I've tried quite a few.
Ed, I know I'm getting off the subject, but I just remembered something. Back in the 70s, I used to read a magazine called "Woodwind World Brass and Percussion." I know the magazine had problems and eventually folded. Thinking back now, I seem to remember your name in connection with it; you either wrote articles for it or were quoted often. Ed, am I remembering correctly?
Ok, now back to the subject. I know that regular Rico reeds are acceptable for beginners, but they're scorned by mostly everyone else. I'll repeat a Rico story I wrote a while back because it fits in with this discussion. I was once invited to perform in an orchestra that was organized for a special concert. I played second, and the first player (I knew him, but not well) started discussing his reed. Yep, and I kid you not, he was playing on a regular Rico no. 2. I couldn't believe it, and politely asked him if he was joking. He wasn't. He was a serious clarinetist who sometimes played professionally, and he played very well. With his mouthpiece and ligature (I'm not sure what they were) he really got a nice sound with his Rico no. 2. You just never know!
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2009-07-09 02:25
Hi,
My favorite concert MP on tenor sax is a Rico Royal B5; for shows I use a Rico Royal M5. Each one was about $20.
On clarinet (Leblanc L200 or Yami CS), I play a VB B45 that I got off a junker clarinet and it has a tiny chip in the tip. I have some SWS and Portnoy MPs that I still like a lot
My best reeds are all Rico Grand Concert for clarinet and on saxes, Rico Royals or La Voz. On Bass clarinet, I use some old Rico pre-orange box that play great. But I use the ATG system and a reed clipper.
You don't need to spend a lot on equipment as long as you select well and spend money to keep things in adjustments. My instruments are always in top shape and I treat them will care.
HRL
PS My prejudice is that I'm a value shopper. And I have reached the point in my playing career where I can make just about anything work fairly well in a pinch.
Post Edited (2009-07-09 11:23)
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Author: 78s2CD
Date: 2009-07-09 03:48
My prejudice is for cane reeds. When I was in HS in the 50s synthetic reeds were not done. I realize that the technology has improved greatly, and many pros now play synthetics, but it's an uphill battle to get me to do so. I'm doing a bass clarinet duet in a church in a couple weeks and after a couple of practices today I told my colleague that I very much prefered the one on which I played a cane reed. However, after sitting through half a church service I may feel more favorable toward the synthetic.
Best regards,
Jim Lockwood
Rio Rico AZ
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-07-09 14:07
Answering Clarinetguy, yes you're correct. I did submit several articles to the WWBP mag back in "the good old days". I still have copies of all the one's that had my articles in. ESP
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Author: graham
Date: 2009-07-09 17:32
I have to admit to a kind of "prejudice" (I don't think it is quite the right word - perhaps it should be bigotry or chauvinism or stubbornness - but I know what you mean). That is that I avoid mainstream equipment where possible. My only "Big 4" brand instrument is my basset horn; so the brand is mainstream, but only in a non-mainstream instrument. All of my other instruments are non-Big 4. I do not play on Vandoren mouthpieces. Where I play Vandoren reeds, they are Black Masters. My bass clarinet reeds do include Grand Concert (but only used rarely for certain specific characteristics) and for the most part I use less mainstream brands. I have to admit to using Vandoren traditional alto sax reeds on my basset horn, but then playing a sax reed on a clarinet is not particularly conventional either. I mainly use simple metal double screw ligatures from yesteryear.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-07-09 17:34
I don't have any. I'm receptive to any rational suggestion even if it's from someone who is prejudiced.
Bob Draznik
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2009-07-10 16:48
Quote:
I don't have any. I'm receptive to any rational suggestion even if it's from someone who is prejudiced.
Bob Draznik So maybe there's something you consider IR-rational and THAT would be your prejudice!!!
I guess if I had a prejudice, it'd be against new R13s. Of the few new R13s I've playtested in various environments (probably around 15 or so) I remember two that were better than whatever clarinet I had at the time, and so my prejudice would probably be that new R13s are just not worth the price. I'd look for other brands, or USED R13s only.
Alexi
PS - C'mon Buffet Mafia!!! Do your worst!
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2009-07-10 23:32
Hi,
I've been thinking about my comments above as well as those of Graham. Both of us a bit off the norm in certain areas (nothing personal, Graham) as far as some of our choices.
However, the over arching philosophy is "Pick the Big 4 and you'll be OK." Always safe advice particularly if you are inexperienced, not willing or able to ferret out unique as well as off-brand equipment, or satisfied with traditional choice.
But if you are a cheap-skate like me or willing to be adventuresome, there is a huge pile of diamonds-in-the-rough there for the taking. Be aware though that it takes courage to get off the the well traveled paths.
HRL
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-07-11 01:16
You value shoppers...I can understand how you would feel that finding a perfectly good off-brand instrument for a bargain basement price could make you feel that you had made a superior choice. I have also seen players who are equally as proud to have spent as much as can be spent on their instruments.
My parents bargain shopped the entire time I was growing up, and they still do. I never had all the name-brand shoes, clothes, food, etc. that most of my friends had, and I am no worse off today because of it.
However, my grandparents purchased my R-13 for me back in 1984. It was presented to me as a gift from them, and it was years before I knew that they required repayment from my parents down the road. Upon sharing this news, my mom said that if they had been able to choose the instrument, they would have gotten something else to save some $$$.
If I had received another brand of instrument, I don't know that I would have treated it as the treasure I thought it was. Most of that was, of course, perception (prejudice?), as I had a "real" Buffet. Got a couple of college scholarships with it, and if I had a different horn, I wonder if I would have felt as confident, or would have been taken as seriously by the musicians around me (more equipment prejudice?).
I have been part of a family that had stuff that was "good enough" in a corner-cutting way, and I employ that strategy when shopping for everyday items. I have also been a part of and witnessed the purchase of bargains that turned out to be junk, or required more work than they were worth.
But isn't the reputation of the brand name manufacturers something that makes most of their instruments worth the cost? And that reputation alone, rather than the true quality of their product, further fuels the industry prejudices?
Or are you bargain hunters just trying to resist the bandwagon...not because the equipment you purchase is equal to the name brands, but simply because you would never be caught joining the "bandwagon?"
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-07-11 01:23
Bluesparkle, I have had it both ways. I saved up and got myself my first R13 when I was in 9th grade. Back then, it cost me the princely sum of $465 to acquire it. Later on, I tried a bargain hunted Leblanc L7 (or was it an L300?) and later reacquired my R13 to give to my daughter. Since then, I have tried out and enjoyed a Leblanc/Backun Cadenza (which I recently sold), an older R13, and a Ridenour Lyrique. It's not about how much the instruments cost... it's about their unique qualities, mote than anything.
Jeff
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-07-11 01:37
Jeff,
Given the variety of instruments you have owned, it appears that you don't harbor many of the equipment prejudices that some players do. I surely understand the wisdom behind choosing an instrument not on price, but on quality, but how many of us really do that? What about the guy who had a whole thread about all the questionable quality, and sometimes cracked Selmers he kept ordering, yet he never ordered anything other than that brand? Why is there a Buffet Mafia that supposedly has blinders on to anything non-Buffet? Why are others irritated that there is a Buffet Mafia?
My initial question about the prejudices towards our equipment choice was really just to spark discussion to see a couple of things:
a) what items other players own that they are convinved are superior
b) why we have prejudices in the first place against certain brands, model numbers, etc. that probably most of us have never tried.
My prejudices were taught by my teacher, who, in hindsight, was definitely a member of the Buffet Mafia. And although I know now that other brands may provide a higher quality instrument, I would, even 25 years later, feel more secure with the brand I was taught to prefer.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-07-11 02:18
I almost forgot the Rossi in Cocobollo I tried (used, and not a good instrument).
>>>? Why are others irritated that there is a Buffet Mafia?<<<
Actually, I think many of us just like to have fun about that at their expense. ![[rotate]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley25.gif)
My first private teacher (a Buffet player) had students using both Buffets and Selmers. Actually, there were two girls marginally better than me in high school, and both played Selmer 10G clarinets. It wasn't the clarinet... it was that they practiced harder.
Personally, I didn't like the feeling of the 10G, as the keywork reminded me too much of the really bad Bundy I had as a beginner. I liked the shape of the Buffet keys better, and they seemed to fit my fingers better. I just never liked Selmers of that vintage very much. I don't know much about their current crop, but based on Selmerguy's saga, I would be very careful about inspecting the wood on one before I invested in it.
Still, there are a number of other folks on this BB with Selmers who absolutely love them. My most recent teacher was an old Selmer Jazz player, and one of the better clarinetists in my community band plays an old Centered Tone. A couple of our most recent members are cognizant and appreciative of Ridenours, even though they are Buffet players (but not part of the Mafia). ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) My daughter will be starting music school (along with another major) in the fall, and her professor is a Yamaha artist. He sounds great, too. My daughter plays two R13s (Bb and A) as well as an old Normandy Eefer.
As far as I'm concerned, as long as the sound that comes out doesn't scare away small ch9ildren or animals, it's all good. 
Jeff
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Author: fuzzystradjazz
Date: 2009-07-11 02:56
Predjudiced?! Me? Well, so okay - maybe a little...against Buffet (though I'd snatch up a well-priced 13 key simple system Buffet in a heartbeat).
Like many people, I grew up poor. My first wooden clarinet was a Leblanc Lx00 bought used (we couldn't afford a Buffet)...that was 22 years ago, and the clarinet came from a decade or two earlier. In those 22 years, I had two college professors try moving me over to Buffet...one in 1990, one in 2003. Each time, in blind tests (both playing and listening), the professors ended up choosing my L200 as being the best instrument given a pool of several Buffets or Buffet/Leblanc mixes. Each has said that my Leblanc was better than their own Buffet. Why is it that these people were just automatically biased against my Leblanc, and then were so shocked to play it - to the point of being envious of my instrument?! This type of anti-anything-that-isn't-Buffet from the established music scene in my area predjudiced me against Buffet; but it also opened my eyes to avoid elevating Leblanc too high - and to keep an open mind about off-brand names.
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2009-07-11 03:55
Bluesparkle,
You've provoked some thoughtful and insightful discussion simply by sharing your revelations and analysis. Most responders, it appears, have been playing for years without major interruption. I've often gained from their their advice and opinions in other threads.
I'm a returnee, with a lapse of about 35 years. My first playing experience goes back 50. As a boy, I was simply handed a clarinet, a mouthpiece and a reed and a music book. As a young adult, I bought a used Vito (a brand I had never heard of) and some Rico 2's, for starters.
Rico was the only brand known to me. My teacher at that time had me buy a mouthpiece he recommended. He never said anything about my instrument or my reeds or whether the mouthpiece seemed to be right for me (it wasn't). I never asked, and I'm astounded now by that.
When I returned to playing 18 months ago, I bought a used Selmer clarinet because Selmer was a recognizable name.
In the first few weeks of lessons, my teacher introduced me to Vandoren and R13's and Yamahas and mouthpieces made by people I'd never heard of. He plays Buffets, relies mostly on Vandoren reeds and a Brad Behn mouthpiece. His clarinets are great. So your question made me ask myself if I've suddenly developed my own prejudices, based on his preferences. Am I now a Vandoren and Buffet cult member?
It turns out that my need to understand and experience all things clarinet (a futile goal, I know, but a worthy one, I believe) has led me to try all kinds of reeds, though I tend to play Vandorens most often. I bought and fixed up an old Evette & Schaeffer clarinet. I am most comfortable with Buffet keys in general, but Yamaha seems to have a similiar, very comfortable feel. I'd love to try a LeBlanc and a really good Selmer.
Just for fun I bought-- cheap on the auction site--an old Boosey & Hawkes 2-20. It needs work but it's not beyond repair. It plays pretty well even now, though it smells like a dank basement.
I read The Clarinet and this bulletin board, and I've pored over books by Jack Brymer and David Pino and Keith Stein, among others. I've bought dozens of classical CD's, in part to replace old or scarred LP's and tapes. I've acquired a taste for Nielsen and Francaix and many of the other riches of 20th century woodwind composition.
I've bought Rigottis, and Rico Reserves and GCS reeds. I've also tried FOF Gonzalez and Mitchell Lurie reeds. I'm embarrassed to say I've acquired four mouthpieces...all of which I like. I play now on a Richard Hawkins Model B.
Prejudices? I'm working on those, though I despair of ever really being able to make up for lost time. I very well may end up playing on an R13 with Vandoren reeds and a Bonade inverted ligature, as my teacher does. Yet as an older returnee, no longer compelled by youth to defer unquestioningly to authority, I am able to experiment (within reason) and make up my own mind. Better late than never.
Post Edited (2009-07-11 05:46)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-07-11 13:06
Charles, I'd enjoy emailing with you offline as we seem to have similar experiences.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2009-07-11 15:11
Fuzzy,
You may have noticed above that I also play a Leblanc L200. Check out the threads about that instrument. It is a marvelous clarinet that did not cost me a lot and after I had a repad and fine adjustment is my very best.
I play beside a whole of Buffet players in the several communiversity bands in which I play. Never have I been asked what instrument I am using (but the pitch throughout the range is bang on).
One of these days I'll unload my R13 and Selmer 9* and keep my Yamaha CS Custom as the backup for this 30 year old Leblanc.
HRL
PS I still use Advent speakers so that will give you an idea about my biases. I am truly a consummate value shopper.
Post Edited (2009-07-11 17:06)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-07-11 15:30
Yeh, the "only sheep in a pack of Buffet wolves" story - same here. If I were ignorant (or even more than I actually am) I'd seriously doubt there'd be other brands and makes out there. I'm the only to play a non-B clarinet on a non-V mouthpiece, yet my band mates are more often reminded to blend in better with the section than I am, even if I'm only on sub-$100 gear that specific evening.
My teacher - of course - was playing B (still is, I presume, but he isn't my teacher any more) but never tried to convince me to buy something better than I had. He only would take my instrument, put his mouthpiece on and gave it a test lick just to make sure everything was in order. And he was genuinely pleased when I gave him a hand-refurbished Bundy when I had my last lesson. He tried it and shockingly sounded like himself, at least through the potatoes in my ears.
Biased? Moi? Well, I wholeheartedly despise monopolies of any kind and always think there may be more than just one or two players in any given market. And the market is huge, and there are many hidden gems in it.
--
Ben
(Marigaux RS, Vito VSP and Noblet Artist in Bb, Amati in C, Bundy Alto and Artley Bass)
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-07-11 22:55
I wonder, if after all of these years of playing nothing but Buffets, I would choose another Buffet in a blind test, simply because of a more familiar key structure and feel, perhaps. Maybe it's the recognizable touch that makes us continually choose one brand over another and promotes a bias for a particular type of instrument.
My older son started band a few years back, and I refused to buy anything but a Buffet for him to get him started. I had not really started back playing very much, nor was I reading this board, so I still thought there were no other real choices. He's got a nice B-12 that he started on and now uses for marching band, and a C-13 for concert season. I had no idea that I was part of the Mafia.
My younger son says he wants to play clarinet when he starts band next year. Since my older one won't share and neither will I, I branched out and got him a Ridenour 147, which I had my local tech spiff up into good playing condition. I will say that the horn plays nicely in tune, but an examination of the workmanship just doesn't appear to equal the B-12.
I am considering a Ridenour C clarinet for use in my church orchestra. However, after seeing the 147, I'm just not sure that I will feel as confident about it as I would with one of the big brands.
Change usually doesn't bother me, but I can't seem to make myself feel confident about any other kind of instrument, especially when it means shelling out some real cash. My prejudice FOR Buffet goes more deeply than I thought.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-07-12 00:35
The Ridenour 147 was his first model that he made under that series. The follow-ups, the Arioso and the Lyriques are of much higher quality. I play his 576 BC, which is of excellent quality. His current beginner clarinet is the Lyrique 146, which is ABS, with a hard rubber barrel and a decent mouthpiece. The players who have used his C clarinets (including professionals) are quite happy with them, from what I have heard.
Jeff
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Author: graham
Date: 2009-07-13 12:45
Staying away from the mainstream brands can involve trying to pick up bargains, or paying very high prices, or going for rarity alone (often associated with age).
My bass clarinet set up illustrates two of these. It is a "professional" Amati (inexpensive) with a Pillinger custom mouthpiece (on the expensive side) using Steuer reeds (expensive) and a metal ligature (dirt cheap).
As for B flat and A clarinets, I have a few, but the youngest is more than 50 years old, and the others are considerably older.
There are many motivations in not buying mainstream brands or models, but my (perverse) motivation extends to wanting to be different, which is a very different motivation to wanting to conform.
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2009-07-13 14:40
Graham wrote:
>> ...my (perverse) motivation extends to wanting to be different, which is a very different motivation to wanting to conform.>>
I was always taught that these motivations were EXACTLY THE SAME.
Both of them are equivalent to 'being at the mercy of what other people do.'
Tony
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Author: lrooff
Date: 2009-07-15 18:51
I've had a variety of different instruments over the years, ranging from the BH Edgeware on which I started playing to the pair of R-13 clarinets I picked up at the Army's property disposal warehouse in Germany back in 1969 for the princely sum of $6 each. Starting out with prejudices or preconceptions about an instrument can keep us from enjoying hidden gems or leave us stuck with something that has a great name and a lousy sound. While the chances of getting good quality are generally higher with a name brand product, they have their duds as well, and smaller companies with great stuff can be overlooked because everyone is following the crowd like sheep and never try it.
If we want the best, it can pay to keep our eyes and ears open and be willing to try things we've never tried before, whether it be in musical instruments or any other aspects of life. For example, I recently purchased a box of music and accessories. While going through it, I found an old Fox bassoon reed, one of their early plastic models. It has a split running down the middle and I was going to toss it. On a lark, I ran some superglue down the split and tried it out... Much to my surprise, it had the best sound of any reed I'd ever used!
It's too easy to overlook things when we start out with preconceptions. People often look down on Boosey-Hawks clarinets, but their better models have an Eb side key that I'd love to find on my Buffet. And I played a solo part on my Bundy alto clarinet last year at our winter concert that got rave complements from the "Buffet mafia" in our community band who'd never noticed that I was using a plastic horn. Its upper register has a sort of "saxophone" timbre that I don't get on a wooden horn, and it made the difference in the solo. Similarly, I've had other clarinetists complement the tone of the Vox clarinet in my collection, thinking only that it's from the Vox company and not realizing it's actually a Vito stencil. :-)
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Author: Tinselworm
Date: 2009-07-16 17:04
I resisted the Buffet draw for a very long time. I have no idea why except that I'd heard one being played by a bandmate and hated it. Turned out she was just a lousy player. I eventually ended up with an E11 (best I could afford at the time) when I had to part with my beloved Selmer CT and really liked it. Still got it, I use it as my spare.
I was a Selmer devotee for a long, long time. When I decided to upgrade the E11 a few months ago, I'd been lusting after Selmers, comparing this and that. Absolutely convinced I wanted another one. Finally got the chance to try a 10G and whaddya know - I hated it. Really, really strongly. Ended up with a Leblanc, which hasn't been entirely issue-free, but I love it.
I suppose equipment-wise I'm quite prejudiced against Yamahas. I know they're solid instruments and some people rate them very highly, but I just can't get it out of my head that they're a motorcycle manufacturer, y'know? I tried the CX and it just seemed completely soul-less to me - presumably because I'd already decided in my head that it was going to be so.
Bizarrely, one of the best sounding and best feeling clarinets I had was an Artley. I don't even remember what model, it was about 20 years ago, but was their intermediate wooden step-up. The intonation was spot on, it sounded rich and warm - it was a really, really nice instrument. I'd be interested to play another one at some point to see if I'm just seeing it through the rose-tinted things perched on the end of my nose.
Reed wise, I'm really prejudiced against Vandorens. I've never got on with them, don't like them at all, although whether that's actual genuine prejudice or good sense from personal experience, I don't know. But it wouldn't even cross my mind to buy one.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2009-07-16 17:19
Tinselworm wrote:
> I suppose equipment-wise I'm quite prejudiced against Yamahas.
> I know they're solid instruments and some people rate them very
> highly, but I just can't get it out of my head that they're a
> motorcycle manufacturer, y'know?
Actually you got it backwards - they're a musical instrument company (starting with reed organs 122 years ago) that happened to start making motorcycles 55 years ago because they had diversified into alloys (after also diversifying into furniture - everything was related to making keyboard instruments) - thus the 3 crossed tuning forks as a logo.
See http://www.global.yamaha.com/about/corporate/history/
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-07-16 17:35
Let's get one thing straight..the R13 clarinet has been favored by orchestral players in the USA and Canada for about 40 or 50 years. Up until the 1950's in the North American market the Selmer reigned supreme. As to quality I think a finely made Yamaha or Selmer is just as good if not better. I now use CSG Yamaha small bore clarinets and have not complained about one element yet. The CSG is more a throwback to the small bore clarinet. The only clarinets on the market that are like them are the small bore Leblanc and Selmer Recital ....
As to the whole R13 thing I chalk up alot of it to bias towards thinking outside the box. However, I do like alot of things about these clarinets...I just have yet to find a set of R13s that suit my own personal needs.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-07-16 17:37
The motorcycle and clarinet division are in the same building..
Just joking
David Dow
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-07-16 17:38
Funny I seem only able to get Vandorens to work..the Gozalez reeds never did a thing for me.
David Dow
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Author: lrooff
Date: 2009-07-16 18:54
"Bizarrely, one of the best sounding and best feeling clarinets I had was an Artley. I don't even remember what model, it was about 20 years ago, but was their intermediate wooden step-up. The intonation was spot on, it sounded rich and warm - it was a really, really nice instrument. I'd be interested to play another one at some point to see if I'm just seeing it through the rose-tinted things perched on the end of my nose."
That's why we need to set our biases aside when looking at instruments. I suspect that if someone were to take half a dozen high-end clarinets by various manufacturers, tape over the logos, and make them available for testing "consumer reports" style (and, perhaps, blindfold the clarinetists so they wouldn't recognize the style of keys and stuff), very few of us could tell by the sound and feel who made which one. We might easily decide that we like this one or that one better, but we would likely be surprised when the tape came off.
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Author: Tinselworm
Date: 2009-07-16 23:18
Mark, that's really interesting about Yamaha - thanks! I know my prejudice against them is totally irrational, but then I suppose prejudices are quite irrational by their very nature.
I suppose when I hear 'Yamaha' I think... machining, precision, all those kind of words. Which I know technically are good things but... oh, I know what I'm trying to say, but it just ain't coming out right
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2009-07-17 13:50
I left the Buffet mafia a few years ago, but I have to say it took an effort of will to go out and try /all/ the Big 4. A good friend of mine had one of these 'unusual' clarinets, and it sowed a seed in my mind which finally led to my moving to Henri Selmer's camp...
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The Clarinet Pages
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