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 Low A note sounds dull
Author: golfnclarinet 
Date:   2010-09-15 04:19

I recently acquired late 1950s Noblet as my backup.
Horn was FULLY restored two years ago, as seller told me.
Keys and woods look new. Great job.

Owner was seller's uncle who used to be jazz player.

Horn is as tight as my R13. No leak.
When I play low A, it sounds very dull.
With register key opened(high E), no problem.
Low G,B sounds good.
Low Bb sounds bit dull but not as much as A sounds.

With new reed, different mpc, same result.

Any thought?

Thanks in advance.

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 Re: Low A note sounds dull
Author: Paul Aviles 
Date:   2010-09-15 10:20

Ring too high?

Perhaps the one-and-one Bb linkage is keeping the top pad from closing all the way?




..................Paul Aviles



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 Re: Low A note sounds dull
Author: kdk 
Date:   2010-09-15 11:47

Almost anything's possible, but if it were a leaky pad _above_ the second RH finger it would probably make the G stuffy and unstable as well. Likewise, if a pad clearance lower on the instrument - e.g. the pad that you close to play low F/clarion C - were not high enough, G and possibly even G-sharp would be affected. If A (mostly) and B-flat (less) are the only notes affected, it most probably is because of the size or placement of the tone hole just under the low A fingering (the one closed by your RH ring finger). If E5 (the twelfth above) is good, there may not be much you can do about it. The typical fix, in my experience, would be to undercut the 3rd finger hole a little, but you risk raising and brightening E5 and F5. If you don't want to risk that, you may need to learn to get the best resonance you can from the two chalumeau notes by "voicing" them differently and accept it as an idiosyncrasy of the instrument. Keep in mind, too, that a reed that doesn't respond well tends to exaggerate differences in tone color and resistance among notes on the instrument. More vibrant reeds minimize the differences; more resistant ones tend to emphasize them.

Karl

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 Re: Low A note sounds dull
Author: sonicbang 
Date:   2010-09-15 22:23

When I played on an Buffet BC20 A it had some notes which sounded worse than others. Pads were good, needless to say. I played long fortissimo notes in octaves 30 minutes every day. The problem was solved in half a year. If nobody played on that clarinet maybe it needs a running in periode. don't know if it helps to you since it is not an easy solution.

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 Re: Low A note sounds dull
Author: salzo 
Date:   2010-09-16 14:56

Check and see if there is any electric tape in the tone hole.
I generally put tape down there because I always find my 4th space E to sound thin-the tape gives the E more resistance, and lowers the pitch. When students or colleagues play my horn, the low A is often "dull"-it isn't for me. Which makes me conclude for whatever reason, my embouchure or air placement requires me to personalize those notes-and my "improvements" do not sound well when others are playing my instrument.
Check and see if there is any tape down there.

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