 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: metalheadsimon
Date: 2011-05-30 13:00
Hi everyone,
Through research accross the year following this board and reading Albert Rice's 'the clarinet in the classical period' i have noticed many debates and ideas that the material that the clarinet is made of has an affect on the tone and sound that the clarinet produces.
Has anyone here particularly had any experience with either rosewood clarinets or ebonite clarinets, and if so what were your experiences tto that of standard grenadilla wood?
Thank you very much for your time guys
Simon Cowton
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-05-30 14:18
I haven't played any rosewood models but have played several ebonite ones. A good example would be a couple of my B&H clarinets. I have Edgware models in both ebonite and grenadilla and as far as I can tell they play exactly the same.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ursa
Date: 2011-06-01 03:31
I have six different models of soprano clarinets in my collection--two in ebonite, one in wood, two in ABS plastic, and one in nickel alloy. All six are sufficiently different from each other in their engineering and acoustical design that no valid conclusions can be made about the material affecting the tone simply because of all the other technical aspects that must be considered.
Playing in dance halls, beer tents, and outdoors as I do, my main consideration in choosing a clarinet to use is the ability of the instrument to function properly and deliver the intended sonic effect to the audience in the performance environment at hand. Most of the time, a non-wooden clarinet will be the instrument of choice due to the risk of a wooden instrument cracking or dimensionally shifting.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2011-06-01 13:42
In the "for what its worth" department, I had a poll question about this on my web site for woodwind players. Here is what they said:
1....material doesn't matter.......12
2..................................6
3..................................13
4..................................23
5....material matters a lot..........47
There have been numerous blind tests indicating that all other things being equal, what something is made of does not matter. But judging from this little unscientific poll, many find that counterintuitive.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-06-01 14:59
johng wrote:
>
> There have been numerous blind tests indicating that all other
> things being equal, what something is made of does not matter.
> But judging from this little unscientific poll, many find that
> counterintuitive.
>
There tends to be a lot of bias about these types of things. There have certainly been plenty of arguments in this forum regarding construction material. Every now and then someone even claims that the material the keys are plated with makes a difference in the sound, which is about the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-06-02 01:57
Here's what I think....in order of importance...
1) Mouthpiece/reed combo.
2) Barrel - material not important (I recently found I can put a good barrel on a bundy and transform it into a MUCH better clarinet...which leads me to believe that a barrel is VERY important)
3) Overall acoustical design (Internal dimensions, tuning, evenness from note to note)
4) Material - but moreso that it will withstand whatever you need it for.
For #4, I'm thinking more along the lines of where you intend to play it. I play clarinet in MANY different temperatures, environments, humidities, etc. So for my material I want something that is NOT wood. I would have to limit my choices. For others, they play in practice rooms, indoor concert halls, and nice weather. So wood IS an option. And there's a whole lot more wooden clarinets to choose from to FIND that acoustical design that fits you than NON-wooden. Plus, it's tried and true.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it". So you'll see wooden clarinets being top choice. My opinion, if we are looking to all these "superior" types of rubber for mouthpieces, and it's what many people consider to be the MOST important part of playing and tone-quality, why have companies not saved money, time, and at least TRIED some professional level rubber clarinets? They use rubber to produce cheap student clarinets. But they insist on using a wood that needs to be aged, isn't plentiful, and is harder to machine to make the "pro" clarinet. It's wierd. I just wish more people would at least TRY. Buffet took a step in the right direction with their greenline clarinets. Trying something new, putting professional care into it, and it paid off.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-06-02 02:17
sfalexi wrote:
> "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". So you'll see wooden
> clarinets being top choice. My opinion, if we are looking to
> all these "superior" types of rubber for mouthpieces, and it's
> what many people consider to be the MOST important part of
> playing and tone-quality, why have companies not saved money,
> time, and at least TRIED some professional level rubber
> clarinets?
Some companies used to offer pro clarinets in hard rubber. For example, the B&H Imperial 926 was available in hard rubber and was commonly issued to military band stationed in tropical climates. I'd love to see one of the major manufacturers come out with a hard rubber pro clarinet. For that matter I'd like to see a major manufacturer offer a metal pro clarinet again.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: justme
Date: 2011-06-02 02:54
SteveG_CT said: " Some companies used to offer pro clarinets in hard rubber. For example, the B&H Imperial 926 was available in hard rubber and was commonly issued to military band stationed in tropical climates. I'd love to see one of the major manufacturers come out with a hard rubber pro clarinet. For that matter I'd like to see a major manufacturer offer a metal pro clarinet again."
From the Hanson Clarinet Web Site:
Bi-thermal Reinforced Grenadilla (BTR)
A layered blend of mixture of Grenadilla and ebonite which affords all tonal qualities of the best blackwood and the durability of ebonite. A fabulous grain naturally occurs during the blending. BTR is our manufacturing name for the material. BTR stands for Bi-thermal reinforcement which is part of the production process.
Now Check this out:
http://www.hansonclarinets.com/Hanson_Clarinet_Company._Making_Music_in_Great_Britain./T_series_prices_and_features.html
On this page if you'll scroll down, look at the their top of the line T7 models.
You'll find both a reinforced grenadilla and a titanium (metal) clarinet.
The metal clarinet is their most expensive.
Also, lets not forget the Lyrique Clarinets...
Just Me
"A critic is like a eunuch: he knows exactly how it ought to be done."
CLARINET, n.
An instrument of torture operated by a person with cotton in his ears. There are two instruments that are worse than a clarinet -- two clarinets
Post Edited (2011-06-02 02:56)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kontra
Date: 2011-06-02 03:03
It is my belief that the thing that affects your sound is not the material, but other factors such as mouthpiece/reed choice, tone holes and bore, and the barrel. The only time the material should come in to play, in my opinion, is when you have to decide which clarinet to play in which situation such as outdoor gigs etc.
Being in high school, the common belief is that to be a good player you have to play Vandoren blue box reeds, with a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece, Rovner dark ligature, and the clarinet has to be wood and it has to be a Buffet. The last two things on that list seem to be what clarinet players don't grow out of.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-06-02 13:34
I'm aware of the Hanson and Lyrique clarinets, but what I said was that I hoped one of the major manufacturers (i.e Yamaha, Buffet, Selmer, or Leblanc) would reintroduce a hard rubber or metal model. Due to rampant brand bias I doubt a hard rubber or metal pro clarinet would become widely accepted until one of the big 4 produces it.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-06-02 20:22
SteveG_CT wrote:
> Due to rampant brand bias I doubt a hard rubber or
> metal pro clarinet would become widely accepted until one of
> the big 4 produces it.
I feel the same way. I think it's great that the smaller companies are doing it, and they seem to have pretty good success stories, but until one of the big 4 do it, I don't think the word will REALLY get out and be taken seriously. It seems like the big four (if EVEN all four) is what's carried in most music stores that parents bring their kids to and professors have around their towns. So I'd really like for one of those companies to take it to that level. My thoughts are that Leblanc would be the first to go and try the professional model hard rubber. They tend to have some wacky designs with Vito clarinets (CRAZY colored ones!), have embraced and worked with designing new clarinets with morrie backun (including the bliss 320 which is a hard rubber clarinet), and I feel that they are pretty much upgrading their line overall. HOPEFULLY, they are considering and taking notes on the response of the leblanc bliss composite to see if it's worth trying a professional horn with that material. I would think Buffet is gonna stick with greenline, selmer...who knows, and yamaha is sticking with wood for now.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-06-02 20:47
In my book, material has an effect insofar as it will influence (in whatever way) the player who is holding the instrument. That does not mean that wood is superior to metal or inferior to a composite or hard rubber, it just means that if the player feels comfortable with his or her choice, they'll tend to play better.
So I'd subscribe to a "2nd tier influence" theory.
FWIW my best (overall) horn has a wooden body, a hard rubber mouthpiece, a fabric ligature and plain old plastic barrel and bell....go figure.
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
