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Re: Stubbins clarinet

Author: donald
Date: 2013-10-11 00:51

Hi,
interesting to read this thread again, and to see the mix up above- Paul King (who posted as "clari") had met me several times, had coffee with me and even car pooled with me in 2000 once a week for a whole school year- but didn't realise it was me posting AND that the Wurlitzer clarinets i mentioned were ones i had bought from Ken Wilson some years previously...

meanwhile- I would like to note once more that....
"the SK mechanism is not quite the same as the "register exchange" mechanisms of other design (and used on student bass clarinets). On "RE" mechanisms it is an "either-or" design... one hole for reg key, one for the throat B flat.
On the SK mechanism it is "one hole for reg key, two for the throat B flat", so if the mechanism goes out of adjustment you can still play the clarinet- only the Bflat will be a little out of tune."
... and that many people are unable to tell the difference between the two. The Leblanc clarinet mentioned by Ed Lowry is NOT the SK mechanism (though, on Ebay the seller has eroneously described it as such). Leblanc made soprano clarinets with an exchange mechanism in addition to the SK and the two are often confused.
Meanwhile- the advantage of the SK is its simplicity and reliability. I have played clarinets with this type of mechanism where it appeared to make little difference, but also clarinets where it made a huge improvement- so obviously the size/placement of the vents etc makes a huge difference.
A fine player here in NZ owns a Tosca A clarinet that has had (what is essentially) an SK mechanism retro-fitted by a craftsman in Switzerland. It made a HUGE difference to the throat B flat. This mechanism resembled the newer Wurlitzer one linked above.
There is a close up photo of the SK mechanism in the Jack Brymer book- but even he mistakenly describes it as having seperate holes for the register key and throat B flat, which it clearly does not.
dn

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Stubbins clarinet new

anannie

2005-03-05 04:29