 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-04-24 17:10
I think we can all agree that there's plenty of accessories for clarinet that don't exactly live up to their hype for the majority of us. We may differ on what those accessories are, but I suspect concur that they exist.
That said, if you were to list your top few things for clarinet with the best value, what would they be? Please calculate value by dividing purchase price into your subjective worth of the item, expressed privately by you as a number that's relative and correlated with your perception of its worth. What this implies is that the cost of an item doesn't alone qualify or exclude it from your list. You may find your Chedeville $750 mouthpiece a better value than your reed clipper, or you may find your repurposed "potato chip bag close" ligature, at $.75 great, or a terrible items relative to its worth.
Some of my favorite products are my Vandoren M15, the ATG reed adjustment system, the Reedgeek and Vandoren Reed Resurfacer, and my Vandoren M/O ligature.
ATG represented a paradigm shift for me in reed adjustment, and the Reedgeek and Vandoren Reed Resurfacer provide reusuable (value) and portable ways to make reed adjustments.
As a true believer that most ligature hype isn't worth its price, I normally wouldn't include a ligature on my list. I'm just a huge fan of the product's quick tightening/untightening mechanism, achieved through a double threaded screw. It makes trying and adjusting reeds faster.
A final non-clarinet specific shoutout goes to sightreadingfactory.com. Too many students stink at sight reading because they don't do enough of it. This small annual subscription site produces random musical passages, of varied length, difficult, key, and meter, for most instruments, that should be part of anyone's training. Smartmusic.com, another web-based tool, more pricey, but even much more feature rich, deserves mention as well.
I bear no financial affliation with any of these vendors, nor should you (and not disclose that) with the items you mention.
What makes your list?????
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Author: Dan Oberlin ★2017
Date: 2015-04-24 17:37
If I divide "subjective worth" by "purchase price", this BBoard fares very well!
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Author: TomS
Date: 2015-04-24 18:28
String ligature, foam rubber thumb rest, Luyben ligature, tuning rings (modified Yamaha and Buffet), Vandoren M13 (non lyre), old Korg AT-12 tuners ... (cheapest to most expensive) ... another ATG may be in the future.
Tom
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-04-24 20:47
I'd like to ammend my list and make a point at the same time. IMHO the greastest clarinet "accessories" are, and will always be the classical 100 year old study guides (and their use) that have formed the backbone of training--but of course there's the fun stuff too.
And Peter, I wrote "....your subjective worth."
And you wrote "Worth is in the eye of the beholder surely..?"
Really, (sarcasm), such lists, let alone comments here are subject to the opinion of the writer?? Gee, thanks for pointing that out (not).
If this was the American TV Show Jeopardy your words would be the clue to the answer "what's 37 bytes wasted?"
It's fine to have (dissenting) opinion. It's quite another to have a track record here of quips here that are borderline snide (need examples?)--now with the added feature of boderline redundant.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-04-24 21:34
I'm not sure about the math part of this, but BY FAR the BEST accessory over last twenty (or even thirty) years is the Protec Gel Thumb Rest cover. After having used one for only about four months, I didn't even recognize my thumb - the big ugly, caloused hump had almost completely disappeared! And now after about six months I wouldn't touch a clarinet without putting one on the thumb rest.
At five bucks this simply has to be in EVERYONE'S clarinet case - period.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-04-24 23:38
Blayman clarinet stand. That's been the one constant for many many MANY years.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2015-04-25 02:12
I like the M/o ligature by Vandoren greatly. Over the last year it has really helped make legato very easy. I also use the Doctor's product clarinet oil and that has really helped my clarinets in response et.al.
OTHER than that my Bonade ligature as still as fine as the day purchased 10 years ago..for clarinet players these are a good investment provided they are working properly.
David Dow
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Author: MSK
Date: 2015-04-25 05:35
LaVoz Reedguard for four reeds
foam thumbrest cushion
K & M stand
fitball wedge shaped air filled seat cushion (chairs at our rehearsal space are awful)
BG microfiber swab
mechanical pencil
Rovner Mark II ligature
Camelbak podium chill reuseable water bottle - it doesn't spill and has a nipple
Homemade tote bag custom made for the right proportions to use as gig bag
Korg Tuner
These are things that get taken to nearly every rehearsal and have been in use for at least 5 years. I might add my Fobes San Francisco CF+ mouthpiece, but it has only been a favorite for two years. There have been other favorites before it that were cheaper.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2015-04-25 20:24
In order of indispensability:
Ridenour ATG system
Reedgard II and IV
Vandoren Optimum ligature--silver plated
Power Barrel by The Doctor's Products--Chrome
Hamilton 2-piece Orchestra stand with bag
Wooden snap-type clothespins
Bore Doctor by The Doctor's Products
K&M clarinet stand
Mighty Bright Duet LED double-header music stand light
Korg electronic tuner
Mechanical pencils
GEM silk swabs
Using the chrome Power Barrel and Kelly Mouthpieces aluminum-plated bell during comedic gigs elicits a lot of "What kind of instrument is THAT?" questions from audience members.
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2015-04-25 21:00
My heavy canvass "gig bag" from Bohndell Sails that holds all the other good stuff.
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Author: MartyMagnini
Date: 2015-04-26 00:51
Paul,
I can't answer for bmgar, but I use teflon tape on my mouthpiece cork. I believe I got that tip from this board a few years ago. It holds as securely as the cork, but makes switching mouthpieces a breeze - even a tight fit comes off with almost no effort, and your reed/ligature stays in place. I highly recommend it.
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2015-04-26 02:16
Paul,
I have it with me all the time in case of a tenon cork failure or if a pad suddenly starts to leak (some people use plastic wrap in this emergency) and I don't have the time to replace or re-seat it.
It also comes in handy as a quick fix for screws that get loose and constantly work out of their threads.
It's useful, also, for temporarily silencing metal-to-metal problems, for example to cover the pins in the LH pinky keys or when thin bumper corks falls off.
B.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-04-26 02:36
Teflon Guys,
Thanks !!!! Great suggestions.
On the left hand pinky stuff though I just have a tech replace the metal tenons with SOLID teflon pins. Not quite as silent, but quiet enough AND forever.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2015-04-26 03:48
WhitePlainsFave, you need to relax... I'm not sure where your animosity is coming from, my comment is vaild and not snide (as you put it). Yes I've been guilty of posting hasty comments but I've never set out to undermine anyone or be dissenting. I try and be honest but I won't be posting anymore because I'm afraid you'll get offended if music was actually discussed (that was sarcasm!) ;-)
Peter Cigleris
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2015-04-26 04:38
By far the most important accessory I've had (and I'm somewhat reluctant to give this information away) is called the "Ackawatha", which is the rarest of the old, original ligatures for jazz players in America. Oddly enough it was produced in the UK. So far as I know there are none made today, and because eagles are protected in the US, the feathers essential to the design are virtually impossible to obtain legally. Without them, the ligature lacks the special 'lift' and power to the sound, which distinguished the originals. There is a good illustration of it in a clarinet book published in 1961 by MacGibbon & Kee, London, on page 66.
As far as the price....you couldn't afford it. And it's worth every penny.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2015-04-26 04:40)
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Author: GLHopkins
Date: 2015-04-28 08:06
Hands down the best item I've bought for clarinet is the ATG system. The company I work for had some first generation ATG systems with the VHS tape and funky red plastic sanding block. I bought three of them for $7 each out of the bargain bin. One I gave away to a friend, one I keep at work and the other at home. It can truly turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Nothing else has impacted my clarinet playing in the same way. It takes worrying about reeds out of the equation for the most part.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-04-29 01:57
This is the teflon tape I might find the plumber's aisle of a (US) Home Depot or Lowes right?
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2015-04-29 03:09
That's the stuff. A thousand uses, and plumbers find it useful as well.
Tony F.
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Author: NB
Date: 2015-04-29 06:40
>1. A good pair of ears
A pair of good ears!
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Author: TomS
Date: 2015-04-30 00:10
Ditto on Teflon tape, I forgot how useful ... a roll in my case, always. I have some on a trill key pad now, until I can made repairs.
Tom
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2015-05-01 01:44
EAR PLUGS.
an eraser
a pencil
chromatic tuner w. metronome
A Fenix (tm) flashlight
Microtech Ultratech or ZT Ken Onion knife
And, depending where I am playing, a Mitch Rosen IWB
Oh, and a pack of prophylactics
(name the movie reference and get 10% off your next custom barrel order)
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: ned
Date: 2015-05-01 05:29
''Oh, and a pack of prophylactics''
Oh, that's interesting...
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2015-05-01 07:21
Uhh, Ned, the idea is to identify the source
That the statement alludes to, as in a book or movie.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: ned
Date: 2015-05-01 08:16
Sorry Allan - we seem to be on different pages.
My Collins Concise Dictionary defines prophylactic as: 1/ (something) done or used to ward off disease, or, 2/ condom(US).
Part of what you say''...identify the source That the statement alludes to...'' is puzzling.
You've got me I'm afraid. Perhaps you are referring to something peculiarly American?
chrs,
JK
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Author: Simon Aldrich
Date: 2015-05-02 00:09
I agree with Dr. Segal. The most important accessory in a clarinet case is a set of ear plugs.
As clarinetists, we are in the most dangerous position in the orchestra.
20 or 30 years down the road, nobody will remember how your reed responded or how dark your sound was on a particular occasion. What they might notice however is that you can't quite hear them when they talk to you, a result of decades of playing without earplugs in front of trumpets in the symphonic works of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mahler, etc.
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Author: ned
Date: 2015-05-02 04:59
OK now I'm with you.
Have seen Dr Strangelove a number of times. It's the funniest film about nuclear war ever made, I'd say.
Well now - American army ration packs are quite generous. Reminds me of the time I was in SVN and we were first given American, single meal, ration packs. An American was nearby, and marvelled how huge the Australian ration packs were in comparison.
One of our blokes retorted with "Yeah...well ours have to last all bloody day mate!'' Condoms were not included...and as this is a clarinet BB...I should return to the topic of the thread.
There were no clarinet accessories included either...
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