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Re: Ridenours on order

Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2015-07-31 20:47

Decision and bumps along the way. I only test drove the 576 because of a dead refrigerator and a need to put in an iron fence to keep the javelinas from approaching us on the porch. Could not really afford the 576 either at that point but was loathe to give up the goal. So I got the six month payment plan.

Anyhow, I know from past experience that I do my best judging going from playing a better one for a while and then suddenly playing the worse one, which I did. My first impression was that the high range on the 576 was clearly easier. Intonation very, very similar to the surprisingly good Bundy, in the two octaves I am currently able to play. (I had earlier test driven a Yamaha 255 whose intonation was unworkable.)

So I stuck with just the 576 for a few days and then went back to the Bundy. To my inexperienced ears, the tone frankly was not that different (perhaps due to an immature embouchure.) And once again, the intonation to my ears was very similar. And the high range on the Bundy just required a LOT more work, more than my current level of embouchure can successfully deal with.

The supplied mouthpiece was a different story. I just could not get any air through it, and found it almost unplayable with the reed I'm using (legere 2.5 for now.) My Fobes Debut was much easier to play on, allowing me to get some air into the instrument. I took both to a lesson and the person helping me agreed with my assessments, about both the clarinet and the mouthpiece. So the mouthpiece went back.

I'm pretty sure this will be more than adequate for the rest of my clarinet career, into and out of extremes of humidity and altitude, and many outdoor venues in all kinds of weather, from wind and rain to well over 100 degrees in the sun.

A question for those still reading: I am flat by a good ten to 15 cents, on both instruments. Is this embouchure immaturity (sound is quite reasonably good and I have a picky ear) or am I just someone who needs a shorter barrel? When I developed focal dystonia on horn, I had to learn to play the instrument with mostly air and very little chops, and my pitch also fell on that instrument although I can still get it up to pitch with all the slides pushed in. So I'm not sure if this is just a new (necessary) habit on my part or if I should just wait a while longer before taking any action wrt equipment.

I find that I'm tending towards literature that I have loved on violin (ex-pro on that instrument,) things like Summertime and Misty and that ilk of mildly jazzy melodic tunes that I can be liberal on my interpretation. I admit to liking vibrato in that application, although as a horn player I'm fully capable of playing without it.

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