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 Clarinet synth
Author: JonTheReeds 
Date:   2015-09-10 15:37

I've had a good Google and can't find any electric wind controller that has clarinet fingering - flute yes; oboe yes; and of course sax; but no clarinet

Any ideas? (spot the clarinet player who has had complaints from the neighbours!)

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The older I get, the better I was

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 00:12

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 00:15

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 00:25

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 00:31

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 00:43

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: clarnibass 
Date:   2015-09-11 11:33

>> Anyhow, you can make the electric soprano sax sound like a clarinet, more or less.... <<

I think he wants just the opposite, a midi instrument with clarinet fingering, not necessarily an instrument that sounds like a clarinet. It could be made to sound the same regardless of clarinet or saxophone fingerings.

>> DIY something like this fellow did <<

Looks like a pickup. This works great when the "acoustic" sound of the clarinet isn't a problem, which sounds like it is in the OP. I use a pickup with effects, sometimes not sounding like a clarinet at all, when the "acoutic" sound isn't loud enough to be heard or that it doesn't matter if it is. I don't think that's what he wants.

>> I am just wondering why it needs to get any better than this <<

It doesn't... but it's not a question of better.

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 18:00

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 18:21

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: JonTheReeds 
Date:   2015-09-11 19:30

clarnibass wrote

> Silversorcerer wrote
>> Anyhow, you can make the electric soprano sax sound like a clarinet, more or less.... <<

> I think he wants just the opposite, a midi instrument with clarinet fingering, not necessarily an instrument that sounds like a clarinet. It could be made to sound the same regardless of clarinet or saxophone fingerings.


That's it! Apologies if I didn't explain myself very well. It's the fingering that is important so I can practise scales and exercises without annoying the neighbours. The actual sound is not that important as long as it is clear and audible

I've tried playing quietly, putting a sock in the bell, blowing without a reed. I have even got into the car and driven out to a secluded spot, but that's not as convenient early morning as it would be if I could play at home

Nothing really works so I have been looking for a synth that has clarinet fingering. For the moment I have somewhere at work that I can play at lunchtime for half an hour, so can concentrate on tone quality then, but need more air time getting the patterns into the fingers

--------------------------------------
The older I get, the better I was

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Mark Charette 
Date:   2015-09-11 20:24

Notes (pitches) are generally independent of the keys pressed on a midi instrument. You just need to create a new patch.

Depending on the complexity of the synth you may be able to imitate a lot of unconventional fingerings ...

I have a hex pickup and synth for my Les Paul. I can change tunings, split strings by position or pitch to be different instruments, have groups of strings send to different virtual amps, almost ad infinitum (perhaps nauseum :-) )

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: Silversorcerer 
Date:   2015-09-11 20:39

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: KenJarczyk 
Date:   2015-09-11 21:24

I find my ancient Yamaha WX7 works wonderfully well.

Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: MichaelW 
Date:   2015-09-11 21:59

As far as I can see Akai as well as Yamaha (see the resp. homepages) offer EWIs with a multitude of built in midi sounds and alternative fingerings, all with octave transposition like flute, Oboe or sax, but none with duodecimal (clarinet- like) "overblowing".

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: JonTheReeds 
Date:   2015-09-12 00:04

MichaelW wrote
> As far as I can see Akai as well as Yamaha (see the resp. homepages) offer EWIs with a multitude of built in midi sounds and alternative fingerings, all with octave transposition like flute, Oboe or sax, but none with duodecimal (clarinet- like) "overblowing".

Yes, that's the conclusion I've come to. There's nothing that has the keywork/fingering of a clarinet

If I were business orientated I would think about creating such an instrument - although I'm not sure how a big a market there would be

Just thinking in terms of professional clarinet players who need to practise in their hotel or at home it seems there would be a large enough customer base

It's one of those questions: is there nothing on the market because there are not enough potential customers (with oboe/sax/flute it's relatively easy to create one instrument that covers octave transpositions, but clarinet is apart from the crowd); or has no one thought of it - the former I suspect

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The older I get, the better I was

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: fskelley 
Date:   2015-09-12 00:26

I have considered but never had a strong enough need for practicing in my car. Anybody done this? Would the sound carry far? Would it depend on the vehicle? Windows up engine running? Would it be an invitation to a mugging (obviously would depend on where you were and how vulnerable and unaware of surroundings you seemed)? (Could it be any worse than napping at a highway rest stop?)

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: clarnibass 
Date:   2015-09-12 11:12

>> If the acoustic sound is a "problem" then it must be a problem because there are either ears present to hear it, or a microphone getting it. Recording with a direct line out certainly would not have this problem. <<

Yes, that's what I meant.

>> The question of why should a clarinet be more or different than a clarinet is a legitimate question. It is at the foundation of any question that seeks to use a "clarinet like" interface to make other sounds. <<

You only said "better", not "different", which is a different question :)
As far as why it SHOULD be better or different, the answer is simple... it shouldn't. I mean, it doesn't have to be.

I can only give the reason to why I do what I do when I use a pickup and effect... it is to do specific things and this is the way to do them. Things I can't do without using the pickup and effects. Just like I want to play clarinet without a pickup or effects. It's the same. I tried the pickup and effects to see if I can do certain things with it that I want to do and I found out that I do. It's fine if someone else doesn't want to do this. It's not a matter of better and it's not a matter of different for the sake of being different.

>> Years ago someone gave me a digitech 100. I played with it for a week, then I gave it away. It was a novelty for a while, but not a lasting one. <<

I got a bunch of effects. I stopped using a couple of them pretty quickly because I decided I didn't want to use them. I kept using some of them because I could do things I wanted to do with them.

>> As to the "better" or different question, perhaps learning keyboard or guitar is the answer? <<

Maybe in some cases it is. I know that I want to do certain things that are possible with a clarinet with a pickup and effects, some of which make it sound almost not like a clarinet at all and others use the sound of the clarinet too. I just played with it for a while to see if and what sounds are possible that I want to use. I'm not trying to sound like a guitar or keyboard. I don't want to play guitar or keyboard. What any of things I use were first intended for not really relevant... only the result matters.

It seems strange that the MIDI controllers are not programable to be able to choose the fingerings, at least partly (e.g. since not all pinky keys are there). Maybe there's a good reason for this.

BTW there's the synthophone, which I saw and heard. It is actually a real saxophone modified to work as a MIDI controller, connected to whatever MIDI sound you want. It is silent and there's no sound form the sax itself. I imagine something similar can be made with a clarinet, maybe he can make one, though I never asked about it and wasn't too interested in it anyway.

http://synthophone.info/



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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: fskelley 
Date:   2015-09-12 18:50

Ever since restarting clarinet in 2010, I have assumed that at any time- I could switch to or add one of the Yamaha or Akai wind controllers, and that all I knew on clarinet would transfer right over. But if I'm reading this thread correctly, none of them can "overblow" the 12th like clarinet... right? If so, I am very disappointed. Since I'm already 62 (but hoping for many remaining good clarinet years) I was thinking that if one day I no longer have the physical (breath) power I want on real clarinet, I could switch over- and that my background working with keyboard and computer synths would give me a leg up on that process.

Yes I know I can adapt to whatever the wind controllers will allow. I'm just shocked they don't have a software setting for 8va vs 12va overblow. Really?

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: JonTheReeds 
Date:   2015-09-12 23:56

@Stan
It's not just software - it's keys as well

But you'd be able to play a wind controller with ease. It's based on the sax, which is like the bottom bit of a clarinet but twice. Very easy to go from a clarinet to a sax. So if you run out of puff you'll be able to use a synth

--------------------------------------
The older I get, the better I was

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: fskelley 
Date:   2015-09-13 09:36

Maybe it would make me feel 13 again, which is when I last played alto sax (band director requested clarinet instead).

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: MichaelW 
Date:   2015-09-13 17:53

But how about the "puff"? I understand that EWIs are air pressure- (and embouchure-) controlled. Would the pressure needed be lower than with conventional reed instruments?

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: younghl1aea 
Date:   2023-09-18 06:35

Have you find any wei with a clarinet fingering lately?

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 Re: Clarinet synth
Author: jcm499 
Date:   2023-09-28 18:18

younghl1aea, the Buffet ClariMate can turn a standard acoustic clarinet into an EWI. I believe it is the closest thing on the market, as few EWI customers would prefer clarinet fingerings over the relatively simpler and more logical saxophone fingerings.

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