 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MEwbank
Date: 2017-05-21 19:22
Are there any notable disadvantages in obtaining a custom-made clarinet?
I have been seriously considering either a Dietz or Schwenk & Seggelke B♭ soprano with some of the additional function keys.
However, I was wondering if anyone might clarify for me the following general questions that crossed my mind:
-do additional mechanical complexities add vulnerabilities for future adjustments and repairs?
-do they adversely affect intonation in certain ranges?
-when repairs (pads, etc.) become needed, will one be able to get such done without returning the instrument to the original maker?
-is one just as well off choosing a professional level Yahama, Selmer, or Buffet that seems to perform best to one's taste and experience?
Thanks.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-05-21 19:51
If you can afford an S&S clarinet, you can most definitely afford to have a highly experienced tech tune up your instrument as necessary.
A custom made instrument is just as susceptible to wear and cracks as any other wood clarinet. That being said, I wouldn't just take a $10,000 clarinet to the local repair guy. I would only send it to a repairman reccomended by the manufacturer. Sure it might be more expensive, but if you spent all that money on a custom instrument why cheap out on repairs?
As far as intonation goes, I can't see how extra keys will cause problems, especially on a custom instrument.
As for your last point, that's entirely up to you. You can probably play and R13 for the rest of your life and be fine. But if you feel you want something different that's made exactly to your liking a custom clarinet might be a good option.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2017-05-21 20:53
I usually advocate finding a good factory made clarinet, and having it custom tuned by a great tech.
Get the price savings of a factory clarinet (especially if you find a good used one) and the same custom work that any custom person would do. Usually ends up in a great clarinet at a cost-savings to a completely custom clarinet.
That being said, if I COULD afford a Rossi rosewood, I'd have one in my closet right now. But with my budget, a used factory clarinet and custom tuning was the way to go. Used it twice over the past 10 years and both are fantastic clarinets, significantly better than most stock factory clarinets I've tried at various festivals and music stores. (I can only think of three off the top of my head that seemed to "outplay" my horns fresh from the factory floor)
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: MEwbank
Date: 2017-05-21 21:01
I appreciate both of your replies.
Actually, I was wondering whether places like Dietz and S&S do recommend specific repair facilities for other countries, so JDBass's reply has led me to send them an email about that.
SFAlexi's, your recommendation based on experience about getting a custom tune by somebody really competent on a professional factory or decent used quality instrument is something I'll definitely take into consideration.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2017-05-21 23:27
I work for a clarinet-maker that does everything by himself from A-Z. The drawbacks of having a clarinet made by a cratftsman? I can only see two. One is that you order an instrument and are stuck with the one he has made for you. That's why I hace the person I work for have three instruments available on delivery date so that the customer has at least a bit of a choice. The other drawback is is obviously the price. In the case of the person I work for, this isn't a factor as his clarinets go for the same price as a Buffet or Selmer. Tne German clarinets, however, are expensive. Extra keys won't change your intonation, but extra holes will, so I would be wary of that. A clarinet is a clarinet, so any good repairman should be able to repair it.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: MEwbank
Date: 2017-05-21 23:45
Thanks, Ruben!
You've directly answered the concerns I had. Your mention of having two or three instruments from which to choose is really central; but most small producers in Germany only seem to indicate that they will make it according to your specs, and that will be it.
And your observation about how extra holes might alter intonation while extra keys do not, while obvious to some, clarifies for me what some folks meant when they cautioned about those additions.
I really appreciate your having taken the time to answer my questions so well.
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Author: James S
Date: 2017-05-22 03:09
Hey Mewbank!
Last Year I had the immense privilege of interning for Deitz (and visiting S and S during my time in Germany). I can testify that both makers are magnificent craftsmen! If you'd like my detailed observations on the Dietz boehm models shoot me an email!
JS
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Author: MEwbank
Date: 2017-05-22 04:12
Thanks for your answer, James.
I’m impressed you had the opportunity to intern for Dietz.
Four questions popped into my mind when I read your note:
a) Re: the Dietz Boehm models, do you recall what the bore dimensions are for the French Böhm models and whether there was anything unique about their bore design?
b) Also, is their Böhmklarinette Modell Nr.785 equal in quality re: the wood used on their Soloistenmodelle line that are with Oehlermechanik?
c) As for tone, would you tend to say that their French Böhm top of the line model, overall, will have a bit of a richer, more consistent tone through the registers than a Selmer Privilege?
d) From what I read somewhere, they sometimes can deliver an order within 6 or so weeks, if you submit at a good time. Does that sound possible?
Thanks.
Michael
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Author: James S
Date: 2017-05-22 04:52
I just noticed my email isn't attached to my name here. Hmmmmm. Pop off an email to sullivanclarinet@gmail.com. I have a pile of pictures and everything for yah!
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2017-05-22 05:13
I believe it depends on which type of bore you want or in other words, what type of sound you prefer. If you like the standard french bore, there are not too many additional holes which are really needed. Then basically everything is same to a Buffet or Yamaha. However, if you would like to go for a hybrid or reform, then everything is completely different. This will be similar to me, a German system player who lives outside Germany. I send my instruments to the manufacture every year for a service. It is not so difficult if you get all required documents. To be more specific, with Dietz, if you go for the standard Boehm, I believe you can only add low E/F correction key (German system style). This is certainly ok for all your questions. For S & S, model 1000 is also basically a standard Boehm, so no problem at all. But if you go for model 1000+/3000 or the hybrid/reform of Dietz, you should be careful. Some friends told me they indeed experienced some problems in the top register. Most standard fingerings work, but not other alternative ones. Sometimes you would need to figure out by yourself to find the good intonation fingerings. In terms of repair, most minor works can be done locally. But for major overhaul, it is certainly better to send them back. My opinion here actually is that you should consider to buy the standard Boehm made by these two makers. They are really of extremely high quality.
Post Edited (2017-05-22 06:39)
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Author: MEwbank
Date: 2017-05-22 05:41
Thank you very much for this very informative response, Klose.
You have helped me greatly with your valuable detailed clarifications.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-05-22 23:42
One of the reasons I ordered instruments from S&S is the Acton mechanism, which not many makers will provide. It's a trade-off. The F-G trill isn't as snappy, but the high Eb and some other notes up there are great beyond belief. Most of the additional keys are going to be like that. Klose mentioned some alternate fingering problems. If you get the separate register and throat Bb vents, alternate altissimo fingerings where you leave the thumb hole open will not work unless you pay extra for the Bb "schliesser" mechanism, which closes the Bb vent with the left index finger ring. I didn't know that until I asked Jochen S. what the schliesser was for, but darn if leaving the thumb off doesn't make my screech Bs and Cs more solid, so if you need those notes to work reliably, it can be worth it.
I currently play B&H 1010s in the U.S., and have so far done all my own work, because the local repair guy probably would not take the time to get the right pads and cardboard spacers, or figure out how to get the Acton and the crow's foot replacement mechanisms in adjustment, which is a real pain. One of the really good repair people would, but I'd be without an instrument for a week or two and it would cost a lot. That's another trade-off. It's better if you're a little bit handy with pads and corks.
Tried the S&S 1000 and 1000+. Personally would not do without the extras, but that's a very individual decision. I wouldn't have gotten one of their instruments without trying them, and after trying them and talking with Jochen, I ordered something different than I otherwise would have. If you're thinking of paying that much anyway, it's a lot safer to factor the plane ticket into that and be sure of what you're getting.
You're never "just as well off" making any decision like that, because different instruments will have different things you like and don't. You make the best decision you can, and your musical life forks at that point; unless you're wealthy, you don't get to find out what would have happened if you'd made the other decision. The reason to get a custom instrument is that you think it will help you do things musically that would be harder or wouldn't happen with another instrument. I don't really like the designation "factory" or "mass-produced" in the context of top-line instruments, though. The people at a "factory" mostly do the same things people at a "custom workshop" do. Maybe they do them a little faster and have a little less time to get stuff absolutely perfect, maybe they specialize a little more, and you're a lot less likely to meet them or know their names, but that doesn't mean they don't feel the same pride in craftsmanship and don't try to do the best work they can.
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Author: MEwbank
Date: 2017-05-23 00:30
Dorjepismo, your reflections and judgments in particular are remarkably educative.
I found your qualifications concerning the contrast of 'factory' vs. 'custom' in top-line instruments to be very balanced and nuanced.
And your inventory of some of the trade-offs with additional keys has really been informative for me, since until now I have been attempting to study the diagrams offered by some of the custom makers and trying to decipher exactly what benefits adding this or that truly makes without great success. Some are rather obvious, but most are not at all.
Your frank insistence on one needing to master certain minimal maintenance skills is a point well taken as well.
Last, but not least, I found your first-hand testimony concerning how (at least for most of us for whom such a purchase is a major decision) in making a decision to commit to a specific configuration one's 'musical life forks at that point'.
I find that very poignant and true in many ways. It especially applies to anyone with financial limitations, while someone who has more than adequate financial resources to purchase a lower quality instrument is not necessarily investing (literally) so much of their very life and livelihood in the choice of an instrument.
Thank you very much for the time and thought you put into your informative remarks. I am sure that yours and Klose, in particular, have benefitted not only me but will benefit others as well.
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