Author: Kalashnikirby
Date: 2017-12-30 15:36
After becoming more and more fascinated with all the different types of clarinets and always having loved that shrill sound of the higher registers, I decided my little clarinet family should gain a new member. Much earlier than expected, she arrived today - it's a cute little chinese Eb clarinet!!
And wow, she's no hoax, she's no fake, she's no CSO (I think!), after I disposed of this reed imitation included in the case and somehow managed to attach one of my Pilgerstorfers Bb (and you won't stop me from doing that until I have Eb reeds, haha), I managed more than getting a sound out of her.
Indeed (and now is probably the time to switch to the correct pronoun, but I was too excited and translated from the german one - "die klarinette"(feminine)), it's very free blowing, the keywork is great, despite being a little softer as it's casted (I had to bend the left pinky C# spatula a bit so it wouldn't get stuck) and the nickel plating looks just fine. It sealed instantly and even when I play a B/low E, I feel no increased resistance. Great work there.
There are, however, some marks of a more "rustic" worksmanship than you might expect from the high-end makers and the sometimes weirdly dimensioned cork was more or less slapped onto it with some hot glue, but then again, it's adjusted very nicely with the rings being just slightly above the chimneys as the should be, and even though I never touched an Eefer in my life before, it's quite comfortable to play. Seriously, what would you expect for an 80$ clarinet, including shipping, bought directly from china?? I don't know how in the world the manufacturer has been able to have the keywork made with as good as no play and adjust they spring tension so well. Even the nylon screw for the throat G# is adjusted correctly.
I'll attach one audio file I've recorded with an iPad after just abit of messing around for an hour on this instrument. It's the Eb part of Ravel's Bolero. Note that I've never played an Eb before and cannot yet comment on the intionation, nor get it spot on - I'm beginning to understand why eefers are deemed hard to play - but the instrument did sound much in tune with itself and with the right pressure applied for the higher register, I could even play altissimo. For example, the clarion A seems a bit flat, but is perfectly correctable. Since it's played on a Bb reed and with the standard mouthpiece, I supose you could greatly improve intonation just by swapping those.
All in all, great instrument and fun to play, I'd not have expected it to sound like an Eb at all. In fact, the timbre is quite nice and makes me question why grenadilla clarinets are considered better. Imagine this is one in a kind of premium version, with forged, silver plated keys, pinned levers, a decent mouthpiece and modern bore design.
Subjectively, the sound is great and with some practise + a different mouthpiece, one might produce impressive results on this 80$ instrument. I hope my iPad recording isn't too crappy for you guys, but it's certainly enough to prove that this is more than a "CSO"
Best regards,
Christian
Post Edited (2017-12-30 21:43)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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