 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jonok
Date: 2021-04-08 10:01
Hi,
in principal, for a pair of same brand/model clarinets, should an A be more or less resistant than a Bb?
Jon
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aspiring fanatic
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-04-08 16:37
Some notes of the same pitch on either can be better or worse depending how they're vented - a concert Bb played on a Bb (lower register C) will sound clearer than that same pitch note played on an A (C#/Db) which is more resistant, whereas a concert pitch A played on Bb (lower register B) will be more resistant than that same pitch note played on an A (C).
Although some matching A clarinets have a narrower bore, shorter barrel, longer bell and smaller tonehole diameters compared to their Bb counterparts. And there are some players who use a different model or even a different make A clarinet to go with their Bb out of choice if they didn't like the supposedly matching A clarinet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-04-08 18:22
If you mean in general, just picking up the horn and blowing, I find the "A" clarinet to always be more of a chore. When you're really playing both all the time, the difference fades away in the wash.
Interesting to note that the Wurlitzer top of the line 100Cs were so close that I sometimes had to check to see which one I was playing. As for Boehms, my Yamaha CSGs are closer in feel than any pair of R13s
And there is no "matched pair." You just find two that play well for you (similar tuning and areas of resistance).
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2021-04-08 21:34
Same here. When I was regularly playing in the symphony I could tell no difference in "resistance". As long as everything works well there probably should be no noticeable difference blowing any clarinet (Eb included). But since being away from playing A for a while I do have to get used to it for some reason. Eb even more so.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2021-04-08 23:41
I think, in principal, a player should choose the instrument that has (sometimes it's a bit of a gamble) the resistance he or she wants. I doubt if there's any systematic reason why "matched pairs" end up in the same case coming from the factory, so the player should choose the instruments he's comfortable with. Resistance is a variable among all clarinets. AFAIK, there's no reason why you couldn't find an A clarinet, if you could try several, that came close to or matched the blowing feel of your Bb.
FWIW, my Selmer 10G A and Bb clarinets don't differ in resistance. They were bought several years apart, not as a "matched set."
Karl
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Author: jonok
Date: 2021-04-09 00:26
Thank for the replies.
If a Bb was significantly more resistant that an A of the same brand/model, would that necessarily suggest a problem with the Bb?
Can a clarinet, with no findable (and fixable) fault, like leaks etc, be "a lemon", and just not be as good as ostensibly an identical clarinet in the same make/model?
Jon
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aspiring fanatic
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Author: kdk
Date: 2021-04-09 04:27
jonok wrote:
> Can a clarinet, with no findable (and fixable) fault, like
> leaks etc, be "a lemon", and just not be as good as ostensibly
> an identical clarinet in the same make/model?
Possibly. But it depends at least a little on who is deciding that there are no leaks or other findable (and fixable) faults. I've had many experiences with repair people who missed all sorts of places that were leaking a little because they lacked the understanding or the technique (or even just the interest) to find them. Several small, hard to find but still findable, leaks can have the same effect as one much larger one.
A mis-shaped or damaged bore can also cause stuffiness. Sometimes it comes down, not to whether or not the cause is findable, but whether or not, once found, it's cost-effective to fix it, or whether fixing it might risk other unintended damage (particularly where bore adjustments are involved) so that the cure turns out to be worse than the disease.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-04-09 05:14
If you have executed a negative pressure test (more sensitive than positive pressure) on both joints (and barrel.......you never know) and found them to seal like a coke bottle, then I would be stumped for an answer to that issue. With an 'A' clarinet having a longer and tighter bore, I cannot see how a 'Bb' would come in with MORE resistance. It makes no sense to me (and I've had plenty of sets of all sorts).
But I would think a negative pressure test will suss out a leak in the 'Bb.'
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-04-09 13:03
While it's not an A clarinet, but I had two Uebel basset horns in from the '70s where one of them needed a full overhaul and the other was in for s general service. I fully overhauled one with cork and leather pads so it was bottle tight and the one that was being serviced still had its original white leather pads which were porous and was leaking like a sieve.
Now you'd expect the one to be absolutely airtight would be the better of the two, but it was still playing like a pig even though there were no leaks and the one with the porous leather pads was a far better player, better tone and far more responsive, so one of them was just a complete dog. It made no sense and still doesn't.
I had a similar thing with two Noblet C clarinets where both were fully overhauled inexactly the same manner and both were bottle tight, but one of them was over and above the better player compared to the other one. I can only suspect there was something about the wood that may be the contributing factor, even though the joints weren't leaking when tested with all the toneholes sealed up.
The only time you should be able to get absolute consistency between two instruments of the same make and model is if they're made from plastic or another synthetic material with exactly the same properties.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2021-04-10 21:15
As a professional symphony player for 51 years I believe in general the A clarinet has a little more resistance. It's a bit longer and I believe generally has a smaller bore. BUT, we get so used to going back and forth in an orchestra between the Bb and A that we get so used to both that we don't actually notice a difference when changing. When I played chamber music or solos on the A clarinet I always made a point of choosing a reed for the A and not the Bb because I knew it was slightly more resistant even though I went through pains to find barrels that not only tuned well but would try to match the resistance of both as much as possible.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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