Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2022-11-26 22:47
The Clarimate absolutely has to impact the response and blowing resistance of your instrument. It won't be what your teacher taught you, and many clarinetists are neither flexible nor adaptive in this regard.
I have performed using a couple of microphone technologies, with mixed results. Pickups are very handy for windy outdoor venues, or when there is high ambient noise. On the other hand, you have to accommodate notes with all your fingers down being rather loud, and notes with all your fingers up being rather soft.
A mouthpiece and a barrel were sacrificed for my experiments, although they are both totally playable without connecting the electronics. If Buffet's offering does commit you to drilling, then it is ahead of the curve.
For my purposes, I needed a clean signal to process. Both technologies that I tried were great for this, although the barrel-mounted pickup was a later and more user-friendly technology. When faced with drilling a hole in a barrel, my tech pulled out a shoe-box of free barrels, and we found a plastic one that tuned very well on my R13. Insofar as my needs went, Igor says that the experiment was a success.
Using a pickup, processed sound, and a volume pedal, allows a very soft reed to allow a lot more flexibility, especially with pitch bends. But few people will be able to depart from habit. Some players I met tried my setup, and readily saw its advantages. But they also didn't like having electronics interfere with their lip/breath/ear feedback process, and I understand these concerns. They a lot more open-minded than a many folks, just for trying it. Maybe later they might find a use.
For a live-instrument sound, I far-and-away prefer using a moderately-priced external cardioid mike on a stand, such as a Shure Beta 58. I can work distance and presentation to the mike when needed, and nobody complains about how it sounds.
It should be assumed there are big disadvantages to practicing on a different acoustic setup than the one you will perform on. But still, if you need to do routine technique drills, a Clarimate might be the ticket.
We won't know how good this thing is until a number of people with varying needs have tried it. I assume there will be those who love it and those who hate it. I am excited to try it. News at 11.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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