 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Musikat
Date: 2023-02-05 01:53
What if anything can be done to adjust the resistance or the "feel" of playing a given clarinet, besides changing the mouthpiece or barrel? I understand those can and do make a big difference; but, say, you take it to a really good tech and they say they work with you to adjust the "voicing" and customize it to your preferences, what exactly do they mean and how might that change things for you, the player?
Can they make it more even in response? can they make it more or less free blowing (not radically, but so it is noticeable)? can they raise or lower the global pitch slightly by adjusting pad heights, or only individual notes? I am just curious what can and can't be done with the actual clarinet outside of experimenting with barrels/mouthpieces and bells, which I get and have a bunch of!
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Author: m1964
Date: 2023-02-05 07:00
Musikat wrote:
> What if anything can be done to adjust the resistance or the
> "feel" of playing a given clarinet, besides changing the
> mouthpiece or barrel? I understand those can and do make a big
> difference; but, say, you take it to a really good tech and
> they say they work with you to adjust the "voicing" and
> customize it to your preferences, what exactly do they mean and
> how might that change things for you, the player?
>
> Can they make it more even in response? can they make it more
> or less free blowing (not radically, but so it is noticeable)?
> can they raise or lower the global pitch slightly by adjusting
> pad heights, or only individual notes? I am just curious what
> can and can't be done with the actual clarinet outside of
> experimenting with barrels/mouthpieces and bells, which I get
> and have a bunch of!
A good tech can adjust individual notes if they are too bright, or dull sounding as well as adjust the pitch (some are easier to do than other).
Not to forget about springs tension that can be uneven- many new Buffets (but not all) come with quite stiff G#/D# spring, as well as throat G# and A springs that can benefit from adjustment.
A very good tech once told me he does not like to adjust tuning and voicing on brand new clarinets where wood have not stabilized (springs can be adjusted w/o a problem).
What ever you do, make sure to take your clarinet to someone who knows what they are doing, not to someone who will experiment on your instrument.
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2023-02-06 12:13
the basic procedures at a tech's disposal are undercutting, overcutting, pad height, and to a small extent, pad type and resonators on the larger pads.
Undercutting is mostly done to aid pitch, although it will also have an effect on brightness/darkness of that note and response.
Combined with overcutting, this makes the tone hole "hourglass" shaped which changes resistance and response compared to a cylindrical hole.
this webpage is instructive. http://www.sfoxclarinets.com/baclac_art.htm
but volumes could and have been written on the subject. there's no substitute for the experience gained by a long standing tech.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-02-06 12:22
Thank you for mentioning pads. I was going to finally say the answer is "no, the overall feel of the horn is built in." But, if you have only experienced standard felt pads and then go to a set-up with cork pads at the top, or all Valentino Masters (or Omni pads, or Quartz Resonance pads), you'll experience a significant step up in a firmer more resonant sound.
However, the basic SOUND and FEEL of the clarinet will remain inherent to the horn.
...........Paul Aviles
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