 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-05-29 20:55
After Pukalo's recent post asking about the Ubel Bopane bass , my curiosity was sparked regarding this wood and so I tried to find out what I could about it on Internet .
The various sources seem to be in agreement that this wood is as stable and workable as Grenadilla, with its differences lying predominantly in tone .
This said, its tone distinctions were not suggested as being unfavorable, but inclined toward those of Boxwood.
All in all I was left wondering why this wood has not rivaled Grenadilla more in the clarinet manufacturing industry . Could it simply be a matter of conservative values ?....the 'sobriety' of Grenadilla's dark wood over Bapane's reds ?
Bopane is apparently in greater abundance than the African Blackwood trees and also grows in poorer soils which helps in the matter of more sustainable logging.
It's lower price and greater availability to Grenadilla should also result in a better margin for scrupulous quality selection for woodwind manufacturing.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-05-29 21:29
Oops' ....Its Mopane not Bopane !......must be getting muddled up with Butane .
( senility setting in ...Aaarg !)
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Jordan Selburn
Date: 2023-05-29 21:58
Interesting that you bring this up, as I had just logged in to post a query regarding Mopane's dimensional stability.
I have a boxwood clarinet which plays marvelously, but the warping/stability issues are becoming bothersome enough to me that I'm going to replace it. The choice, then, is Mopane vs. Grenadilla. Grenadilla is the established solution, but I'm inclined towards Mopane for a couple of reasons. First is strictly cosmetic - I like the look of Mopane, and I just like . . . different, honestly. The second reason is weight. My Boxwood instrument is much lighter than a Grenadilla clarinet, and I like that; Mopane would be heavier than Boxwood, but still lighter than Grenadialla.
Neither of these are compelling reasons, but are enough to tip the scale, ***provided that Mopane is comparably stable to Grenadilla***. I don't want to have to rework the sockets in a couple of years because the mouthpiece or joints no longer easily fit together, or need to have the clarinet re-bored every few years because the intonation is drifting.
Does anyone have any direct experience with Mopane's stability?
Jordan
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2023-05-30 09:00
Quote from Wiki.
It is also increasingly being used in the construction of musical instruments, particularly woodwind. Suitable quality African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon), traditionally used for clarinets, is becoming harder to find. Mopane is fairly oily, seasons very well with few splits or shakes, and produces instruments of a warm, rich tone.[6] Clarinets made of mopane are offered by the manufacturers Seggelke Klarinetten, F. Arthur Uebel and Buffet Crampon.
Tony F.
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Author: pukalo
Date: 2023-05-30 09:57
I haven't been able to try myself, but from what I've listened to, mopane clarinets produce a more "diffuse" sound, while grenadilla instruments produce a more "direct" sound. Akin to a diffuse sound like a flugelhorn compared to a direct sound like a trumpet. I prefer a direct sound for B-flat clarinet.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-05-30 20:59
Hi Jordan,
The question that I'm asking myself is ....Does ANYBODY out there actually HAVE a Mopane clarinet .
The past threads on this topic that I've read on the Forum seemed similarly lacking in first hand comments .
No " I have a Mopane Bb clarinet and ........" , or " What I like about Mopane is.... ", or " Oh no !...not Mopane because .......".
If Mopane is as suggested ,a worthy rival to Grenadilla .......then what's going on?
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-05-30 21:27
While I cannot speak to whether Mopane will ultimately prove a comparable substitute for Grenadilla I am nonetheless skeptical that if the two woods are comparable, why we are only beginning to see more Mopane clarinets emerge (to wit: Buffet) only as Grenadilla becomes more scarce.
One or more factors comes to mind. The first, and I hope the case, is that clarinet players are change adverse and that manufacturers didn't want to introduce this otherwise excellent material paradigm shift before necessary.
The second is if Mopane wood truly generates different harmonics that aren't associated with the ideal clarinet sound.
And the third is the dimensional stability of the wood and cost to machine it. Owners want a product that shape shifts no more so than Grenadilla, and manufacturers want a raw material that doesn't suffer catastrophic failure more frequently than Grenadilla, finding the time (i.e. $) spent on machine it wasted if say, catastrophic degrees of cracking during production, finds it not much more valuable than scrap wood after the time put into in on the lathe.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-05-31 09:59
Indeed SecondTry ,
I thinks that you've no doubt just listed very well the questions that no doubt surround the matter acceptance of this wood on the woodwind market .
The fact that Buffet launched a tentative line of its horns in Mopane does suggest however that they felt good about this material and that the resulting product would not shame their reputation.
I'm guessing that the situation at the moment is probably somewhat locked in " A Mexican standoff ", in which a conservative distrust of this unfamiliar wood by musicians, means that manufacturers are dissuaded from using it ,which in turn seems to imply that they disfavor it ( Well !.. they WILL disfavor it if they can't sell it ....even for reasons that aren't good ones .)
It's a crazy and often irrational world .
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-05-31 21:33
If Hank Hill were in the music business, he'd sell Bopane and Bopane accessories.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-05-31 22:26
If you play a Bopane horn in a poorly ventilated space and you have any leaks , one spark and you can blow yourself sky-high !....It's a bloody lethal material !
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-06-01 11:40
Well!...apart from a couple of intrepid Pilgrim Fathers shaping up in " The Ubel Emperor in Mopane wood "topic , it appears that Mopane is about as popular as America after it was first discovered by Columbus.( It was discovered already by some other people...but non of them were called Columbus).
(Letter from America / India/ ? #1 )
Dear Old World,
Well!....I bumped into this bloody-great landmass dumped right in the middle of my route to India ..Luckily some very nice Indians came all the way over and helped me shove the boat off the beach ... I was hoping they would then return home so I could follow them and get to India that way , but they just hung around camping . I have been trying to convert them ... I shall know when I succeed because they will suddenly be able to speak Italian and hopefully stop spitting out my pizza .
I'm planning a return trip with a fleet of ships made of Bopane ...that's a highly explosive mixture of Mopane wood and Butane gas ... There's a thin bit there around Central Amirica I found by tapping with a hammer.. I'm planning to take a run at it and just blast my way through this damn thing...I'm still a bit tied up here, but I'll be headed home just as soon as I can get these knots undone . This is a great place to visit if you've never had malaria ..... Anybody wanna join me on my next trip ?
Looking forwards to seeing you all soon and enjoying a hot shower...... Chris C .
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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