 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-12-16 17:16
I wonder what clarinets are unpopular but yet play well.
We all know about Buffet's R13/Prestige/Tosca and about Selmer's Balanced/Centered Tone, 10G, also Leblanc LL seems to be popular.
What else is out there that you like/prefer?
I just bought an old Recital in A- the instrument tunes well, has full and focused sound. The tone is "dark" and would work well for classical repertoire. Mozart concerto and quintet sound wonderfully. I believe that it is a better clarinet than an R13.
Yet is seems unpopular, at least in the US.
What are your "hidden treasures" ?
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2024-12-16 17:46
My hidden treasure would have to be my Yamaha CSVR Bb clarinet. I've had it for about 8 years and it has not let me down. Highly recommended.
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2024-12-16 18:23
m1964,
I have a couple of things for the list that have been impossible to get rid of not because I have not tried but because they are outstanding performers
1. Selmer 9* clarinet; it has a pinned crack in the UJ but plays beautifully.
2. LeBlanc L200 clarinet: Rugged, tremendous sound, and wonderful intonation.
3. Some great clarinet vintage MPs like: Borbeck 16, SWS B2, and my original Portnoy BP02. None have been refaced.
4. Selmer C* bass clarinet mouthpiece refaced Dave McClure.
I use the Borbeck every day and the L200 is the backup for my Yamaha CS Custom clarinet.
Hank
PS I still regret selling my Selmer Series 9 Model 32 bass clarinet. It was a monster that I played for many years (with almost all of the original pads).
Post Edited (2024-12-17 20:55)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-16 20:09
I've played Selmer Recital for the last 40 years; A and B-flat. I find that it is a good compromise between the French and German sound. This is what Guy Dangain, its tester, was aiming for. The down side is that it is heavier and thicker than other clarinets.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: GenericClarinet129
Date: 2024-12-16 20:34
m1964,
The Uebel Reve clarinet is amazing for its price. I think that, in general, Uebel is a great but usually overlooked manufacturer.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-17 00:14
Hank: I too have a Leblanc 200; a wonderful instrument. I'd forgotten I had it! I'll pull it out tomorrow and start playing it again.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2024-12-17 03:25
pustophone clarinets. these play like a top pro horn. extremely obscure east german made after ww2. some one on here turned me on to them. i found one for 10$ and had it overhauled.
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2024-12-17 04:21
For me it'd be the various clarinets made by Martin Foag. Although they are handmade and bespoke, they are significantly more economical than the other more famous German makers e.g. Wurlitzer, S&S, Dietz, etc.(near-astronomical prices) and about the same as Buffet/Selmer prices. I once owned a German bore+system Foag Low C bass that had comparable projection to a Buffet Prestige despite the smaller bore and its keywork was built like a tank- one time it tipped over onto a wooden floor and yet the instrument was still largely playable!
Josh
Post Edited (2024-12-18 06:07)
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-12-17 07:20
Never heard of this maker- Martin Foag- interesting that they offer a metal clarinet but no wood option for Boehm system (in Bb).
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-17 13:44
When I was studying in Italy in the 70s, the generation of my teachers all played Italian instruments: Orsi; Guasti...handcrafted clarinets. Then my generation switched over to Buffet and Selmer. I wonder what the Italian clarinets were like (pre-Patricola). They were played by many great Italian players. But, only Italian players.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-12-18 03:09
Ruben wrote:
"I've played Selmer Recital for the last 40 years; A and B-flat. I find that it is a good compromise between the French and German sound. This is what Guy Dangain, its tester, was aiming for. The down side is that it is heavier and thicker than other clarinets."
It sounds like he achieved his goal- to me, the Recital sounds more German than French.
Michael Rusineck, from Pittsburgh symphony, played Recital (not sure if he still does).
I wonder who else in the US played/plays Recital.
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2024-12-18 06:11
m1964 wrote:
> Never heard of this maker- Martin Foag- interesting that they
> offer a metal clarinet but no wood option for Boehm system (in
> Bb).
Actually they do make a wood Boehm Bb/A clarinet albeit they don't publicize it (not all their offerings are shown on their website since everything is highly customizable).
Josh
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-18 10:14
1964: Alessandro Carbonara in Italy has always played Recital. He's a truly great player.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: donald
Date: 2024-12-18 12:30
I have one friend who has played Recital clarinets for about 35 years straight and has never been tempted for one minute to buy new clarinets. Several others I know (I'm sure Mike Lomax won't mind me mentioning his name here) have really liked them, but long term not been happy with the weight of the instruments, and eventually returned to their Buffets... Mike Lomax told me he actually had to buy back his Buffets that he'd sold.
I think Carbonare has played, like my friend, the SAME Recital pair since the 1990s, but I'm not certain (I know he played his first pair for at least 10 years).
I've known people who played the good quality hand made Orsi clarinets (these never seem to appear on Ebay, only the crappy student ones). I had an excellent "Orsi- Vintage" model clarinet that I liked better than my Buffet Festival Bb, and I WOULD have made it my primary instrument but I couldn't find an A clarinet to pair with it. I sold it to a student, and have in fact tried to buy it back but he wants to keep it.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-12-18 19:32
donald wrote:
> I have one friend who has played Recital clarinets for about 35
> years straight and has never been tempted for one minute to buy
> new clarinets. Several others I know (I'm sure Mike Lomax won't
> mind me mentioning his name here) have really liked them, but
> long term not been happy with the weight of the instruments,
> and eventually returned to their Buffets...
>
> I've known people who played the good quality hand made Orsi
> clarinets (these never seem to appear on Ebay, only the crappy
> student ones).
I do not find Recital too heavy, esp. after playing a Bb with E/F correction mechanism (in fact I found Recital to fit my thumb better).
I have not seen Orsi clarinet on eBay. You are right in that it is preferable to get the matching pair. I found that I sometimes miss keys grabbing Selmer Bb after playing a Buffet A.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-18 21:24
I play Selmer Recital with a Mike Lomax Firebird mouthpiece; a really good match.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2024-12-19 05:08
I really enjoyed testing the Uebel Advantages about ten years ago (don’t know if they’re the same now or even still made). I thought they out paced the R13s!!!
A little more recently (2016?) I loved everything about the top of the line Patricolas (back then they were called the Artiste).
……….Paul Aviles
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Author: RBlack
Date: 2024-12-19 08:57
James Campbell I believe still plays on recitals.
He sounds great, but I never really liked how they played, in addition to the extra weight on the thumb. Different strokes for different folks.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-12-19 09:04
Locally, anything that isn't Buffet can't really be considered popular.
Even just Buffet, anything that isn't R13, R13 Prestige, Festival and Tosca (and maybe Tradition, it's borderline) is not really popular either.
So anything that isn't one of those...
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Author: mqaa
Date: 2024-12-19 11:57
If you have a chance try out the RZ clarinets. I have played Buffet and Selmer before but play on a RZ Capriccio now and love it. Really solid instrument with lovely key work (no pivot screws) and a bit lighter than my previous horns.
https://www.rzclarinets.com/en/clarinets/
Post Edited (2024-12-19 11:57)
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-12-19 20:27
I did not think there were RZ dealers in the US but there are a few.
Have not seen any of their clarinets in person yet.
Uebel now produces nice instruments, with excellent workmanship quality. They too sound somewhat “German”-I guess Uebel has a sound concept that’s different from Buffet’s or Selmer’s
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Author: Floydinoz
Date: 2024-12-21 05:51
I’ve played a pair of Selmer recitals for the past 30 years. The Bb I bought after only trying one. That was a first for me.
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Author: donald
Date: 2024-12-21 15:41
Yep, enough great players have enjoyed the Recital that I really don't think it fits the bill of an "unpopular hidden treasure".
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-21 21:32
Donald: a treasure, but doesn't qualify as a hidden one. Nobody has mentioned American clarinets of the past.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-25 20:27
There is the American Penzel Mueller clarinet. I've never seen or tried one, but my friend Tony Coe bought one and had it overhauled at great expense. He thought highly of it. I might add that these clarinets had a very, very big bore.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2024-12-25 22:52)
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Author: crazyclari
Date: 2024-12-26 05:42
Kohlert covered hole Bb, cracker, super quick in tune,great sound. From I am guessing post ww2
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2024-12-26 18:15
For some years my daily blow has been a Pustophon. The result of a collaboration between Puchner and Stovasser. They are very well made, play in tune and I'd rate mine a better instrument than my R13.
Tony F.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2024-12-26 19:49
very few of us have been able to experience the exceptional pustophone clarinet. these are truly a hidden treasure among clarinets
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-12-27 10:58
Tony: I'd never heard of Pustaphone and there's hardly any information about it on the Internet. Please tell us more.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-12-27 12:40
ruben wrote:
> Tony: I'd never heard of Pustaphone and there's hardly any
> information about it on the Internet. Please tell us more.
>
Possibly because not many were made, and I suspect majority were Albert system.
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