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Hi!
30 years ago, due to academic pressures, I stopped playing in the Gonzaga
University Orchestra. Recently, I picked up my clarinet, a 1963
Selmer Series 9, and starting looking for an instructor. My "re-hab"
was thanks to Kenneth Ellison,
at that time first chair clarinet of the Rutgers' University Orchestra. Some of the most useful information has been placed here. These are not endorsements; I may change my mind at any time. After all, I am not a "celebrity"--no one pays me for my opinion. Instruction, the Clarinet, Repairs and Reconditioning,
Barrel, Mouthpiece, Reed, Ligature, and my current set-up. |
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It is a hoary, but true saying that your sound is
affected by your brain, your ears, your mouth, tongue, mouthpiece,
reed, barrel, and clarinet, and the further from the brain, the less
important the part is. For this reason, I highly recommend
professional instruction. |
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| How to pick an instructor?
 | Do you like him/her? |
| Does he/she demanding that you do your best? |
| Do they love their instrument? |
| Does he/her regularly have "gigs" at recognized venues?
This is very important, if they are not recognized professionals, how can they impart anything to you? |
| Does he/she have at least a Masters Degree in his/her instrument? <top> |
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1963 Series 9 Selmer Bb Clarinets
I replaced my rental Bundy in 1967 with a Selmer series 9. I bought it from a Professional Jazz artist who was being domesticated. Played clarinet through junior high school and high school. Played in the Gonzaga University Orchestra and band for 1 1/2 years until the pressures of 20 credit hours in Engineering pressured me out.
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A request, if anyone has copies of playbills from the 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 Gonzaga
University Orchestra and Band, could you please
send them to me? I want to find some of the compositions, but do not know of their names. |
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1953 R13 Buffet Bb Clarinet
I sold, probably too quickly, the Selmer Series 9 and bought a "articulated Boehm" 1953 R13 Buffet. It has a very nice tone, well rounded, and not as "uptight" as the post-1973 R13s. It falls in the category of "American/French" sound , relatively bright and "focused." It is interesting to note that Buffet, in response to demands last decade has re-released this clarinet as their "Vintage" R13. |
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1929 Herman Todt "full Boehm" A and Bb Clarinets.
While looking for a smoother sound and for an "A" clarinet, I ran across the Herman Todt matched "A" and "Bb". These are wonderful clarinets with every key you have ever heard of including low Eb! Definitely appeals to this engineer. They have the "German" sound, relatively dark and warm, which I call "chocolately" or "smoky." I absolutely love the tone.
However, once I moved to Texas, and was 50 miles from the metropolis
of no-where, USA, my ensemble days ended. At the same time, I
got the bug of having a "real car that I can maintain myself."
The Herman Todts went back on eBay, doubling my money in less than 18
months, and I am now the proud owner of a
1963 Studebaker Supercharged Avanti R2
(aka Corvette eater). |
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1965 Dallas Bb Clarinet
A brother-in-law decided that I did not have enough clarinets.
Despite my insistence that they do not bid, they bought this at an auction. It is now a lamp. One of these days I will put up a photo to show that there is no such thing as an unusable clarinet. <top> |
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Complete Immersion Reconditioning
I highly recommend Larry Naylor of Naylor's Custom Wind Repair for his state of the art wood and tone restoration, craftsmanship and skills. He is best known for his organic oil immersion treatment that brings back the original if not better than new tone. I mailed my Buffet to him for his organic oil immersion and was thrilled with the results. Wonderful results,
recommended. http://naylors-woodwind-repair.com |
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Professional repair and rebuilding
The Herman Todt had a new re-pad before sale. I was happy with the tone but not with the intonation and the previous "pad job" . I took it to Guy Chadash of New York City. I have seen lead clarinetists of NY and NJ orchestras in his shop. I went to him to see if he could match up his barrel, see below, with the German sound of the Herman Todt. He went on to fix many issues, some of which I did not have the experience to notice, but were there. The result is a much smoother, more responsive clarinet. One item that surprised me was his ability to discern the exact distance to lower the register, and rebuild the wrap-around register key. All in two hours.
highly recommended. http://chadashclarinet.com <top> |
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Chadash Barrel
After a lot of experimenting I settled on with a Chadash 66mm barrel. Very nice. Main use appears to help the intonation. It worked for this purpose on both the Herman Todt and the Buffet. Got it on eBay. To match my Vandoren 5RVlyre13, Guy Chadash also made me a 63 mm Chadash barrel. recommended. http://chadashclarinet.com/barrel.com <top> |
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The choice of mouthpiece is probably the most discussed, the most smoke generating topic around. Very little usable light comes from this discussion. This is my contribution to the smoke, and maybe some light. As you may have noted, I am a very enthusiastic amateur, and my opinions are not bought. |
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Student Mouth Pieces
It is likely that you as a student, your child learning the clarinet, or your clarinet student has a terrible mouthpiece that came with the rental or even the new clarinet. The first recommendation is that this be junked for a decent student grade mouthpiece
| Personally, I have used and recommend the Clark Fobes Debut, a plastic version of his very professional mouthpiece. Fobes debut is very easy to use, nice tone. I would recommend it to anyone, especially occasional and new players. Despite the fact that I recommend it to most, I am not using it, as I am off to the next "level." (Or I am just kidding myself.) Very student and reed friendly. I donated it to my Niece, who worked well with it.
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| I have heard from more than one NJ or NYC orchestra clarinetist that they move their students to the VanDoren 5RVLyre13 profile 88 to get the "focused" sound first. (Also recommended by my instructor, Kenneth Ellison) I played my 5RVLyre, and it worked well for me. Note that it runs more flat than the norm and you may have to adjust your barrel if you play in a group. I can only recommend this if you are under instruction by a true professional, see instruction notes above |
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Intermediate to Professional Mouth Pieces
| First note, if you liked the Debut, you may want to try the Clark Fobes Nova, I have not tried it, but it has the same characteristics with the benefits of hard rubber construction and more hand work. |
| After even more experimenting, I was happy with Professor Garrett's DL for my Buffet R13. Professor Garrett makes a great hand made mouthpiece, you should try all three by mail order before using. The models have different "feels" and one is very likely to greatly enhance your favorite music. |
| Then I got less conventional, in search of the dark and warm sound
When I got my Herman Todt, above, I noted that the ancient German mouthpieces that came with it, with all their flaws (many) sounded better than the "modern" mouthpieces. I went on a mouthpiece party binge, trying 32 mouthpiece of 12 different types. I carefully read the on-line reviews and manufacturer catalogs, picked the test group and ordered "on approval." Over three separate lesson times with my instructor, I settled on two. Next phase, I ordered at least 5 of the two finalists. Play tested these with my instructor. Came up with the Pomarico Crystal Emerald. Smooth over the register, excellent 2nd 12ths. very responsive. I was ecstatic for 4 months. recommended, but only if you play test several to get the one that will work for you. Pomarico Mouthpieces. |
| CRASH! While play-testing a Selmer Signature, I dropped the crystal mouth piece.
I happened to have my Herman Todt
in repair with Guy Chadash, above. He took pity on me and had me
test play his new Chadash-Hill mouthpiece, based on the '30s (Charles)
Chedeville Mouthpiece. Based on this, from his web site, below,
I ordered the Chadash Mouthpiece with the 1.04 facing by Mr. Hill.
Smoothest to date. Really brings out the beauty of the German and the French clarinets. Definitely the best mouthpiece I have ever played. I predict that it will become the most copied mouthpiece of the next generation. It is unusual, if not unique, as it is not molded but milled out of a specially formulated hard rubber rod. However it is expensive, and for serious players. I am not a serious player, but fell in love with it, and I have a very loving wife.
highly recommended! Chadash Hill Mouthpiece. |
| Out of curiosity, I have collected more information on the Chedeville Mouthpiece, as part of a continuing informal research <top> |
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To be honest, another topic of much smoke. I am always amused by the sometimes vicious defense of a "name brand" reed, followed by the admission that only 1 or 2 of each box are usable right out of the box. This was too much fuss to me. I spent way too much time with scrapers, sandpaper, and glass plates attempting to find the two (2) good reeds in the package of 10. As part of a eBay purchase, I was lucky and received for free, some 25+ year old "Symetricut", Rico, and other reeds. After cleaning the fungus off with hydrogen peroxide, the old reeds performed more reliably (about 8 of 10 excellent). I reported
this in alt.music.clarinet and www.sneezy.com and got thoroughly trashed for being so "politically incorrect." |
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I gave up and bought one Legere Patented Synthetic Reed. No prep, always works. I have more than once "fooled" the experts who even complimented me on how well I had chosen and balanced my "wooden reed." Unless you think of yourself as a professional, this deserves attention. recommended. |
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The search for the "German" sound for my Herman Todt, lead me to Foglietta. This firm does only hand selected, hand made reeds. I liked the reeds, and bought many. To my shock, the first 11 out of 11 worked , without adjustment, right out of the box. I have settled on the Foglietta E* which is thicker than the Vandoren V12. They also make both French and American cut reeds. highly recommended! but only for those who have a need not filled (other than ego or peer pressure) by the Legere. http://www.foglietta.de/ <top> |
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For ease of control and non-fussiness, the Rovner Dark MK III works quite well. I am also experimenting with the original "string ligature." As far as I know, (November 2001) the next bullet is the only explanation on the web. |
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Classical String Ligature is the classical method. While it is not as convenient as screwing down with a metal, fabric or a splint/fabric/metal contraption, it provides immense control and most professionals admit that at $2.00 max each, the string ligature easily as good as the most elaborate "PRO-endorsed" ligature. However, the most common, and unanswered question is "how do you tie it????" click on string ligature above and find out! |
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| Bonade Inverted Ligature. The string ligature is the best method I have come across. However, it is difficult to use on French and American style mouthpiece. At the recommendation of Chadash, and Ellison, I tried the Bonade. Stayed with the Bonade for one year, but just before a recital, I started to squeak uncontrollably, go figure. Tried the Rover Dark MK III and cured the problem. Ok, it is back to the Rovner for now. <top> |
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| Definitely something only an engineer and an enthusiastic amateur could love.
| 1953 R13 Buffet Bb Clarinet, |
| the Chadash-Hill mouthpiece (1.04 facing),
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| the Foglietta E* reed, |
| Rovner Dark Mk III ligature, and
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| the Chadash Barrel. <top> |
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