[Dixielandjazz] Plastic Horns - Was Grafton Sax

[Andy.Ling at Quantel.Com]

Steve Barbone wrote:-

> There is an ongoing debate about various material used for horns and how
> they affect sound.

My clarinet playing friend "Jumping" Jack Gilbert had a plastic Grafton
Sax. It certainly looked good, but he said it was a dog to play. He
said the plastic wasn't stiff enough, so the key work had a tendency
to flex causing small leaks.

> Studies have been done with clarinets, played behind a
> screen, for a jury of expert players who were asked to identify the 
material
> used on the horn they were hearing.
>
> None could accurately identify whether wood, metal, plastic or rubber 
was
> the material of the horn they were hearing  with any consistency.
>

I have a feeling that part of the problem is that cheap clarinets
tend to be plastic. The quality of the tuning, keywork etc.
is not so good. So plastic clarinets get a poor reputation. Even the
cheap wooden clarinets are expensive enough to warrant better quality
overall and so wood equals good clarinet in peoples mind.

If the same effort is put into the overall quality of a clarinet
then I doubt the material it is made from makes that much difference.

Of course, the same is not true of things like violins and guitars.

Still no mention of a plastic trumpet or trombone.

Andy Ling



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