[Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Tuning

[J. D. Bryce]

The choice of instruments is a very personal one.  I'm a Buescher 400 freak.
I play a 1952 400 tenor and a 1949 400 alto.  My son on the other hand,
doesn't care for  my Bueschers.  He loves his 1964 King Super 20 tenor and
the Selmer Mark VI alto.

I've favored Brilhart mouthpieces for decades.  Tonalin 6 or 7 on clarinet
and Brilhart Levelaire 6 or 7 on alto and tenor.  I find that the Levelaires
don't handle altissimo as well as some other makes, so I make be switching.

Times change and I guess we do too.  But the choice of horn and setup is
totally personal! Like you guys don't know this!

Jack Bryce


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
To: "Jack Bryce" <brycejo at comcast.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Tuning


> Well mine isn't 100% either but it's manageable.  I forgot to add that I
> eventually had my Selmer barrel cut down which is a whole lot cheaper than
a
> click barrel and is better for the sound.
>
> Instruments like mouthpieces have to fit you.  I have played horns that
> others rave about and can't see much to them.  That's why I still play on
a
> Conn 10 M tenor rather than a Selmer or Custom Yamaha.  I really like
Yamaha
> for the most part but I still cling to the Conn and have never replaced
it.
> You might very well have played on an instrument and someone else play it
> differently.  I am convinced that what you do inside of your mouth, tongue
> placement and bone structure make a difference as to how a particular horn
> plays for you or in some cases don't.
>
> I don't think that it's very productive to copy what someone else does
with
> mouthpieces etc because it's a combination that works for you.  Horns play
> their part too.  I have played several high end clarinets and didn't like
> them as much as my 10G or my Bundy for that matter.
>
> Speaking of my Bundy.  If I didn't have a lot of money I would look up an
> older Selmer Bundy.  I don't think you can beat one unless you spend a
whole
> lot of money.  At least on mine the intonation is pretty good and it has a
> whole lot of volume with pretty good tone.  I kind of like the key layout
> too.
> Larry
> St. Louis
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 4:18 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Tuning
>
>
> > Larry - <larrys.bands at charter.net> wrote (polite snip)
> >
> >> Just a note on my Selmer G10.  When I started playing the instrument I
> >> noticed that it was flat throughout the range.  I was a little
surprised
> >> since I had the original barrel joint and it appeared to be way too
long.
> >> I
> >> tried several things and I remembered I had a Click Barrel that they
had
> >> sent me to review when the thing first came out.  It worked shoved all
> >> the
> >> way in.  I eventually bought the better Click Barrel and used it for
some
> >> time.  The instrument played really well and I had no significant
> >> intonation
> >> problems from the short barrel.
> >
> > Hey Larry,
> >
> > My Selmer 10G was also a little flat, especially in the upper register.
> > What
> > I did was go to as Moening barrel 2 mm shorter than the Selmer Barrel
that
> > came with the horn. Now the upper register is spot on, though the top
> > notes
> > in the lower have become slightly sharp. So I lip them down a bit. (from
D
> > upwards to Bb) I also think the Moening changed my sound and volume for
> > the
> > better, though the classical clarinet mavens think a brand switch on the
> > barrel is akin to heresy.
> >
> > Clarinets are funny beasts. I have yet to play a clarinet that is 100%
in
> > tune with itself. And I always had a bit of trouble playing jazz on my
> > 1952
> > Buffet. After Katrina, I sent it to Sue Loerchen, who presented it to
Tom
> > Fisher. Saw him recently on YouTube and with what looked like my trusty
> > Buffet. He makes is sound a lot better than I ever could. :-) VBG
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Steve
> >
> >
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