[Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Tuning

[J. D. Bryce]

I agree that the 400s are the apogee for saxes.  I bought my alto on Ebay.
I had bought a 1960 S-7 alto and wasn't happy with it.  By that time,
Buescher had started buying and using Bundy parts for the posts and spoon
key linkages.

I got the 1949 Buescher and then had it completely restored....engraving and
all. It took over a year!  But the horn is perfect.  I just wish I played
alto better.  I've been playing tenor for so long I seem to have lost my
alto touch.

I've the 1952 Buescher 400 tenor since 1974 and would never part with it.
Big, mellow sound and a light touch.  Great if you're doing a Hawkins
tribute.

I've got a curved Buescher soprano from 1920 that has the most incredible
voice. The make shows as "Perfectone" but it's a Buescher stencil. Only
keyed to Eb, but with that voice, who cares.

A shame that Buescher sold out to Selmer and then went tiny and tinny back
in the 1960s.

Jack Bryce


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
To: "J. D. Bryce" <brycejo at comcast.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 10:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Tuning


> For alto you may have my dream horn.  I played on a big bell Buescher 400
> alto and was hooked.  Those year ranges on the 400's are the high point of
> saxophone development as far as I can see and are without equal.  I saw my
> dream horn on e-bay from somewhere in the Netherlands a few months ago.
It
> had a 300K serial number and was gold plated.  Buescher made very few of
> them.  It was in 100% playing condition. No dents or scratches.   I had a
> bid in for $2700 which held for about three or four days and in the last
> couple of minutes went up to $3700 and change.  Even at that price a gold
> Buescher 400 alto was a bargain but I didn't have the bucks at that
minute.
>
> I think that I may have been bidding against someone with very deep
pockets
> who knew what the horn had to offer or was speculating on the resale value
> at some point.  Who ever bought that horn will make money on it.
>
> I have a Buescher Aristocrat from the early 50's and while it's tone is a
> little more focused than a Mark VI it is a great horn.  I had a Mark VI
for
> 35 years and I compared them over and over but I just couldn't see the
extra
> money to buy a Mark VI of my own.  The intonation problems are almost
> identical to the Selmer so there wasn't any preference there.  I think the
> Mark VI had a little more projection but other than that there wasn't any
> other significant difference.  I understand why Selmer wanted to destroy
> Buescher as a brand.
>
> Horns are personal but you have a great set there.
> Larry
> St. Louis
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "J. D. Bryce" <brycejo at comcast.net>
> To: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 6:06 PM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Tuning
>
>
> > 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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> >>
> >>
> >>
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