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12/21/2006 Terry Talks about the "full Boehm" ClarinetThere seems to be some misunderstanding here about the purpose of the "full Boehm" clarinet. It has two distinct aspects that it covers:
2) The other elements of the "full Boehm" design are various keys added to make certain articulations more facile. They include: LEFT HAND Eb LEVER: FORK Eb/Bb MECHANISM: LOW Eb KEY: Bad aspects are that it "adds weight". Not much wrong with it other than that. Regarding availability: However, I personally own a Series 9 A clarinet with only the fork Eb mechanism, and an old Selmer pro horn in metal that has only the fork Eb and the articulated G# (no side Eb lever), so there has been some variation over the years. And, while I know that these instruments have been produced in both A and Bb (as I own a pair of Selmer Series 9 sopranos of the "full Boehm" type), just how far the penetration of these options went is still a mystery. Want to buy one now? Your options are pretty limited. The easy way out is to purchase an Amati "full Boehm" instrument, costing you about a thousand dollars new. You can have it in your hands in three days, and it will have all of the options thereon. However, I'd advise against that route for a number of reasons. First off, the Amati instrument isn't up to the horns produced by Buffet, Leblanc or Selmer as far as tone and intonation are concerned. I've not owned an Amati instrument, but I have tested one at some length, and they just don't "get it", plain and simple. Second, the worksmanship (fit and finish) on the Amati horns is less than optimal. I only eyeballed the "Full Boehm" one, but I recently had some modification work done on my Amati "Oehler" clarinet, and the following items were noted: I) The tone holes were chipped where the seats were milled into the body of the instrument. You had to take the keys off to see the problem, but it was very clear to me that a dull tool or tools had been used. One chip was a major flaw, only fixed by wood dust and superglue. II) As shipped from the factory/distributor, the instrument was completely unregulated. I got it into playing condition using my local repair guy, but for complete regulation (involving setting the rings at the proper height for my fat fingers, it took some big time work. Things are much better now. If the relatively simple Oehler system keywork had these problems, one wonders how they would do with the Boehm. Also, a key post (where one of the long "clapper" key arms on the lower joint stops) was simply press-fitted into the horn, and when the key was removed to make the ring adjustments, the post literally fell out of the horn. (It's fixed now, however.) Based upon this fit and finish problem offered by an Amati horn, I'd be loathe to trust them to do it right for my main clarinet. What to do? Well, you can't easily order a new one, but there are many hundreds (if not thousands) of them out there somewhere, and sooner or later they are going to come up on eBay. I've recently bought an "everything but the low Eb key" "full Boehm" in Bb (Selmer Series 10S), and have been more than satisfied with the result. I had it overhauled, regulated and silver plated, and it's now my "day to day" horn for non-classical stuff.
So, if I were taken in by the descriptions that I and others have offered hereon as to why "full Boehm" instruments are a good thing, I would look to eBay to acquire one rather than trying to purchase a new one from the few suppliers left. My opinion, of course... __________________ Another fav of mine, Stephen Howard adds this: Articulation describes a mechanism whereby a typically single key is broken into two parts that can act independently of each other. This means that the touchpiece ( the bit you press ) of the G# key is mechanically separated from the key cup. In normal use, when you press the G# touchpiece the G# key cup will open - giving you a G# ( or C#, depending on which octave you're in ). However, when you finger an F ( or a B ) the F key has a linking mechanism connected to the G# key cup which brings it down ( as though you'd released the G# touchpiece ). This allows the player to keep their finger on the G# touchpiece and let the F link mech do the work of closing the G# key cup - so that instead of having to move two fingers to switch between F and G#, you need only move the F finger. Standard Boehm clarinets have been produced with articulated G# keys - it requires no additional touchpieces to work. It sounds ideal, but there are some drawbacks - the additional mechanism can make the G# feel less responsive, and there can be problems with the G# pad sticking. This can be alleviated to some degree by the use of a cork pad. A significant advantage of the mechanism is that the G# tone hole is place on the top of the bore - thus dispensing with moisture problems. (Note: Thanks to Carl Baron for pointing out this addition to me. Carl, you rock!) Comments (1)
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