Question for pro clarinet players!?

Question

I'm in 7th grade and i want to buy a Buffet R-13 but I'm not sure if i should get silver plated or nickel plated? i think that it would affect the sound but I'm not sure....help!

Answer 1

Well, congrats on getting a great horn... R13's are very dependable and have a fantastic reputation for quality materials and craftsmanship!

To be honest, you can tell if a clarinet is plastic or wood, but to HEAR a dramatic difference in tone quality from nickel or silver plated keys... well, I don't know if that's possible!  As far as the plating on the keys go, I agree that there probably is some effect from different materials, but I don't think humans can hear it! LOL  I think it's really more for asthetics and personal choice... go with what you like.

Personally, I went for the "upgrade" to silver keys... By my reasoning,  I was spending how many thousands on the thing, so what's another hundred?!  But I do also have a Selmer Signature, made of the same wood (grenadilla), but with nickel plated keys... it plays differently and sounds differently, but I think it has more to do with me changing the mouthpiece setup than anything else- I don't think the keys are a factor!

There are other factors that determine the tone of the instrument, and that is the mouthpiece, ligature, reeds (strength and brand), and the embouchure itself.  A person's embouchure is unique from one to the next, so even if you and I had the same clarinet, mouthpiece setup, etc... we would get 2 different tones... our mouths are shaped differently.

Anyways, good luck figuring out which one you like, and remember to have fun! :)

EDIT:  If the silver vs nickel did change the tone, it wouldn't be so much a matter of weight, but density and conductivity.  Cannonball (Utah based instrument manufacturers, specializing mostly in saxes) has done a lot of work and study with different materials... including making their horns out of black nickel, copper, etc., and also installing different types of precious stones (tiger's eye, obsidian, etc) into the instruments.  The idea behind this is that the reverberations and sound waves will be altered by the materials it passes through... it's based on physics of sound.  I love the work they do, but as far as the metal of the keys on the clarinet... I think it would have very little effect on the overall tone of the instrument.  The sound waves still pass closely to the keys, but wood is a poor conductor of energy- not just electricity.  The reverberations just don't make it to the keys enough to HEAR the effect... if the clarinet were metal (like the sax)  THAT would be another story.  Different densities of metal vibrate at different frequencies- thus tuning forks.  Wood has a MUCH harder time responding to and holding the wave frequencies... that's why clarinet is played a specific way- to get the maximum amount of overtones and resonance... sax is much more forgiving when it comes to an individual's tone.

So yes, the keys DO react to the frequencies, but because the wood has a dampening effect, the reaction of the keys is not noticible in the tone quality.  You really ought to look at the pads though... the ones that come standard on the R13 are triple layer Gortex... they are very good, expensive pads.  However, if you change the pads of the upper joint to cork, THAT will be a great enhancement of tone (I have had this done to mine, as have many other pros), and it lasts longer than traditional pads.

Answer 2

Heh.. I'm no pro, but I DO play the clarinet.

I recommend the nickel plated. I have it and have performed very well.

I'm not sure if it affects the sound or not, though.