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CONSTRUCTION

The ideal material to make clarinets is the wood or of ebony, boxwood, granadilla, among others, being granadilla the most used in the instruments of nowadays. Some characteristics of different wood are:

• Dalbergia Melanoxylon, also well-known like black wood of Africa, granadilla or ebony of Mozambique. It is the traditional familiar black wood for all the clarinetist.
• Dalbergia Stevensonee, palorrosa of Honduras, a resonant wood also used in the construction of marimbas and contrabass clarinets. It produces a very sweet sound.
• Dalbergia Retusa, cocobolo of Costa Rica and Mexico. Used enough in clarinets made in Germany and Great Britain, it has a powerful and direct sound. According to Karl Leister, it produces the sweetest loudness.

The wood is very susceptible to changes of temperature and humidity, for that reason instruments in other materials like the metal and the ebonite have been designed, that tries to correct these difficulties and to diminish the manufacture costs, but with little success as far as the loudness talks about.

The metal bodies are in disuse, but they were used mainly in the military bands, where its shining sound lent great contributions. The ebonite, however, is acquiring its greater height nowadays, because in addition to being very economic, its process of processing is faster and its care is smaller. The Yamaha brand uses a called type resin ABS for the body and the mouthpiece. Buffet sent recently clarinet " Green line " whose body is a 95% of granulated granadilla and 5% of fiber of polycarbonate and one specially draw formulated from resin epóxica. By means of heat and pressure the moldings are done of each clarinet. It assures the mark, that this material has the same acoustic properties of the natural wood. The " green line " was designed with the purpose of collaborating with the environment and simultaneously to create an instrument that can be taken everywhere resisting the extreme changes of temperature associated with different climates.

The keys are done of an alloy of nickel, zinc and receives; soon they happen to a covering process where its nickel-plated aspect occurs, silver-plated or gilded.

The reed is of cane and requires of a long process for its processing. Six years for seedtime, harvesting are needed and finally obtaining of the reed. Next we observed the process of processing of canes (fig 51).

Fig 51 Process of processing of canes

1. The selected cane is cut in shorter tubes.
2. The cane tube is divided in four pieces.
3. The quarters are cut in lengths standard.
4. The cane is sandpapered until arriving at a perfect plane.
5. The cane is cut in conical form.
6. A rustic cut is made to begin the process of the bevelling.
7. The thickness of all the end is removed.
8. A final work of precision gives form and finishes the bevelling process him.
9. The end is cut according to exact standards.
10. The mark is printed in the cane.
11. After reviewing the final hardness and other controls, the graduation is printed.
12. Each cane is kept in its own plastic protector.
13. The canes are packed in boxes of 10, or boxes of 5 for those of greater size.
14. The boxes are covered with cellophane to protect them of the humidity.
15. An advisable package of 50 canes: 5 boxes of 10 canes placed in protective cellophane.

The cups are obtained in several models. Most common they are in plastic or metal with two screws; also in leather, with a metallic screw; or finest (fig 46) in bath of silver, a screw and with three lamina options of pressure on the cane that offer the following possibilities: a rich color with much resonance and easy joint, loudness compact and centered or freedom of the vibration of the cane with a flexible sound.

Other present pieces in clarinet are: corks; stainless steel needles, means and wharves; slippers of felt covered of plastic or totally of cork and stainless or plastic steel screws.

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