January 26th, 2009 3:56 am
Arezzo Clarinets
By Ashley Hopkins
Cannonball Musical Instruments - website - have put out a range of clarinets under the Arezzo label from student to professional models. In this review are the three models available: The Zeloso student clarinet and the two professional models: The Veloce and the flagship model: The Piacere.
All models feature a redesigned register key, that is supposed to be a better shape for the thumb and resembles a saxophone thumb plate mechanism, and an adjustable thumb rest. They also feature (not on the student model) exotic custom wood barrels and bells made in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
The Piacere (Pleasing), which is Cannonball’s flagship model, has an interesting extension to the C#/G# trill key that allows it to be reached by the right hand index finger as well as the left hand little finger. This clarinet can also be purchased with gold plated keys which won’t improve your tone at all but will definitely make a visual statement in a solo performance.
The Piacere also sports a left hand Ab/Eb key mounted high on the left hand little finger key cluster; a wasted feature for me as I have never owned a clarinet that has this key and never practised the technical skills required to use it. At least it’s mounted out of the way from the other keys and can be ignored if necessary. You really need to have a dependance on that key, i.e. owned clarinets previously that had this key fitted, to warrant the extra expence required to have it there. I find it quite a stretch to reach it at all.
The register key
Unfortunately I didn’t like the register key. I guess that I am just too used to using the corner of my thumb on the regular shaped key. I found that it kept getting in the way, and the recordings that I made and are available as a demonstration of the tonal characteristics of each model, have a few tiny slips (after fixing the disasters) in the register break area as I struggled to find a comfortable position for my thumb.
I do play the alto saxophone quite a bit as well as the clarinet so I thought that I might be able to adapt okay to this shaped key but found it annoying in the end.
The case
The Arezzo clarinet cases are custom made for this series as even the student model has two barrels. The Piacere and Veloce models have two barrels and two bells making the single cases fairly substantial. If you need a replacement case, you’ll have to go back through Cannonball so all the bits fit properly. The other weird consideration is the adjustable thumb rest (also has a clip for a neck strap) which needs a deep trough in the case to fit snugly. All three cases supplied seemed of solid construction with good riveted metal fittings.
The ajustable thumb rest
I liked the adjustable thumb rest which was the same fitting on all three clarinets. It was mounted high on the lower joint and I appreciated the ability to get my right hand thumb as high as possible on that joint. I have grumbled about the low positioning of thumb rests on clarinets both student and professional for years.
One slight problem was encountered when I took the clarinet apart. There is always an element of care required when dismantling the upper and lower joints and it is even greater now with the neck strap ring sticking out so much above the instrument. Students will have to take even more care not to get the right hand index finger keys of the upper joint tangled in that ring and even professional players will need to look out for that initially.
The bells and barrels
The exotic bells and barrels that come standard (and can be purchased separately) with the Veloce and Piacere models are beatifully made and some experimenting will need to be done in combining different barrel and bell combinations. In two of the recordings below, I played the same clarinet with a different barrel.
While this did feel different from a playing perspective (the thicker wood in the goblet barrel made it feel like there was more resistence in the tone), the recording to my ears doesn’t sound all that different and what I thought was a more somber sound did not sound that way to my wife (who is a bassoon player) who commented that it actaully sounded brighter to her. They are worth a try though if you are looking for a slightly different sound on your current clarinet or want to impress your friends.
The tone
In general terms, the tone of all three clarinets that I tried were very evenly matched as the recordings prove. All clarinets were free blowing with the exception of the student ABS resin model which had a slightly stuffy low “G”. The throat notes on all were very well in tune and bright sounding.
The student clarinet was very responsive right up into the altissimo register. The Zeloso also has the option of black anodized nickel plated keys. While this looks a little odd it is certainly more stylish than the colored clarinets that are around.
Mouthpiece supplied
The mouthpiece supplied with the professional models has a Cannonball logo on it and is made of hard rubber. The Zeloso student clarinet looks the same but is made of ABS resin. I tried the mouthpieces briefly, not my cup of tea but better than a Yamaha C4 supplied with most Yamaha clarinets or the Buffet equavalent.
The demonstrations below were recorded using my Vandoren M13 mouthpiece with a Vandoren #3 reed.
Recordings
Below are recordings of the Arezzo clarinets made in my studio at home. They are all recorded using the same piece of music and the same recording levels. The study is No 18 from “The Clarinettist’s Progress” Book 1.
The Zeloso student clarinet
The Veloce Professional clarinet (with Countess barrel)
The Piacere Premium Bb clarinet (with Fjord barrel)
The Piacere Premium Bb clarinet (with Goblet barrel)
These clarinets are available for purchase through ABI Music in Auckland, New Zealand
Tags: new clarinet, review, student clarinet