Article
by Windy Dankoff.
Clarinet
courtesy of the Windy Dankoff Collection.
OVERVIEW
Pitch:
C
Maker:
Song Tie Lun (STL)
Hallmark:
None
Place
of Manufacture: China
Approximate
Date: 2016/2017
Material:
Hard Rubber
Keys:
Nickel(?)
Keywork:
Boehm
Serial
Number: ----
Editor's note: Clarinetpages.net is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by Song Tie Lun (STL).
Summary:
I am giving a very quick review of the Lyrique, then moving on to the
"Song Tie Lun" (STL) that I bought from eBay. I the new STL
better! In fact, after about a day's work (I'm an amateur
technician), it's really REALLY good. I loved the Lyrique, and
performed well on it, but I'm going to sell it now. The STL is better
all around, more consistent, and fits my hands better.
Ridenour
fit and finish is mediocre. And, it wasn't tested or treated with any
critical care. A couple of corks were too squishy so I had to replace
them. I had to fine-tune a few toneholes too, and trim down the top
of the socket of the lower joint to bring its top notes up in pitch
(and close an inner gap). To accommodate my large hands, I
did some key grinding and bending around the left hand pinkie
low-note keys to gain clearance, and made the left and
right sliver keys narrower. It would be better for somebody with
small hands.
Now, here's my review of the Song Tie Lun
(STL) clarinet. Shipped from China, it took 2 week to
arrive. Cost was $149 + $49 postage to USA. It is listed on eBay
as "New Advanced C key clarinet Ebonite Good material and
sound". I figured it might be OK as a spare instrument, and
maybe I would get lucky. The eBay seller is called "songtielun".
The photos on eBay are watermarked STL. I saw similar listings from
two other sellers, showing watermark STL or SONGWEI and some
identical photos. The packing slip listed my shipper as Wei Song.
Therefore, I believe the are all the same item. Perhaps my vendor is
the original manufacturer? or one step away? Anyways, here is my
review:
I wrote this detailed review as a way to thank STL
/ Songwei for selling an amazing instrument. I took it out of the
case (a nice one), put my favorite Bb mouthpiece on it, and WOW! I
was amazed by the rich sound and the quality feel. I have big hands
(man’s glove size Large) but the keys fit perfectly. (On my other C
clarinet, they do not.) The thumb rest is adjustable and has a big
soft rubber cushion.
The body is hard rubber (ebonite),
not plastic. It is great for the sound, and won’t crack. The pads
are fine leather! They are fitted perfectly, every one showing
perfect tonehole impressions. Thin pads are used where needed, to
make the ring keys close comfortably. This is good attention to
detail. The cork work is good, and glued strongly. I adjusted some
keys a bit, and found the metal to be medium-hard. They won’t be
bent easily. The tenon joints were super-tight. I greased the corks
AND the inside of each socket, and left it assembled. After a week,
the corks compressed enough but it’s still a bit too tight. In
future, if that tight, I will sand corks before first greasing.
It
did need some fine tuning. I found the C#/G# key (left
little finger) was a little flat. I undercut the hole a lot
to bring it up. The B/F# “sliver” key (right hand, between 2 and
3) needed a small undercut. Bb/F was playing sharp so I glued in
material to make the right 2 hole smaller. Low F/C was flat so I
undercut the hole a bit (3rd hole from bottom). Maybe they will
correct these in the future. I made other adjustments especially to
the 2 upper trill keys, but they may be highly individual and
influenced by my mouthpiece and emboucher. On the workbench, I found
the keywork to be mechanically precise. The screws and rods are high
quality. Only the top 2 trills have a bit of play, partly because
they share one rod.
I love the C horn! The sound is bouncy
and very expressive. It’s great for the E. European Klezmer and
jazz, using standard C music!. The Lyrique C cost me $1200. This one
sounds better, fits my hands much better, and the workmanship is
better! So again, it played well right out of the box but it’s best
to take it to a good repair technician for adjustments. This is true
with ANY clarinet! I feel blessed to have such a wonderful horn.
I
get a very good thumb-Bb on my Ridenour Lyrique C. Strange that Tom
couldn't get it better. It is slightly dull compared to the side-Bb,
but in some passages it flows more naturally. I would reject any
instrument that couldn't do it.
The STL was disappointing
at first, in that regard. I removed the key and found there was a
micro-burr slightly restricting the top of the hole. I cleared that
and it helped a little, but not enough. The hole is smaller than the
Lyrique, so I tried to enlarge it slightly with a round jeweler's
file. No luck. The inside seemed to be plated and resisting the file.
Then I went to a cylindrical carbide burr on my drill press, holding
the instrument in too hands to control the cut. I cut around the hole
VERY slightly. Shazaam! I get a wonderful thumb-Bb!
The
hole remains a lot smaller than the Lyrique hole. The position and
length of the tube look the same (to the eye). And yet, it's a bit
better for the Bb! The STL's high clarion is more clear and stable
than Lyrique. Lyrique has a register hole that is larger than
normally seen on Bb clarinets. It may be part of a compromise in
attempt to improve the thumb-Bb. I believe I found the reason why STL
is better in that and in upper clarion. The barrels have a smaller
bore than Lyrique. The top of the upper joint has a slightly LARGER
bore that quickly tapers down to being equal. This must be the reason
for its superiority. It allows a normally sized register hole to work
really well for both jobs. I think the design is practically perfect,
but they failed to prevent plating from coating the inside of the
register stem.
Incidentally, I learned from a Ridenour
Youtube video that the thumb Bb is helped by a cork pad
that is well rounded to allow air to flow out easily. That's
absolutely correct, as I found it to improve some Bb horns I've
worked on. The STL has a nicely rounded kid-leather pad. It's fine!
Even with the key removed, there's no improvement to the thumb-Bb. It
seems to be perfectly optimized, once the plating(?) is removed from
the hole. That result is what tipped me over into a love affair with
the STL. Plus, the perfect feel of the keywork (after spring
loosening). It feels more crisp and precise than the Lyrique.
The
rounded edges of all the STL leather pads may also contribute to the
superior upper clarion. The Lyrique has synthetic pads with
sharply square edges. STL pads really do feel like kid gloves. I was
wondering if they should be treated against moisture, but I found
that a bead of water just sits there. They are exquisite pads! They
feel like they may have foam cushioning rather than felt. I think the
maker is smart to use them as a labor-saver, as they take a beautiful
impression even on the new instrument.
I
am intrigued by the differences I measured between the bores of the
barrels and the upper joint tops. To verify that they account for the
improvements in the STL, I did an experiment. I exchanged barrels
between the STL and the Lyrique (they fit fine). Both instruments got
worse, sounding and feeling stuffy at the top. That helped confirm
that the upper bore design is critical to the quality of the STL.
I
also discovered why there is a little hole drilled sideways in the
bells of these instruments. In that case, Ridenour got it better than
STL, so I "moved the hole" in the STL.