HARRY FULCHER

Photo by Tony Brown

Instruments

Borgani tenor sax  Buffet Crampon clarinets  Amplification  Thought for the day

THE BORGANI 'JOE LOVANO' TENOR SAX

I play the Borgani "Joe Lovano" signature model tenor sax exclusively.

It is the most responsive and beautiful sounding horn I've ever played. Whatever I think, she's just played it! This horn is featured on all my recordings over the last 3 years, including The Trio Live, Limbic System Live and Conspiracy Of Equals.

Starting with a hand-hammered silver alloy horn, each instrument is handmade by one craftsman from start to finish.

Borgani saxes are available exclusively in the UK from Allegro Music in Oxford.
Roger Baycock and Chris run a good show there!

Click on the image for a bigger picture.




 

BUFFET CRAMPON R150 CLARINETS

 
The R150 was made in 1976 to celebrate Buffet Crampon's 150 year anniversary. A very limited number were made available in the UK.

In 1976 I visited the Buffet Crampon warehouse near The Elephant And Castle in London with John McCaw, who was my tutor at the time. John helped me to pick out an orchestral pair (Bb and A) from the 30 or so examples of each R150 clarinet there. I have always loved playing them.

MOUTHPIECES etc.

Mouthpieces:
Saxes: Fred Lebayle and Geoff Lawton.
Clarinet: Vandoren  
http://www.lebayle.com/
     

Slings:
I have finally found the holy grail of sax slings which allows total freedom of movement with no impact upon the neck and/or back.
Surprise surprise, it's made by Fred Lebayle! CEINTURE BELT http://www.lebayle.com/
     


 

AMPLIFICATION

CLARINET
I use a wonderful clarinet 'bug' made by Ashton Tootel (great name!). It is called, appropriately, a Tootel Bug. A small microphone is presented to the bore of the instrument at the exterior end of a sleeve which lines a hole drilled through the barrel of the clarinet. The microphone is attached to a belt-pack pre-amplifier which delivers a signal ideal for any mixer or D.I. box. The signal it delivers is free of extraneous noise and the tone is excellent. For large venues and in particular for playing with rock bands it is a dream. I have seen clarinettists struggling with the SD LCM 82 microphone system and good luck to them!

SAXOPHONE
I choose to use my Sennheiser radio mic system or ask the live sound engineer for a good stand mounted microphone, depending on circumstance. The drawback of a clip on mic (such as I use in the radio system) is that you can't get away from it; you can't use it as a good vocalist would use a handheld to deal with dynamics or variation of colour
.


 

OTHER SAXES

Alto and soprano saxes

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE CLARINET BARREL
from "Clarinet Acoustics" by O. Lee Gibson, published by Indiana University Press

In their effects on the modal frequency ratios of the clarinet, the mouthpiece and the barrel need to be treated as one variable unit.

With respect to intonation, given a prescribed length, modal ratios supplied by a barrel are determined by the total volume enclosed within it (and the mouthpiece). The larger this area the greater the frequency separation between the upper first and second modes. Also, as detailed in Chapter 9, the farther up a tube an enlargement occurs, the more specifically it affects higher-mode frequencies such as those of the third, fourth, and fifth modes. A pronounced reverse-conical (Moennig) bore in the barrel can therefore raise the upper third-mode pitches slightly while holding down those of the upper second mode.

Tone is complexly affected by the weight of the barrel; the presence or absence of a dually tapered venturi in the barrel; a slight cavity resonance, which may be promoted by a reversed cone in the barrel as well as by another in the LH joint; and the finish of the inner surfaces of the barrel. Less weight produces more brilliant and less massive tones (as is the case with the entire body). The presence or absence of metal rings contributes to this totality.

Flexibility and brilliance will be promoted by the presence of a dually tapered venturi in the barrel, as compared with a linear taper. With the dual taper the upper portion of the bore decreases from a slightly enlarged top to a chosen midpoint, followed by a less rapidly decreasing lower portion.

Wind resistance and wall losses are affected by weight, enclosed volume, and the quality of the inner surfaces.

It is wise to reduce the bore of the barrel slightly when it is lengthened, since the added length provides an increase in a normally enlarged portion of the bore. (Consider a decrease of 0.03 mm. per added millimeter of length.)

  

Harry Fulcher
Telephone:
01548 842869
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