Leblanc LB310 'Bliss' Composite Clarinet
Leblanc LB310 'Bliss' Composite Clarinet
Here is an exciting new model, developed by the clarinet designer Morrie Backun in conjunction with the clarinettist Julian Bliss. This is a true intermediate clarinet, with no risk of the common problems of wooden instruments in this area of the market - including weight issues or lower-grade wood. Due to the composite material being used, all the value is in the design of the body, bell and keywork - as well as a top class wooden barrel and ebonite mouthpiece.
Review by Gary Bridge for Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain
"The first thing you notice about this clarinet is that it is of a ringless design. Normally the rings on a clarinet add strength to the sockets where the end grain of the wood is weakest. However, on the Bliss Clarinet this strengthening is unnecessary because of the material used in the construction of the instrument, visually it making the instrument look very sleek, and having the useful advantage of saving weight making it easier for younger players to handle."
"The sleek looks continue in the Backun designed Bell, in fact this being the only Backun designed Bell made from a composite material. The material used in the body and bell is a hi-tech synthetic composite, which is superior top the usual ABS plastic."
"Certainly I think that the 'feel' of the keywork will appeal to players of all ages, but most of all to young players, where it will feel very comfortable and light. Overall, it has the feel and positive action of a clarinet costing substantially more."
"There is one other very useful feature of the keywork; small adjusting screws have been fitted to the crows foot, left hand F/C key and to the over-arm E/B key, the latter quite similar to the Boosey & Hawkes Symphony 1010. It is quite unusual to see a clarinet at this price point featuring key adjusters; they should allow playing across the break to be much easier by keeping the long keys in adjustment."
"It is also pleasing to see that Leblanc have decided to supply a good quality ebonite mouthpiece with the outfit. It is very difficult for clarinet makers to supply a mouthpiece that will suit every player, but on playing I was pleasantly surprised by the result. The sound was nicely focused, gave good intonation, but more importantly, the sound produced was much more mature than one would have expected if Leblanc had chosen to supply a basic plastic mouthpiece."
"It soon became apparent that the tone is quite even throughout the whole range, I found that the notes around the throat area were very clear including the usually troublesome throat Bb, intonation was accurate for open G, and throat A. The 'throat' register of the clarinet usually causes most of the problems for less experienced players, but with this clarinet I feel that students and more advanced players can now have the confidence they need to play without having to worry about poor intonation or having a 'fuzzy' sound."
"What really surprised me was how full and rich the sound could be when projected in a large hall, I can only put this down to the Backun Grenadilla barrel as supplied with this clarinet; this is a major coup for Leblanc, and seriously raises the stakes for clarinet that does not have a wooden body."
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