Hi guys,

Played a Chalumeau this weekend at a medieval fare and was instantly hooked. Now I am looking for something similar, simple and bring-along-able.

Have narrowed my selection down to either a Sans Clariphone or a plastic Xaphoon, but need some input here.


The Clariphone is wood which I like the look and feel of. Am a little hesitant due to ever changing moisture conditions, cold and whatnot that are wood's worst enemies.

The Xaphoon would be ideal materialwise, but am hesitant due to the iffy 1.5 octave effective range, the unmatched "fat" mouthpiece and... well... The fingering chart makes my hair curl to be frank.


I haven't seen enough info on the clariphone. No real musicians using it and not nearly enough audio clips available which makes me unsure. Plus they manage to get it to sound worse than the Chalumeau on their own test clip for some reason.
It is the same mouthpiece (as the Chalumeau), just a bit different drilling and fingering, so it should not sound "less good" right?!


Help!
I mean it: HEEELP me decide!

Or at least tell me to stop dreaming and get a real Clarinet instead! ;D


Thanks for listening.

/Jimmy, Sweden

You don't mention which Chalumeau you tried, nor why you then decided to choose between the Clariphone or the Xaphoon?

If you really want "something similar, simple and bring-along-able", maybe check out
http://www.hansonclarinets.com/Hanson_C ... umeau.html
... they seem relatively bomb-proof and very reasonably priced by comparasion.

I've got an old Hohner, I think they called it a "Pocket Clarinet", with a couple of keys, which I thoroughly enjoy. Something very similar is made by Kunath http://www.kunath.com/Clarineau:::8.htm ... be564a8b1b . If ever I get good enough to warrant the expense, I may buy one of their three-key instruments

I have a SANS chalumeau in olive wood, which sounds great but is a bit hard to play in tune for the top couple of notes. It knocks the socks off the Hohner.

I have heard and tried xaphoons. Not impressed at all. Nasty sound and poor intonation.

The clariphone seems like an idea that should have been discovered and adopted 300 years ago if it actually worked.

There is also the Tupian chalumeau - they seem to be most committed to developing these instruments. They offer both simple and overblowing versions in several different woods.

A much cheaper non-overblowing clarinet is the Hanson chalumeau (plastic). I haven't tried one or heard samples.

I have normal clarinets and a sax, so I don't need an instrument that's trying to catch up without the benefit of a design tradition going back to the 18th century. I might get one of the non-overblowing Tupians sometime.

Without wanting to sound at all troll-like, is there really that much difference between two similarly-drilled wooden tubes that can't be attributed to the mouthpiece? I have extremely limited experience with these things and am unlikely to "upgrade" from my Hohner in the forseeable future, so the question, from my perspective, is purely academic. I've had opportunity to try a different mouthpiece (and reed) on my Hohner and noticed a distinct difference ... FWIW I preferred the original

First: Thanks for the Tupian link... Just what the doctor ordered!
I am really really thankful for that. Never would have found it otherwise!


Second: I tried a handmade chalumeau, thrice the price of any other I've seen. I got hooked on the reedwind sound as opposed to my humble collection of penny/tinwhistles or even my irish flute.
What bothered me with the instrument was the limited range, therefore I would like similar but a couple of extra notes in there... (playable I might add)


Now I just need to polish off my school German to see if Tupian is willing to ship me one overblowing chalumeau. My knowledge of German is about "Wo is das rathaus" and then the old Top Secret quote "Bist dein tachter achtseen, bitte?"



/Jimmy, Sweden

I don't pretend to understand anything about mouthpieces. I just blunder around until I find something that works. With the SANS I ended up getting the best results with a strength 1 reed on some no-name el cheapo plastic mpc that I think I got with a Turkish clarinet 20 years ago and which sounded rubbish on every clarinet I tried it on.

A Tupian overblowable with 3 double holes ordered!
will return here with a report on it.

Thanks again!

The Tupian chalumeau arrived in the mail and I have had a little time in getting to know it and I really like it.

For a beginner the mouthpiece (rico B5 Bb clarinet mouthpiece) is a bit open making it a little difficult at first. I have not had any experience with reed woodwind before and it was harder than the chalumeau I previously tested.
Looked around and apparently once you learn the correct pressure the openness is to an advantage in forming the tone, but to a beginner a smaller opening would have been easier. It is not super difficult either, just something that you need to spend some time with getting used to.

The tube itself is absolutely flawless. Mega quality and superb craftmanship all the way. Tones are exactly what they should be and... well... just perfect.


It is a fun little instrument to have and I am so glad I did NOT get the Xaphoon.

I am going to play it a lot and then decide whether to get synthetic reeds for it or not. It came with 2 rico reeds, padded bag, cork grease, cleaning rod and several instruction manuals (sadly in German, but Swedish is a lot like german and I have some basic knowledge of the language so no problems there).

All in all I think the Tupian chalumeau is the best value in the segment and the craftmanship leaves nothing more to wish for.
By musicians - for musicians!


Completely happy with mine and I am smiling as I torture the neighbors with my squeaking!

/Jimmy