Clarinet Hanson T6 Clarinet

[Ads]

It`s taken a long time for me to get a top Clarinet, but finally it`s here (I PX'ed the SE5 and sold all the others bar the Weird Lyons-C ) .

When Stephen Howard reviewed the T6 he was bang on the mark, it`s a top flight horn and even better as a large bore in Gorgeous Rosewood with engraved labelling, the interesting thing is that unlike most clarinets, it`s got proper Sax type pads instead of the usual fragile fish-skin ones, they must be fun to fit (they`re tiny) . . it handles like a dream and sounds sublime (even with me playing it) - being a large bore it`s very Sax-player friendly in that its far more free blowing than "usual" clarinets, you don`t keel over through lack of oxygen after a few bars, I can now get down to the serious job of learning to play properly ..

Here`s a strip of 3 pics I took . I can thoroughly recommend this 100% British made Clarinet, Grenadilla just ain`t the same... Check Hanson's site or better still speak to Alastair or Julia as thy have Demo models of the T series

 

[Greg Strange]

Congratulations on the new clarinet - looks fantastic - there will be a few envious people on this forum including myself, drooling over this beautiful horn...



Nothing like owning and playing a fine high quality musical instrument.

Greg S.

 

[Ads]

Thanks Greg - it`s a one off "For life" thing and now my only Clarinet apart from the Weird Lyons C (which will probably be sold soon anyway as I don`t need a C now) . better to have one really good Pro one than an intermediate I couldn`t play because of the small bore plus a dozen old wheezers, clanky duffers and student models piled up ..

Now is the definately the time to buy Hanson Clarinets and Saxes, there are all sorts of deals on old stock, prototypes and used ones floating about, they seem to be clearing the decks alround.

 

[Greg Strange]

Thanks Greg - it`s a one off "For life" thing and now my only Clarinet apart from the Weird Lyons C (which will probably be sold soon anyway as I don`t need a C now) . better to have one really good Pro one than an intermediate I couldn`t play because of the small bore plus a dozen old wheezers, clanky duffers and student models piled up ..

Now is the definately the time to buy Hanson Clarinets and Saxes, there are all sorts of deals on old stock, prototypes and used ones floating about, they seem to be clearing the decks alround.

Thanks for the heads up with the Hanson instruments - it appears they have also re-vamped their various web-sites and links to make them more user friendly for people like me who live on the other side of this rock, floating in space, in Middle-Earth...

The SE5 clarinet in rosewood does look 'precious' on their website....

Greg S.

 

[Jeanette]

Looks gorgeous, hope you enjoy it 🙂

Jx

 

[Ads]

Greg - The Hanson website is better than it was but most of the sale stuff isn`t on there . the SE5 is definately a lot more affordable, even in Rosewood and the one I had (which was "reinforced Grenadilla") was a superb clarinet in the way that a Yamaha 475 is (compared to a "Z Custom" of a T series) , I do recommend the large bore for sax players however, it`s not as large as some large bore horns . just right I`d say (like a Boosey Symphony for instance) and makes it far freer blowing than the standard bore ..

And Thanks Jeanette 🙂

 

[Jamesmac]

Your new clarinet looks beautiful Ads. Pleased for you. Are you restricted as to which MP you can use, a Pillinger Bronzite would suit it, I think. I also play British . I went to Howarth with the intention of buying a replacement RC, and walked out with a Howarth Clarinet. It played better than all the RC,s I tried and was cheaper. Even Ed Pillinger has remarked on the sound. Hope to hear some clips from the rosewood in the future.
Jim

 

[Sue]

That is a beautiful looking clarinet. I can hear the lush tones in my imaginary world now as I type. I'd love to hear some real sound from it. 🙂

 

[Ads]

I don`t have the Recording studio kit you lot have (Digicam Movie mode is as much as I`ve got) and my clarinet playing isn`t up to much (Spent too long on half dead B12s & old relics) Getting this has given me the incentive to get my head down and practice properly .

I have a Vandoren B42 or whatever its called (the number has faded off) which was too small bore for the besson even (one of those almost English bore wood Booseys) and a Hite Premiere which seems fine but I do want a better piece for it .

Jim, do you mean Rampone & Cazzoni by RC? , if so I didn`t know they made Clarinets .. Pillinger Bronzite sounds good to me if the PPT Onyxite Tenor 8* is anything to go by

 

[Jamesmac]

I don`t have the Recording studio kit you lot have (Digicam Movie mode is as much as I`ve got) and my clarinet playing isn`t up to much (Spent too long on half dead B12s & old relics) Getting this has given me the incentive to get my head down and practice properly .

I have a Vandoren B42 or whatever its called (the number has faded off) which was too small bore for the besson even (one of those almost English bore wood Booseys) and a Hite Premiere which seems fine but I do want a better piece for it .

Jim, do you mean Rampone & Cazzoni by RC? , if so I didn`t know they made Clarinets .. Pillinger Bronzite sounds good to me if the PPT Onyxite Tenor 8* is anything to go by

No the Buffet RC. I had a pair but the Bb was worn out after about 20 yrs.
Yes I have the Bronzite for Clarinet & Alto. Ed made the original Clarinet MP in rubber, Which was great, so I asked him to do the same in Bronzite. The difference was very noticeable with Clarinet. Don't know about how the material affected the alto as I had ordered the Bronzite for Alto as I liked it with Clarinet.

 

[Ads]

I`ve got mixed feelings about Buffet clarinets, I had a mint R13 but liked the Old Besson I had more in every way except keywork refinement , OK the besson is basically a Paupers B&H Symphony (in the same way that a YAS21 is a paupers YAS61 I Guess) but it`s still an old 60s lower-intermediate . I never really got on with the B12s, even the Schreiber made german one . I appreciate that they are general purpose workaday reliable horns but I never found a lot of character in them ..

The old Besson had attitude, the new Hanson has all that and more of it with a massive dose of refinement thrown in and top level keywork - In Sax terms, I guess like comparing an old Grassi to a R&C two voices ..

 

[Jamesmac]

I`ve got mixed feelings about Buffet clarinets, I had a mint R13 but liked the Old Besson I had more in every way except keywork refinement , OK the besson is basically a Paupers B&H Symphony (in the same way that a YAS21 is a paupers YAS61 I Guess) but it`s still an old 60s lower-intermediate . I never really got on with the B12s, even the Schreiber made german one . I appreciate that they are general purpose workaday reliable horns but I never found a lot of character in them ..

The old Besson had attitude, the new Hanson has all that and more of it with a massive dose of refinement thrown in and top level keywork - In Sax terms, I guess like comparing an old Grassi to a R&C two voices ..

I was lucky that my Buffet pair were selected from the factory. Long Before the B & H buy out.

 

[aldevis]

Congratulations for your new acquisition, Ads. Would you post a full review in our resources section?

I have a Vandoren B42 or whatever its called (the number has faded off) which was too small bore for the besson even (one of those almost English bore wood Booseys) and a Hite Premiere which seems fine but I do want a better piece for it .

Sometimes it is just a matter of reboring the mouthpiece, but I would be careful before doing it.
Pillinger can apply 926 and 1010 (from the B&H nomenclature) bores to almost any model.
He also has an F3 model that I find very tuning friendly on all the large bore clarinets I have.

Rampone & Cazzoni

Sometimes double checking the spelling is essential.

 

[Ads]

Congratulations for your new acquisition, Ads. Would you post a full review in our resources section?
.

Yeah, will in time when I`ve spent more hours with it .. I can`t remember if it was you who was interested in buying a Clarinet from Hanson , their Trial options are excellent .

As for the Rampone Spelling error - it`s their own fault, if they`d chosen a new single word company name after the merger and kept it simple, all the typos wouldn`t occur - LOL .. I`ve seen "Rambo & Casali" , "Rambone & Cazzini" and even worse before now - Borgani, Grassi and even Lupifaro are easier -

 

[aldevis]

Yeah, will in time when I`ve spent more hours with it .. I can`t remember if it was you who was interested in buying a Clarinet from Hanson , their Trial options are excellent .

I just had a Selmer S9 wreck restored by Mr Sequoia, and now it is my main gigging horn (non matching serial number, not original bell....)
I am still curious about them, though. We are relying on you.

As for the Rampone Spelling error - it`s their own fault, if they`d chosen a new single word company name after the merger and kept it simple, all the typos wouldn`t occur - LOL .. I`ve seen "Rambo & Casali" , "Rambone & Cazzini" and even worse before now - Borgani, Grassi and even Lupifaro are easier -

With a proper translator, you would understand that it is not an easy surname to carry around in Italy.
I like "Rambone & Cazzini" though, it makes me think of Sylvester Stallone.

Edit: in Italian "-one" or "-ona" added to a noun, makes it big. "-ino" or "-ina" makes it small.
Examples: "Pizzona" is a big pizza, "Pizzina" a small one.
"Nasone" (pl. nasoni) a big nose, "Nasino" (pl. nasini) a small one.

 

[Ads]

I am still curious about them, though. We are relying on you.
.

Sadly it`d be like asking one of the sax beginners here to review the Sheppard tenor .. OK I`ve technically been playing the clarinet for ages but competance wise I`m a beginner . However I do know a complex core sound when I hear one , also a malleability of tone and a clarinets ability to play end to end without the throats sounding strained or the bell notes sounding stuffy , I appreciate good keywork too .... the Hanson T6 has all of this in spades , the SE was very good indeed but the core sound even with my naff playing and a plastic Hite piece onboard is a very6 noticable step up again indeeed ..

 

[baritonesax]

Looks great! I spent a couple of hours at Hansons about a eighteen months ago playing various models and I particularly liked an English bore in Rosewood. I would have liked to have given him some business, but as I have four or five large bore clarinets already even I would have had some trouble arguing the case with the boss. Alastair was a bit of a nihilist when it came to mouthpiece bore, by the way - he believed reaming out mouthpieces made no significant difference to his "English bore" clarinets - they're more like 926s, not as open as 1010s as I recall. By the way, is your T6 stamped "Made in Yorkshire"?

Bill

 

[Ads]

Yep, I thought the large bore hansons were less large bore than the 1010s , the 926 is basically what the besson I had was (but with a bakelite bell and resin barrel) , I`m glad they`re not as open as 1010s which have a rep for being be fun to get a good mouthpiece match for ..........

Not a made in Yorkshire Stamped one - Hanson no doubt realised that "made in Yorkshire" was meaningless to most places outside the UK (and will put Lancastrians off buying Period) especially the USA, Yanks class the whole British isles as "England" (including Scotland !!) so the chance of Yorkshire meaning anything to them is slim in the extreme - Stamped made in England ...

 

[Jamesmac]

Just wondering Ads, what mouthpiece the maker recommends. Many moons ago when I bought my pair of 1010,s B&H supplied a MP. Because of the bore.🙂

 

[Ads]

I have to be honest Jim, I can`t remember, all this upgrading the SE5 to a T series large bore business with me started 7 months ago , I seem to remember a suggestion about having the Vandoren rebored . to be honest, even though the Vandoren is the wider tip B45 and not the usual narrow gap 5RV "upgrade piece", I find the tip gap still too narrow and the Hite Premier better (did on the Besson too) .

I think 1010s are larger bore than large bore usually is - the hanson a bit narrower , it plays fine with the Hite but I don`t venture into the upper register much