TylerW
02-10-2004, 03:26 PM
After months of waiting, I was finally able to pick up my soprillo last night. I was only able to play it for about fifteen minutes last night, but I thought some of you might be interested in my impressions. For my quick play test, I used the Vandoren 3 Ab clarinet reed that came with it and a Vandoren 3 sopranino sax reed. I used both with the stock ligature and my Winslow sopranino ligature.
Construction:
Even though it is incredibly small, the soprillo appears to be very well constructed. The keywork feels very solid and the horn itself feels very substantial. The horn is very well balanced. It is possible to balance the horn, without the mouthpiece, on the right hand thumb rest. I call it a thumb rest because it is not a hook. It is just a concave piece of plastic that allows you to balance the horn while playing. It even has a ring for a neckstrap. I guess you could use one if you were afraid of dropping the horn. The only thing about the construction that I do not like, and this is just a personal preference, is that the bell is slightly curved and the horn cannot stand up by itself.
Keywork:
As you would expect in an instrument this small, the keywork is somewhat cramped. However, most of the keys are exactly where your hand would expect them to be. In fact, the only thing that I had problems with was the left hand spatula. It is further back than I would like. To play any notes using the spatula keys, except G#, I would have to move my hand considerably which is not comfortable. G# was not a problem because my natural motion pushed the arm coming off the key which seems to work just fine. From looking at pictures, I had expected that certain alternate fingerings would not be available due to limited keywork. I was wrong. It is possible to play Bb with side, bis, or 1-1- (1-4-). The side Bb key also functions as the side C key. I did not believe it when I read the note from Mr. Eppelsheim, but it does work and is actually in tune. The alternate F# is also available although it is half under the D# key. The key that I was most impressed with is the high octave vent. As most of you know, the vent is located in the mouthpiece. I had expected this to severely limit the choices of ligatures, but it does not. The key itself if slightly recessed in the mouthpiece, which allows you to use almost any ligature.
Tuning:
I was actually impressed with the tuning of this little instrument. It is by no means perfect, but in the short time I was able to play, it seemed to be somewhat better than my Yani sopranino. Of course, I have not sat in front of a tuner with it yet, so I could change my mind later.
Overall:
I have to say that on the whole I am very pleased with my newest addition. I must state that even though I have said many good things about this horn, it is still quite a handful. It takes an incredible amount of control to play and I do not know that I will ever master the little beast, but it will be fun trying.
Construction:
Even though it is incredibly small, the soprillo appears to be very well constructed. The keywork feels very solid and the horn itself feels very substantial. The horn is very well balanced. It is possible to balance the horn, without the mouthpiece, on the right hand thumb rest. I call it a thumb rest because it is not a hook. It is just a concave piece of plastic that allows you to balance the horn while playing. It even has a ring for a neckstrap. I guess you could use one if you were afraid of dropping the horn. The only thing about the construction that I do not like, and this is just a personal preference, is that the bell is slightly curved and the horn cannot stand up by itself.
Keywork:
As you would expect in an instrument this small, the keywork is somewhat cramped. However, most of the keys are exactly where your hand would expect them to be. In fact, the only thing that I had problems with was the left hand spatula. It is further back than I would like. To play any notes using the spatula keys, except G#, I would have to move my hand considerably which is not comfortable. G# was not a problem because my natural motion pushed the arm coming off the key which seems to work just fine. From looking at pictures, I had expected that certain alternate fingerings would not be available due to limited keywork. I was wrong. It is possible to play Bb with side, bis, or 1-1- (1-4-). The side Bb key also functions as the side C key. I did not believe it when I read the note from Mr. Eppelsheim, but it does work and is actually in tune. The alternate F# is also available although it is half under the D# key. The key that I was most impressed with is the high octave vent. As most of you know, the vent is located in the mouthpiece. I had expected this to severely limit the choices of ligatures, but it does not. The key itself if slightly recessed in the mouthpiece, which allows you to use almost any ligature.
Tuning:
I was actually impressed with the tuning of this little instrument. It is by no means perfect, but in the short time I was able to play, it seemed to be somewhat better than my Yani sopranino. Of course, I have not sat in front of a tuner with it yet, so I could change my mind later.
Overall:
I have to say that on the whole I am very pleased with my newest addition. I must state that even though I have said many good things about this horn, it is still quite a handful. It takes an incredible amount of control to play and I do not know that I will ever master the little beast, but it will be fun trying.