Description

Rheuben Allen Plateau B-flat Clarinet
It is amazing!  I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to do it!  But it is working wonderfully.  There are a couple of notes I am struggling with because my pinkies are particularly weak and uncoordinated  ( I don’t use my left pinky when I type), but I bet with practice and development of some new muscle memory, I will get those notes too.  And my students have benefitted already!  I have been teaching low notes and they were sounding really wispy and weak. This week I played for them on the clarinet you sent and all of a sudden I have clarinet players with a rich dark sound!!!
It feels good to be able to have that little bit of myself back and to be able to share it with my students!!
Thank you again!!
Jill   (From Canada)

Pete K.
Got the clarinet Thursday afternoon and played it all day at school on Friday. What an amazing difference for me! I had minimal pain and was playing with smoother technique. My embouchure is out of shape so my tone isn’t great yet, but it’ll come back. Thanks for all your help. This is a game changer for me!

**When you purchase a Rheuben Allen Plateau Clarinet you will be sent a package by email containing: Exercises to help with the simple learning curve, fingerings for the upper regisgter of the plateau clarinet,

*As many of you know I play the plateau clarinet and have for over a year now…. I started playing it because of hand problems but found there were several things I liked more on the plateau then the standard clarinets I had been using. I have a great collection of all the major brands of clarinets available…..

I worked at Buffet in California setting up the Buffet clarinets and have now payed the clarinet over 60 years…. Yes … now over 60 years…. I do hate being able to say that……

I find the plateau clarinet has a very even tone color throughout the range of the clarinet.  The high notes seem to play with great ease. The ABS material responds very fast. In general I like the plateau clarinets more than the traditional clarinets.

Now keep in mind I am not playing is a symphony orchestra…. I play for my personal enjoyment and fun……  I Came out with these clarinets so young people that have small hands can play the clarinet and so older musicians that have hand problems can continue playing the clarinet.

My friends Bill Perkins who played lead alto in the Johnny Carson band played on for the last few years of his life on a Plateau clarinet…. My very good friend Jack Nimitz best known as the baritone sax player in Super Sax used one near the end of his playing…..

I think they are a very good alternative for people with hand problems or very small hands.

**Free Shipping is only good if the product if kept by the purchasing person. If the product is returned the client will be charged for the original shipping before the refund is given and
client pays for the instrument to be returned….. there may also be a 20% restocking charge if the instrument is not returned in the same condition that it was shipped… also, the mouthpiece needs to be new condition….

Plateau Clarinet Concepts:

First thing: I hear many clarinet players say the Plateau Clarinet does not work…. They are misinformed! We play plateau Alto, Bass, Contra Alto and Contra Bass clarinets that are all plateau. The only difference is that we are not going from an open hole bass clarinet to a plateau bass clarinet….

As we all know there is a adjustment period when going from a standard open hole clarinet to a plateau clarinet… I would like to talk about some of the things I need to adjust and how I was able to adjust to the plateau….

The hardest adjustment I had to make was of course going across the break of the clarinet….
1.         Adjustments: The first thing I found is that most plateau clarinets have the register key set too low…. By raising the register key a little higher it becomes easier to go across the break…. This allows the left thumb to clear the covered thumb F key when going to the B-Flat… I raised the register key a little on my clarinet and it made going across the break much easier… I then started raising the register keys when I set up the clarinets I produce.

2. Exercises: I wrote many exercises to practice just going across the break….. and started practicing these exercises very slowly so my fingers would get use to the placement of the keys….(These exercises are available on www.rheubenallen.com to download at no cost)
3. Hand Size: I have pretty big hands and have always had a problem with opening keys I am not trying to open. EXAMPLE: I always hit the alternate E-Flat/ B-Flat in the left hand… I have always corked it closed on any clarinet I played… I do the same on the plateau….
4. Key Heights: Most plateau clarinets have the keys set too close to the body so they play stuffy… opening them up can make the clarinet play much better… *I have players say then they are too high and slow down my technique…. Hell, there are players, playing very open bass clarinets and of course the saxophone has keys 4 times as open as the plateau B-Flat clarinet and they can be played very fast!
5. Plateau Stigma: We must fact the stigma of playing the plateau… the so called real clarinet players say they do not sound the same… Hell, no 2 clarinets sound the same… I worked at Buffet setting up clarinets and would some days play 40 plus new clarinets and set them up… no 2 played the same… they all played good but just not the same….
6. Stock clarinets: No one is playing a stock Buffet clarinet… they have all had them worked on (There are guys around the world that adjust and modify Buffet clarinets for a living) by someone…
7. I believe that Francois Kloc is in the wrong job… President of Buffet – CEO of Powell flutes is great for him… But I think and believe he is the best clarinet and oboe repairman I have ever met…. The world needs repairmen of his high level repairing clarinets…. Although it would like be a very big pay cut for him… I guess he is right … screw repair….. but this is a story for another time…
8. Clarinet Set ups: When we set up our instruments and get use to how they play… changer can be a problem.. I have a friend that is a great clarinet player… I wish I could sound like him… he has been looking for another clarinet for 5 or 6 years… I think we all look for what we are accustomed to more than what we are looking for when we start looking for a new clarinet….
9. Options: So, when we get a plateau we have many options to us to make the clarinet play for us…. FOR US!… We have barrels, key heights, bells, different joint rings to improve intonation, response and tone color, the clarinet adjusting tone hopes for the way we play etc. I spent most of my life as a repairman adjusting stock for players…. I remember moving my friend Jack Nimitz’s thumb rest at least 20 plus times before we got it where he really liked it….
10. Attitude adjustment: If you are an adult with hand problems an must switch to the plateau like me… you have preconceived ideas of what you want the plateau to sound like and feel like….. these preconceptions might not work!… When you play your, A clarinet you do not want it to sound or feel like your B-Flat… When you play your E-Flat it is definitely not like your B-Flat… So, when you start playing the plateau have an open mind… you will need to make adjustments….