Ridenour Lyrique “C” RCP-570c
Serial #none
Barrel: 45.2mm, 2nd barrel is 46.3mm
Bore LH joint top: 14.8mm
Bore LH joint at bottom: 14.3mm
See the bottom of the page for MP3 downlods and a sound comparison with the Bb clarinet.
Intonation results taken when playing loud and not lipping. See how to interpret these results on the Model Comparison Page.
For this test, I pulled .2 at the barrel and .2 in the center for this horn.
Intonation summary: Professional level for sure. Delightful.Key work quality: There are a couple of fit and finish issues that I have noted. For instance, the throat tone A key is too stiff. It tends not to open all the way when playing faster passages. I will tweak that. Other than that, the key work seems very sturdy, and no one is going to move the crow foot linkage hooked on to the F/C key. Note the Ridenour ergonomic register key and the adjustable thumb rest.This clarinet is most appropriate for: Anyone. I agree with Tom that this would be great for people who play in church orchestras or other worship bands. Also Tom mentions that having a C instrument opens up lots of repertoire which one can borrow from the Baroque and Classic periods.Sound comparison:Compare the sound of the Bb clarinet and the C clarinet. The reed and mouthpiece are the same, my Legere and Chedeville combination.
Most of my readers will not need this information: I play the same thing twice on the Bb. When I play in G on the Bb clarinet, it is actually concert F pitch. When I play in A on the Bb clarinet, the pitch is the same as when I play in G on the C clarinet.
The sound of the C clarinet is quite pleasing. It has a very ringing, bell-like tone in the high register. (I'm sorry I didn't go high enough to show that in the sound sample.) In the lower registers, it begins to sound a bit like the Eb clarinet, a bit thinner than the Bb. Because of the difference in sound and the fact that it takes some getting used to a significantly smaller clarinet, my thought would be to approach this clarinet almost like doubling on another instrument. Don't expect that you will sound dark on it. I can see why the Bb and A clarinets were chosen over the C for normal playing. But the C clarinet still has a hauntingly beautiful sound for lyric passages, and a happy, plucky sound for faster passage playing. As an example of the later, C clarinets are often used in Klezmer music.
See Tom's promotional video here.
I think one of Tom's is in use in the Copenhagen Ravel Bolero flash mob.