I've been away for a few years and just happened to look at the site - to see this thread. For those of you who don't know me (or of me), I used to post quite a bit on SOTW. I've played soprano saxophone for over 50 years, and I play trad jazz exclusively. I added clarinet (Boehm) many years ago (maybe 40 years now) and currently I am playing sop sax, clarinet, and alto sax with the Golden Eagle Jazz Band in Fullerton, CA (Steamers Cafe two Sundays each month). Two guys I know (terrific players) in trad jazz here in SoCal play Albert clarinets. One is an 1887 Buffet and the other is a newer Hammerschmidt. I own three Albert clarinets and three Boehm clarinets now.
First of all, I read on this site that Alberts sound different from Boehms. And, that it may be because of different bore sizes - the Alberts having bigger bores. I disagree with those assertions. An Albert clarinet sounds like . . . a clarinet. I will discuss bore-size below.
There are tonal differences among different clarinets - when I bought my Buffet RC Prestige Boehm clarinet years ago, I tested several different brands and at least two RC Prestige models against the one I eventually bought. All sounded different, even among the same models. But it wasn't because of their keywork. My Buffet RC Prestige remains the best soprano clarinet I've played (or heard - for tone). It was once played for a show by noted French trad clarinetist Alain Marquet, who borrowed it from me because his clarinet was stolen. I've heard it from both ends.
Last year on a European river cruise, I happened upon a music store in Regensburg, Germany. They had several new "German System" ( meaning Albert, Simple, and Oehler System) clarinets on display. I didn't have enough time to play them all, but the store personnel allowed me to put my mouthpiece on one (a Yamaha YCL 457-20) and give it a blow. Other German System clarinets on display were higher and lower Yamaha models, German-made clarinets, and a couple of inexpensive Chinese-made clarinets. The clerk told me that almost 100% of German clarinetists trained in Germany play the German System. He called Boehm System, "The French System." I knew that Yamaha made German/Albert/Oehler System clarinets but I had never seen one - they are rare in the U.S., if there at all. This was a chance to actually experience a new Albert clarinet.
I played the 457-20 in a back room and had to wrap paper around the mouthpiece tenon to fit the larger tuning barrel opening. When I finished, the guy said he had never heard a German clarinet sound that way. I took it as a compliment. I got a good, strong sound out of the thing.
I passed on buying it but the idea intrigued me enough so that when I returned home, I contacted Matthews Music in The Netherlands and ordered a new Yamaha YCL 457-20. It was about $250.00 less buying it that way.
The Yamaha arrived and I immediately began working the thing trying to get my mind around the fingering differences. I have owned various Alberts over the years and knew the basic fingering differences, and I have a recently restored Triomphe-Paris C Albert clarinet so I practiced on it before the Yamaha arrived.
The Yamaha came with a nice case and a German-System mouthpiece. The Yamaha mouthpiece fit the tuning barrel just fine. The mouthpiece also had string-grooves around the barrel for those who used string ligatures. It came with a reed. The mouthpiece table and window were much more narrow than my clarinet mouthpieces and the reed was considerably more narrow than my clarinet reeds. I got a very weak sound out of the Yamaha mouthpiece. Besides not sounding good, this would not work for me because I do not use any amplification when I play in public.
I ended up using my Boehm mouthpieces and they worked just fine (mainly a Lakey 5* with a 1 1/2 Fibracell reed, and also a Selmer HS** with the Fibracell), except that I had to have the corks replaced to allow them to fit the tuning barrel's larger receptacle. When those corks became compressed, I ended up wrapping the mouthpiece's tenon with plumber's tape so the mouthpieces would fit.
Vandoren has a site where they sell German-System mouthpieces and you can select tenon diameters larger than those for Boehm clarinets. I thought about buying a Vandoren with the larger tenon for it but the tip-openings were a lot smaller than what I use, so I passed on that idea. I didn't need to pour another $150 into this instrument.
I worked this horn for months and got to the point where I could play it in public. I did several feature tunes with it (STRANGER ON THE SHORE, WEST END BLUES, LOOSE LIKE A GOOSE [see Bennie Moten's Kansas City band from 1929], and Bechet's LOVE ME WITH A FEELING, to name a few) and the audience didn't know the difference between the Yamaha German System and my Buffet Boehm. In fact, at one time, I told the cornetist I was playing a new Yamaha German System (Albert) clarinet and he said, "It sounds like you."
While the Yamaha had a slightly different tonal quality to it than other clarinets I've played/owned, specifically my Boehms, I sure can't say the differences were because it was an Albert/Oehler/German - whatever. It was just a different sounding clarinet. When I played it next to my vintage Albert, the Yamaha sounded more open and bright. Intonation wise, the vintage Albert was better, and it dates to the '20's, I think. When I play my lower-level Buffet Boehm against my RC Prestige, they too sound different from each other.
The Yamaha had some intonation issues . . . F2 (the one fingered like a saxophone's C2/C3) was sharp. I had to close R1-2-3 to bring it into anything close to proper pitch . . . or I could use side F. The low E was also sharp but there was nothing to do about that. The tuning barrel cracked but Matthews sent me a new one and I returned the cracked one. As I played and played this thing, some of the adjustment corks lost their firmness and made difficult the closing of various intonation vents. That resulted in some notes failing to speak at critical moments. Finally, a spring lost its tension and I had to replace that. I am not impressed with the build-quality of the Yamaha.
The Yamaha's bore is smaller than any of my Boehms. I know this because the Yamaha will not fit on my standard clarinet pegs. I've concluded that the YCL 457-20 is more of a modified Oehler System than a simple Albert System (aka German System). The reason is that when comparing the Yamaha to an old Conn Albert I own, the Yamaha has many more intricate intonation gadgets - the rings around the tone holes on the Yamaha act to open and close related vents to aid intonation, much like full Oehlers. But the rings ended up being a deal-breaker for me in that they made a light touch on the tone holes well nigh impossible. I found myself pressing each tone hole harder than necessary just to ensure that the intonation vents were fully closed. It isn't the same as the rings around my Buffet's tone holes. Even after having the adjusting corks replaced (which improved the horn's response a bit), it still requires a concentrated effort to fully depress each tone-hole ring.
I've returned the Yamaha to its case in my closet and use the Buffet RC Prestige exclusively for public performances. I also bought from Dave Kessler last year a new Buffet E-11 which I leave out, assembled on a peg so I can pick it up on a moment's whim and practice.
Bottom line is that if you think playing an Albert in trad jazz settings (make that "Dixieland") will make you jazzier, it ain't necessarily so. That "jazziness" and trad sound comes from the player, not the instrument. DAVE