Check out my article published in the June 2025 issue of The Clarinet, “Exploring Synthetic Reeds.” It’s a survey of the synthetic reeds currently on the market for B-flat/A clarinets, plus some general thoughts on the current viability of synthetics for clarinet playing. The article is available in the print magazine, as well as on the International Clarinet Association’s blog, The Clarinet [Online].
The Clarinet doesn’t do product reviews per se, so the article doesn’t include any rankings/judgments/critiques of the individual reeds, but rest assured I’ve got some opinions. Stay tuned!
I’m pleased to share videos from my recent recital mini-tour, performed at Delta State University, Mississippi State University, and East Mississippi Community College. The program was five works for five different woodwind instruments, all using live electronics.
At that point the ClariMate seemed to be positioned mostly as a tool for practicing the clarinet silently. I found that to be a bit of a stretch, maybe having limited usefulness for practicing fingerings but far less helpful with matters of tone production.
At that time, some of the promotional materials also suggested that the ClariMate could be used as a MIDI controller. That turned out to be incorrect, and a Buffet-Crampon confirmed that the feature was “not publicly available yet.”
There is now some MIDI functionality available. A dual purpose of silent practice plus MIDI capability is reflected in the current advertising copy (found at the ClariMate US website as of mid-September 2024): “Silent Practice, Digital Play,” “ClariMate is a Reversible Hybrid Instrument and Digital Practice Mute for Bb clarinets,” “Opening the door to silent practice and the world of digital music.” This is bolstered with some videos of prominent clarinetists using the ClariMate as a MIDI controller.
Reliability
As I mentioned in my full review, I had some issues with my unit, including sporadic inoperability and a persistent failure to complete the “reed calibration” process in the apps. (Calibrating the reed ostensibly makes it possible to bend pitch by applying more or less pressure to the reed. This is a common feature of many wind controllers, though I don’t think it’s an accurate reflection of how pitch is manipulated on the clarinet.)
To their credit, members of Buffet-Crampon’s ClariMate team have stayed in touch over the last couple of years, and ultimately offered to exchange my ClariMate for a new unit. I have spent a little time with the new unit and I do find it to be more stable, though it’s not clear to me whether that’s due to a defect in the previous one or to improvements to the firmware and apps.
I did manage to complete the reed calibration process in the Windows app, but only after many attempts with the new unit. And I still find that I do not have any real control of pitch bends. Most of the time the pitch is completely unaffected no matter how much or how little pressure I put on the reed. I do hear very occasional small bends while playing, but they are not intentional and I can’t figure out how to make them happen on purpose.
MIDI features
I also experimented a little with the new MIDI functionality. The ClariMate website now offers free “MIDIMate” software, a rudimentary soft synth for Windows and MacOS with a handful of sounds. I was also able to use the ClariMate with another Windows soft synth, and with a music notation program for note entry, though both were considerably more glitchy than MIDIMate or the ClariMate apps.
In researching the new MIDI capabilities, I did a web search for “ClariMate manual” and clicked the first result, a PDF hosted on the ClariMate EU website. It contains this text: “MIDI will work in USB or bluetooth mode via Windows or MacOS, and in bluetooth mode via Android and iOS. We recommend using MIDI in USB mode to reduce latency as much as possible.” I was unable to get ClariMate MIDI working with my Android device, and a representative has now confirmed that MIDI is “not yet available on Android, but should be soon.” He also pointed me to a more up-to-date version of the manual, which does not include the misleading text. (If you are looking for a current manual, you should visit the ClariMate website to make sure you aren’t looking at something outdated.)
The fact that MIDI capability was falsely advertised at the ClariMate’s launch, and that Android MIDI was falsely mentioned in a recent user’s manual, seem consistent with an apparent pattern of over-promising and under-delivering. That’s concerning when selling a not-inexpensive gadget to tech-savvy clarinetists, a finicky bunch if ever there was one. The older manuals should probably be removed from the ClariMate websites so they will disappear from Google results, and it would be responsible of Buffet-Crampon to be precise and truthful about which features are and aren’t available.
Use cases?
My ClariMate has mostly stayed in its case. I am fortunate to have a space where I can practice out loud, and if that were to change I don’t think the ClariMate’s silent practice functionality would suit my purposes. And the MIDI compatibility pales in comparison to the capabilities and reliability of my Akai wind controller. If you are a professional or semi-professional musician and finding good uses for the ClariMate, I would be curious to hear about them.
I’m grateful to the ClariMate team for their ongoing communication and support, and I hope this device will be a first step toward continuing innovation.
The PiezoBarrel pickup is a way to electrify wind instruments, for amplification and for the application of electronic effects, such as guitar effects pedals. There are a few models of PiezoBarrel with different tonal characteristics, and the “Wood” model seems to be optimized for clarinets.
I have experimented with electronics previously using the Little Jake pickup, on bassoon, bass clarinet, and English horn. In those cases installation involved drilling a small hole into a metal bocal or neck, and soldering on a small adapter to accept the Little Jake. I considered pursuing the same approach with the clarinet, but had some apprehensions about drilling into a wooden barrel.
While trying to work up the nerve to proceed, I discovered that the PiezoBarrel is available pre-installed on a clarinet barrel. (It can also be purchased separately if you want to take on the do-it-yourself task or have your repair tech handle it.) I found this to be a surprisingly affordable option, so I placed my order through PiezoBarrel’s eBay store, figuring this would at least be a way to test-drive the pickup before installing on one of my own barrels.
On arrival, I found the provided plastic barrel to work quite well with my instruments, so my wooden barrels get a reprieve for now. If I choose, I can later use the same pickup with many other instruments, if I install adapters (available from PiezoBarrel) for mounting on wood or metal.
The package I purchased included the plastic 65mm barrel, with a screw that can be used to close the hole (so the barrel can be used as a “normal” barrel). It also included the PiezoBarrel pickup unit, which is a cylinder just over 2cm in length and about the same in diameter (or just under 1 inch). It screws into the threaded hole in the barrel. It also includes an audio cable, with a 1/8″ end that plugs into the PiezoBarrel and a 1/4″ end that plugs into your effects or amplification. There were also a few extra adapters, such as for installing into my own wooden barrels, and a small screwdriver for adjusting the PiezoBarrel’s output volume. (This is something you would adjust once if needed, and then adjust volume for performance using your amplification system’s volume controls.)
Installation was as simple as putting the barrel on my clarinet, screwing in the pickup, and plugging in the cable.
The PiezoBarrel doesn’t require an external preamp. It can be plugged directly into a PA system or something like a guitar or keyboard amplifier (using the included cable), or can be routed through effects units of your choice.
Most pickups will impose some amount of “character” on the sound of a wind instrument. (For a more purely “natural” sound, use a high-quality external microphone instead, though this raises potential problems when working with live effects or on noisy stages.) However, I find the PiezoBarrel’s sound to be surprisingly close to natural on my clarinets.
For baseline comparison, here’s me playing, recorded with a conventional microphone:
And here’s what it sounds like through the PiezoBarrel:
Here are some examples using effects, from the Boss GT-1000CORE guitar multieffects unit. All have a little added reverb. For simplicity, they do not have any noise reduction or added EQ/compression, which I might do to sweeten them for a real performance or recording situation.
Overdrive plus chorus:
Delay:
Distortion:
Pitch shifter:
In my opinion, this is an excellent system for electrified clarinet—easy, affordable, and of suitable quality for performance.
