Klarinet Archive - Posting 000724.txt from 1996/08

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: R-13 Shopping
Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 20:20:00 -0400

Gary,
Please don't take this as a slight to your intelligence but you
are asking questions which really should be asked by a professional player
with many years experience. What I mean is, at your son's level of
playing, virtually any R-13 will be more than adequate for his needs for
many years to come. And to find out if it is a dog (a real rarity among
B-flat R-13's), you should save yourself alot of money and just ask his
teacher to try it out. It will make your life a whole lot easier. To make
an analogy, you could learn all about cars and take the motor apart on
every used car you look at to buy or you could bring it to a trusted
mechanic and ask him/her to give the car a once-over and render a
verdict. I think you really are overdoing it just a little, though your
motives and zeal are exemplary. And you ask the right questions so it
sounds like you really could do a credible job. However, I believe that
unless the buyer is qualified to PLAY the instrument at the proper level
to gauge its quality, the whole exercise is moot. I hope you find that
perfect instrument.

Fred Jacobowitz
Clarinet/Sax Instructor, Peabody Preparatory

On Tue, 27 Aug 1996, Gary Van Cott wrote:

> This questions is directed at pros and adult amateurs who, in the
> last year or two, have shopped for an R-13 for themselves or
> assisted someone else in buying one. These questions are very
> subjective, but this process is all about making relative judgements.
>
> I will be embarking on this project with, in addition to my
> checkbook, a tuner and what I believe is a good used R-13 I bought
> (for my son) earlier this year for comparison.
>
> Question 1. Roughly what percentage of R-13s are really quality
> instruments? Another way to ask this is how many instruments did you
> try before you found one you really liked?
>
> Question 2. While any instrument I select should be mechanically
> sound and play well in all registers, I expect to make my selection
> based primarily on tone quality and intonation. Is this reasonable
> or are there other factors I should be looking for or watching out for
> (see next question)?
>
> Question 3. What kind of defects can be expected in new R-13s? Which
> should be cause for immediate rejection and which can be easily
> fixed?
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Gary Van Cott
> Las Vegas, NV
> mccmis@-----.com
>