Klarinet Archive - Posting 000799.txt from 1996/08

From: fredj@-----.E
Subj: Re: R-13 Shopping (fwd)
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 15:35:03 -0400

Forwarded message:
>
> 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
> >