Klarinet Archive - Posting 001270.txt from 1998/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] "Best" Plastic Clarinet
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 05:42:27 -0400

At 06:46 PM 5/25/98 -0700, Sheryl L. Katz wrote:
>I've got a Yamaha YCL 64 that I play every day when I'm home, but my job
>demands a certain amount of travel. Not wanting to damage my Yamaha, I have
>a Selmer Bundy about 20 years old or so that someone gave me; it is plastic.
>I hate it.
>
>The sound, with a decent mouthpiece isn't that bad, but when I switch to it
>it feels sort of wierd. I can't exactly say why I hate it, but the Yamaha
>feels like it was made to fit into my hands and the mechanisms feel good,
>the Bundy feels oddly wrong. I'm thinking of getting another plastic
>clarinet and getting rid of this bundy. Does anyone have a recommendation.
>I don't want an expensive instrument but something that I could live with
>being damaged or stolen.
>
>I'm considering the Vito, the Buffet B-12 and the Yamaha YCL-20. Is there
>any reason to think that the Yamaha mechanisms would feel remotely like
>those on my YCL-64? This isn't easy to test just by picking up an
>instrument and playing a few scales on - it's something that I become more
>aware of the more I play the instrument.
>
>Or, is one of the other student instruments clearly "better." They claim to
>have undercut holes which the Yamaha does not. Are they all just as cheaply
>made as my bundy?
>
The YCL-20 should feel very similar to your YCL-64. Yamaha instruments
share most design features and feel throughout their line, unlike the vast
differences that exist between Selmer's student and pro lines (But change
is in the wind -- they just came out with the AS 300 alto sax, replacing
the Bundy II with a COMPLETELY new design, much more like pro models in
feel). The B-12 should also feel similar, since the Yamaha design is
patterned closely after Buffet. For travel purposes, the Yamaha comes in a
miniscule case. No room for accessories, but very compact for packing
within another bag.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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