Klarinet Archive - Posting 000166.txt from 1998/06

From: <CoolStu67@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Bass Clarinet Question
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 16:31:01 -0400

>I have been reading the recent thread on bass clarinets, and I've got a few
>questions myself. I am not a professional musician. I played bass clarinet
>quite a bit in high school and my experience was that the Plastic Bundy was
>"better" than some of the older "professional" clarinets the school owned.
>I'm thinking of getting a bass clarinet; my use would be for personal
>enjoyment and playing in a local community band.
>
>Would it be better to get a new bass clarinet - I've seen some really good
>things about the Yamaha student clarinet - like the Yamaha or Vito - and get
>a plastic one?
>
>Or, would it be better to get an older used instrument so called
>"professional" instrument? A recent poster noted that he had a Robert
>Malerne for sale; I called him and he has a few of various makes, all older,
>in the price range of a new Vito or Yamaha.
>
>Based on my previous experience with bass clarinets, and my experience with
>how the key work on the older ones can get misadjusted, I'm leaning toward
>getting a new Yamaha. I'd be curious to see what people here think.
>
>Sherry Katz

Well, I can tell you this. In January I bought a new plastic Yamaha low Eb
bass, and I'm VERY satisfied. The only thing I don't like about it is that it
doesn't go down to low C! :) When and if I get the funds, I can tell you I
will definitely buy their wooden low C model. The reason I got the Yamaha, is
because no places had the Vitos or Bundys in stock, and WW&BW had 7 Yamahas
available. I was kinda worried, but now, after playing it, I have a big smile
on my face! (No, I have never played a professional low Eb wooden one, so I
can't tell you how it compares to wooden models) And one more thing,
sometimes, with the right embouchure, my bass sounds like a bari sax or a
bassoon. I'm a sax player by trade, but a bassist by choice, so maybe that's
it...

Stuart Meyers

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