Klarinet Archive - Posting 000878.txt from 1998/08

From: ROBERT ABRAHAM <rkabear@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: [Re: [kl] major decision]
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 20:14:54 -0400

My Buffet Prestige in 1987 was $1300. I can easily get $1500-$1800 for it on consignment in a music store today used (I have priced them recently) and the new ones run between $2500 and $3000 in stores. Buffet Pro Models *DO NOT* tend to loose 1/2 of their value in a year or so. Maybe 30% in *one year*. But after 3 years, you should be able to price a used Buffet for the same price you had paid for it (if still in good condition) because the price of new clarinets keeps skyrocketing.

On the other point earlier brought up. *PLEASE* try out many brands of horns, pro *AND* intermediate. My A clarinet is a Leblanc L300 that I got directly from Tom Ridenour a few years back when the model was discontinued and *LOVE* it! It is a much nicer playing A for me because the larger horn is not much more resistant than my Buffet Bb (which makes for easier switching for me in orchestra.) Look into the Leblanc Infinite (sp?) with the Buffet R13 type bore. It is a nice horn, and (from the ads I've seen) is being discontinued. You might find a REAL STEAL on one because they are getting rid of the model (like I did on the L300 - which was less than a Normandy intermediate model when I got my deal).

For buying your horn, try Woodwind/Brasswind in South Bend, Indiana or Frederick Weiner Woodwinds in Mineola, NY (outside NYC). The number for WW/BW escapes me, but Fred Weiner is at 1(800)622-CORK. The Frederick Weiner "1st and 2nd year Crack Replacement Warranty" is why I would never buy a clarinet anywhere else. The few extra dollars insures that no matter what, a year or two from now (depending on which extended replacement policy you get) your clarinet will still be solid and not cracked. Plus, neither store marks up their horns like Mom and Pop music stores do sometimes.

Lastly, I really don't know why most of us didn't think of the mouthpiece/reed thing as the first place to go for help. That's where I start with my students. I guess a lot of us assumed that teachers would think of that first, since they are present in the lesson, and we are not. Definitely, if you do need a new horn, you *SHOULD NEVER* use those awful stock mouthpieces that come with the horn. That can counter any good effect that you would have with the better horn.

Good luck in your search for new horn/mouthpiece/reeds/sound. It's something that only you can decide. We can tell you what route to try, but make your own decision by how the instrument plays. If you can't feel a marked improvement of a pro model over an intermediate DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY! Buy the cheaper horn. Some of us on here say things (myself included) about how this is the only horn for me (the key is *FOR ME*). Find the horn that is *for you*. If you sound like Stanley Drucker when you are playing a Selmer Signet or a Leblanc Normandy, BUY IT! You'll laugh all the way to the bank. The only absolute bonus for buying a pro line horn for *everyone* is that if you have to sell it, it will probably appreciate in value while new intermediate horns *almost always* depreciate, making you loose money. The reason I do push getting a new horn over a used one is for the crack warranty at Fred Weiner...I'm not hateful toward used horns, my *used* horn is still better *for me* than most new ones out there <grin>.

Soap Box...DISENGAGE.

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds/Computer Geek
New York City

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