Klarinet Archive - Posting 000474.txt from 1998/12

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] choosing a new clarinet
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 05:40:16 -0500

At 10:51 PM 12/10/98 -0800, Jason Hsien wrote:
>I've learned not to put off the notoriously "bad" brands so quickly. yes,
>having a Buffet, Selmer, etc... is nice, and obviously, are better overall,
>but dismissing Armstrong, Artley, and Conn so quickly isn't fair either.
>
>In my HS band, one of our best clarinetists plays an Artley, better than
>those with the more expensive Selmers, Buffets, Leblancs... Perhaps that
>says something for the performer, but if the player is a beginner (and I
>haven't been keeping up with Klarinet discussions, so please correct me if
>I'm wrong that this is a beginner we're talking about) and he or she puts in
>a decent amount of time, they will play well on any horn.
>
The Artleys I have seen (and played) lately (and we sell them, although I
would personally steer people to ANYTHING else) have been notoriously sharp
in the throat tones, to the point where we had one returned because the
band director could no longer get the section to play in tune with that
instrument in the mix. The most recent change to the model 17S (1998)
improved it considerably, but I would still not recommend it when there are
so many better options available. I'm sure that, with time, one can learn
to compensate for those intonation problems, but why bother? You'll just
have to UNLEARN all those bad habits when you upgrade! UMI makes some
great instruments, but clarinets are just not among them.

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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