Klarinet Archive - Posting 000477.txt from 1998/12

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] choosing a new clarinet
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 08:15:33 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Hsien <jasonavhs@-----.com>
Date: Friday, December 11, 1998 12:53 AM
Subject: Re: [kl] choosing a new clarinet

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
>
>:most important thing is to tell her which ones to AVOID: Armstrong,
>:Artley, Conn(?), and any other notorious dogs. That's just as
>:important, since there's a zillion out there being re-sold at low
>:prices.
>
>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.

While it is true that ultimately it is the player, why suffer with a low
quality horn that is practically the same price as a good one. The Artlys,
Jupiters, Conns, etc pretty much cost the SAME as a Selmer Bundy, Leblanc
Vito, Buffet B-12, or Yamaha beginner.

And I personally know that it is the player not the equipment, as I played a
real dog of an antiquated, beat up, Pan American student clarinet in junior
high and had no problem winning 1st chair. Still if one can get it good
equipment makes life better.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

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