Klarinet Archive - Posting 000498.txt from 1998/12
From: Kenneth Wolman <kwolman@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] choosing a new clarinet
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 21:17:44 -0500
>From: Kenneth Wolman <kwolman@-----.net>
>>Even if you are just starting out on the instrument, Rachel, you will save
>>nothing by buying a piece of no-name crap. It is probably poorly made and
>>will force you into bad habits to compensate. The unqualifiedly good
>>instrument makers--Buffet, Selmer, Yamaha, LeBlanc--all produce entry-level
>>horns in both wood and plastic that are worth the extra few bucks you might
>>have to pay. Avoid names you don't recognize.
>---
[Sherry's horror story edited]
>Well, it seemed to be OK, but I was having a lot of trouble with the lower
>register. Since I've got some experience with woodwinds I looked hard at
>the keys and figured out I had some leaks. After readjusting the keys a few
>times it started going really badly out of adjustment. Close inspection
>revealed that the keys and mechanisms were made out of pot metal and the
>metal surrounding the adjusting screws was bending out of shape. I took the
>flute to a woodwind repair shop where I was laughed at for being such a
>sucker to have bought such a thing.
You just reminded me of something. When I was in Junior High and suddenly
figured out how to produce acceptable tones from a rented metal clarinet, I
wheedled and cajoled my mother into springing for a new one. She got her
brother, a part-time musician who played sax and clarinet, to find me one.
The thing cost $77. Now, even in the late 1950s, this was hardly a pro
instrument. I don't remember the name, it purported to be French-made (so
is vin ordinaire...), and from the looks of it, the clarinet was either
wood or well-stained stained ebonite. It sounded okay. Nice case, too:-).
But. That horn spent more time in the repair shop than the repairmen. I
found a place via my uncle, a now-defunct repair shop on 8th Avenue, that
did woodwind repairs. That instrument was good for two or three trips a
year because the springs would break, the pads would fall off, the rings
went out of alignment. I did NOT, I assure you, abuse the instrument. I
played it a couple of hours a day in band and practicing at home for an
hour on evenings and a couple of hours a day on weekends. Eventually the
upper joint just SPLIT near the tenon.
I didn't hit fungos with it....
Inferior wood? Probably. Whatever the reason for the problems, I suspect
I had a really crappily-made horn from a no-name manufacturer. It was not
worth it for the time it spent in the repair shop and what each trip cost.
When I inherited my Centered Tone a few years ago I heard sounds I hadn't
even dreamed of. Jokes aside, that clarinet is 41 years old and it ain't
for sale.
My girlfriend's kid is learning on a plastic Vito. He's pretty good at it;
I've played on that horn and it's not as nice-sounding as mine, but it
sounds good enough, it's been trouble-free, it's well-adjusted, and it
stays out of the repair shop (except for one recorked mouthpiece).
I'm not suggesting running out and buying a top-of-the-line Selmer, Buffet,
or comparable instrument...but then again, the "big name" clarinet makers
are LIKELY to pay attention to craftsmanship even in their student models
because a great name is going on that instrument, and I would like to
believe that these companies care about their reputation as much as their
profits. If you buy an Evette or Vito that plays for shit, are you likely
to consider an R-13 or Opus if/when the time comes?
Ken
Kenneth Wolman http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/1649
Let it come, as it will, and don't
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.
--Jane Kenyon, "Let Evening Come"
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