Klarinet Archive - Posting 000823.txt from 2000/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Is Lisner any good?
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 23:23:09 -0400

At 08:02 AM 5/18/2000 +0930, Burrows, Samuel wrote:
> As a beginner, I found it very difficult to decide which clarinet to
>purchase. Should one get an established brand (and what is "established?")
>or go for the cheapest, secondhand model. I went for the latter and
>purchased a used plastic Lisner with a Ricco mouthpiece - a total of $98. At
>the same time. there were used clarinets up to $5000. To me they looked
>identical save for a few embelishments. No doubt the tone is different but
>is that important for someone who is just beginning and still trying to
>learn where to put the fingers?
>>
You can take it as a very BAD sign that I have never heard of this brand
before. I HAVE heard of Rico mouthpieces before, but that, as it happens,
is also NOT a good thing. A black tube with silvery thingies on it does
not a clarinet make, unfortunately. A Yugo has an engine, wheels, steering
wheel, etc., but it is still not, for lack of "a few embellishments" a
Rolls-Royce. It is likely that what you have is, at best, a cheap student
instrument which may suffice for your beginning stages; at worst, it may be
a Chinese piece of junk, which will always be out of tune and require
constant attention to keep the mechanism in regulation. At least it will
only be a $98 mistake.

Established brands include Selmer (and their Bundy student line), Buffet
(and Evette), Leblanc (Vito) and Yamaha, to name the most common. Avoid
Artley and Armstrong (personal opinion, but widely shared). You may spend
a little more, but you will get a better made, more in-tune, more reliable
instrument. These companies make plastic student clarinets, perfectly
adequate for beginners, that can be obtained for $400 to $500 NEW from
retailers, even less by mail-order if you are willing to starve out your
local businesses. Wood clarinets by these companies go for a bit more, and
may be a very good choice, especially if you can find a used one at a good
price. There is no point in fighting with inferior equipment, ESPECIALLY
when just starting out. You will have ENOUGH problems without that! :-)

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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