Klarinet Archive - Posting 000063.txt from 2002/11

From: "Dee D. Flint" <deehays@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Returning to the fold
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 17:27:16 -0500

Student clarinets by Leblanc, Selmer, Buffet, and Yamaha (the top four
brands) are all available via the major internet dealers for under $500.

Dee Flint,
Michigan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Will Hartung" <willh@-----.com>
Subject: [kl] Returning to the fold

> Hi folks, I don't mean to intrude but this is a realm where I am beyond
> ignorant.
>
> My wife wants to get back into playing the clarinet. She used to play in
> High School. Now, High School was, well, let's say "a long time ago".
>
> Anyway, I am musically disinclined. It's one area that I am truely
ignorant,
> but I'm trying to help her as best as I can anyway. I feel lucky if I can
> tune the radio.
>
> We've been looking on ebay, but I think that's a dangerous place for the
> uninformed. They should have named it CaveatEmptor.com.
>
> There are a LOT of cheap "brand new, top of the line" clarinets being sold
> for ~$120-$150. But, somehow by looking around on the internet in other
> places, that price range isn't even close to what others are selling
> clarinets for.
>
> Also, it seems clear that the musical instrument industry hasn't taken to
> the internet in a big way either. Most probably this is because
instruments
> tend to be pretty personal, whereas toasters, disk drives, and CD's are
very
> commodity items. I don't find clarinets on Amazon.
>
> Of course, on the other hand, clarinets seem to be pretty expensive --
$700+
> for a new one. That seems to be a big leap for an entry level person.
>
> I looked over the woodwind.org site, but couldn't find any of the ~$300
mail
> order dealers that were mentioned, at least not obviously, at least not on
> line. The retailer list seems more filled with accessories and sheet music
> than actual instruments.
>
> $300-$500 seems a much more approachable price point.
>
> She's not real comfortable getting a used one, mostly because we're not
> knowledgable enough to rate it as being "good" or "bad".
>
> So, I'm thinking that this pretty much leaves us to music stores.
>
> We live in Orange County, CA (Tustin to be precise), and I'm willing to do
> some driving if I have to in order to find a good place (Meaning, perhaps,
> Los Angeles or San Diego).
>
> Is anyone familiar enough with these areas that they can suggest some
places
> for us to visit? Or even have some other solid tips for helping her
getting
> back in to this? I'd like her to take lessons, because I think that it
will
> help her get over the frustrations that can sour something like this early
> on, and I don't want a combination of a poor instrument and the lack of
> expertise to make it even worse.
>
> This seems like a pretty high level list, and I apologize if this isn't a
> real appropriate topic, but I'm really clueless on this and just want to
> make it a good experience for my wife. Her birthday is in 3 weeks :-).
>
> Any pointers would be appreicated.
>
> Thanx!
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Will Hartung
> (willh@-----.com)
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------