Klarinet Archive - Posting 000081.txt from 2002/11

From: "Willie Kercher" <res1b1nc@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Returning to the fold
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 22:42:06 -0500

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

You might try to get back into playing with a good ol' Vito student model
(fitted with a good mouthpiece) and then that will give you more time to
shop around. Vitos aren't that bad of a horn. It will also make a good
backup horn later on. What ever you do, don't det suckered in to buying one
of those cheap Chineese clarinets that are being dumped on the market now.
Many are now are being sold with French, German names on them or are
advertised as American when they were only assembled here from Chineese
parts. Willie

> 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)
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>

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