Klarinet Archive - Posting 000189.txt from 2007/03

From: "Keith Bowen" <bowenk@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Suspicious about an item proposed in Ebay...
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:29:57 -0400

Juanfran,

Exactly what make of instrument was it?

I don't believe there is such a thing as "plastic sound" and I am sure =
Dan
will back me up! There might possibly be a very small difference, but =
surely
nothing indiscernible at the student level. Would you reject a Buffet
Greenline? A plastic bodied clarinet can be an excellent student choice. =
You
probably should consider recommending a new mouthpiece, though.

There are some excellent inexpensive plastic-body instruments available =
in
Europe. I have an Amati C clarinet, with plastic body. The keywork is =
very
good, and though the tuning was poor when I got it, a couple of days =
work on
regulating and tuning it made it very acceptable (no more than 10 cents
deviation overall and <5 between adjacent notes). At our recent =
Kammermusik
workshop, several people played both this and a Buffet E11 (quite hard, =
on
works like Beethoven 7 for octet) and preferred the (tweaked) Amati - =
Joe
Fasel can confirm. It was probably the cheapest horn in the room. Yamaha =
is
also good at this level, I believe.

And I am not just cheap; I own several very good and expensive horns
(Leblanc, Fox and Wurlitzer).=20

Keith Bowen

-----Original Message-----
From: klarinet-return-90333-bowenk=3Dcompuserve.com@-----.org
[mailto:klarinet-return-90333-bowenk=3Dcompuserve.com@-----.org] On =
Behalf
Of Juan Francisco Vicente Becerro
Sent: 13 March 2007 16:18
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Suspicious about an item proposed in Ebay...

=20
Here, at the music school where I teach, try to give a speak to our new=20
students' parents about buying their clarinet. The "chef's=20
recommendation" is something in the student range, but preferably with a =

wood body, and not buying without trying the instrument first. Since we=20
are in a "not big" (also not small) city, there's no much opportunities=20
to choose, because local vendors doesn't seem to be able to have stock=20
of something else appart from buffet E11.

But here comes Internet, and three years ago a puppil of mine buyed=20
something at eBay (well, his father), saying it cost was less than 25%=20
than a E11, including shippin rates from Germany to Spain. I advised=20
them not to make the deal, but, sometimes money is their first and only=20
thought (even if you speak about buying a good one at the begining,=20
instead of buying a bad one first and after a few years buying a new and =

better one), and finally they buyed this one at eBay.

Five minutes ago I finished my class with this pupil, we are in our last =

rehearsals for our spring concerts, and I am not sure if he is going to=20
be able to play with his clarinet. Plastic body (and plastic sound),=20
very poor key adjustment. I have tried to repair, or at least improve=20
the instrument, adjusting springs, pads, and so on, but it's nearly=20
imposible to play anything with it.

Will I be able to convince my pupil's father to buy a new one?

Solution next chapter, but since then every year a pupil has tried=20
-sometimes done- to buy a "not very reliable but cheap" clarinet at =
eBay.

Juanfran

Michael and Linda Marmer escribi=F3:
> Take a look who the seller is suppose to be!
>
> Right.
>
> Mike Marmer
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jenny Connors"=20
> <jenny@-----.com>
> To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 3:12 PM
> Subject: RE: [kl] Suspicious about an item proposed in Ebay...
>
>
>>
>> Item location: China, China
>>
>> That sums it up for me!
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Christophe ASTIER [mailto:christophe.astier@-----.fr]
>> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 3:10 PM
>> To: klarinet@-----.org
>> Subject: [kl] Suspicious about an item proposed in Ebay...
>>
>> Hello colleagues,
>>
>> I would like you to give your feelings on what lies behind this item=20
>> sold on
>> eBay :
>>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3D280091271902&ssPageN=
ame=3DA

>>
>> DME:B:SS:US:1
>> (and other exacly same items offered for sale )
>>
>> Either it is a miracle, and we should all be interested, or there is
>> something not very neat behind it (which I tend to believe).
>>
>> Regards,
>> Christophe.
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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