Klarinet Archive - Posting 000005.txt from 2007/11

From: Jacob Lindsay <jacobmakesnoise@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] pro horn suggestions
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:41:21 -0400

Hi Alicia,

Glad to see another member of the SF Bay Area improv
scene on the list.

As others have been saying, of course you should buy
the horn that you like. Also remember that two horns
of the same model are not the same.

Try not to make money an issue (I know, I know, it is,
but just pretend like it's not). If you are forking
out 4 figures you might as well get the horn you want
and are going to keep for a long time. But, check out
the used market. I got my R13 used for 1,000 about
ten or tweleve years ago. I tried out a bunch of
horns and that one was the one that worked for me (not
just an R13, but THAT horn).

Also, if you have a teacher, technician or other
player that you respect, take the horn to them and
have them check it out before you buy it (most stores
will let you "check out" a horn by leaving the payment
with them that they will not cash until you give them
the okay).

Definitely also check out ligatures, but not yet. You
don't want to confuse a new horn with a new ligature.
I have been a big fan of the Vandoren Optimum ligature
for several years now and I'd recommend checking it
out. I only wish they made one for Contrabass and Ab
Piccolo. In a better, kinder world.

Good luck!

-jacob

--- Alicia Byer <aliciabyer@-----.com> wrote:

> Hi everybody,
>
> I'm sure you get these kinds of questions all the
> time, so if this post
> is incredibly out of line, or incredibly boring,
> feel free to ignore it...
>
> I'm in the market for a new professional clarinet,
> and I'm wondering
> what to get! I just graduated with my BA in
> composition, and played
> clarinet throughout college, but never upgraded from
> my intermediate
> instrument that I used in high school, since I
> wasn't a performance
> major. Now, I've come into a little bit of cash and
> I want to finally
> move up to a real instrument. I've tried the Buffet
> R13 and one or two
> other Buffets (I can't remember which) and a couple
> of the Leblancs
> (Concerto and Opus I think?) at a music store that I
> worked at, and I
> really favored the Leblancs at the time because they
> seemed easier to
> play and less stuffy. I mostly play experimental/new
> music and improv,
> so I need something extremely responsive and even,
> but still flexible,
> and I prefer a dark, covered, centered tone. I'm not
> a fan of lots of
> "ring". I looked at the Concerto and the Backun
> Leblancs, the Cadenza
> seems like a good deal. The Buffet RC Prestige seems
> ideal but probably
> a little out of my price range. Does anybody have
> any other suggestions?
> The instrument I'm playing on now is quite pitiful
> and falling apart,
> it's a French intermediate instrument from the
> 1940s, so I probably
> couldn't jump to an instrument that required a lot
> of wrestling to get a
> good tone. I use Richard Hawkins mouthpieces and
> 4/4.5 Vandoren v12s
> with my more closed mouthpiece, and a 3 1/2 with my
> more open one. I
> also use a terrible $2 ligature that I dug out of a
> bin. So! Thanks for
> reading all this, and let me know if you have any
> suggestions.
>
> Best,
> Alicia
>
>
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Jacob Lindsay
http://www.bayimproviser.com/artistdetail.asp?artist_id=44

http://mail.yahoo.com

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