 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: thereallukasj
Date: 2017-07-06 01:04
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to ask your opinions on what you think is the best professional B flat clarinet.
Musically yours,
Lukas Johnson
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-06 01:34
Some people like vanilla ice cream. Some people like chocolate ice cream. Everybody is different and is looking for something different in their instruments. That's why there are so many manufacturers out there. The best situation is to actually go the manufacturer and work with them on making the instrument that you want. That is what Andrea Ottensamer did with Johanna Kronthaler. He worked with them on making the clarinet to play the way that HE wanted it to play. Obviously getting a clarinet made for your tastes is a terrific idea but you can guess how much you would have to pay to get an instrument like that. For the non "custom" companies they are constantly changing their designs, in search for the clarinet that will get them the biggest market share. Good luck in your search. Just be careful it doesn't become an obsession or "disease" unless you have the financial means to buy every single make and model that is out there. And that list seems be growing every year!
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-07-06 01:41
Opinion...for consistency, pricing, features...Yahama CSVR.
Lukas...there's a ton of information on the bboard...a simple search will give a day's worth of reading.
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Author: zhangray4
Date: 2017-07-06 02:04
The word "best" is highly subjective. Given that music is already a very subjective domain of study, I would argue it is impossible to define the "best" anything in music.
For example, the majority of Germans may say the best clarinet is the clarinet that can produce a dark sound and offer precise articulations. The French, on the other hand, may say the best clarinet is the one that projects well and has a good deal of brightness to its sound.
That being said, it is possible to list some of the top level clarinets. Some, out of many. Buffet has their Tosca, Divine, Tradition, and Vintage. Selmer has their Recitial, Signature, Saint Louis, and Privilege. Yamaha has CSVR and SEVR. Backun has their MoBa.
-- Ray Zhang
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-06 05:25
I agree with ClarinetRobeet. At this point in time the clarinet that gives you the best return for your investment is far and away the YAMAHA YCLCSVR. It is an excellent clarinet at a great price. Try it.
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2017-07-06 05:26
The big band player would say it's about perceived loudness, generally only need to play 'p' (not e.g. 'ppp'), but it's often that 'fff' is required.
The student would tell you it's the easiest one to play without squeaking.
The seasoned professional would tell you it's the main one s(he) is playing.
...and so on
It's a question somewhat like "How tall is a tree?"
Post Edited (2017-07-06 05:27)
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2017-07-06 05:55
To answer this question in a different way, the most professional clarinet would be a basset clarinet.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-07-06 13:12
Try them all out and find the one that best suits you.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-07-06 15:16
A while back there was a tenor sax player who claimed his Selmer MkVI tenor was 'the best tenor in the world'. Fast forward a couple of years and he's playing a Yanagisawa.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-07-06 17:30
BLarm, on the "custom" experience, when I visited S&S, I was surprised in getting pretty much as much time with Jochen Seggelke as I could productively occupy, and I'm a very long way from Andreas O. The best reason to go to a maker like that is that you want some specific things that other makers don't offer and aren't interested in, but what seems to set those folks apart is that they're just as interested in the possibilities of new, non-standard stuff as you are. A set might cost as much as your car, but most of us have cars, and a car can't play Mozart.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-07-06 18:26
No clarinet does everything best. You're always sacrificing something for something else. Your choice reflects both musical and social adaptations. You've got to fit into the section and the larger orchestra or ensemble and the working environment. You assess the present demands being made on you and choose the instrument that will best meet those demands, as well as satisfy your own desires. To quote John Donne, "No man is an island."
A survey of what professional American orchestral clarinetists are playing now would probably still turn up more Buffets (R13, Festival, Prestige, Tosca, and most recently a few Tradition models) than anything else, followed by Backun MoBas, Selmers, and Yamahas including CSGs, SEVs and CSVRs (not necessarily in that order).
Post Edited (2017-07-07 00:57)
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-06 23:05
You can also improve an already good clarinet to the excellent level. Find an expert repair person and go over your entire horn with them. Have them adjust the spring tension to exactly what YOU like for the ENTIRE clarinet. Change all pads that need to be replaced and have them adjusted to the optimum height. Now we get to the complicated section. Go over the entire horn and make the sound production as even as possible and intonation quirks are mostly eliminated. Now that is something your average repair person can't do because it will partially involve working on each individual tone hole. Hans Moennig, a saint of a man, would do that for people like Robert Marcellus. So you might end up with an exceptional instrument, far different from what it is was before you started this entire process. Why doesn't a company like Buffet do this? Well, they certainly would be putting out less instruments and their prices would go way up. And it still wouldn't be nearer to perfect because you wouldn't be there to supervise them as they work on your horn. I don't know if they would even do that for the "average" player even if that player could afford the procedure. (I doubt if a player like Olivier Patey, principal with the Royal Concertgebouw is playing on an off the self Buffet, but is probably playing a horn that Buffet worked many hours with him on. And he has both a low F and low E resonance keys!) Or you can be like some players who constantly tinker around with their horn. Sometimes they improve them, other times they totally ruin them. I have a friend who was putting nail polish in several tone holes right up to the moment when he had to go on to the stage and perform at the Munich competition. All of this is a reason why many players have decided to play the Yamaha CSVR. You can take it right out of the box and pretty much be guaranteed that you will have a clarinet that can play exceptionally well immediately.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2017-07-07 01:44
(Satire)
I must admit to once believing that such decisions were player specific.
I've now come to realize that everyone else, as well as my original arguments, are wrong, and that there is one, and only one brand that every player will concede is the best, whether that be for tuning, sound, ease of play, cost, longevity, you name it.
That brand is[INTERNET TIME OUT....Lost Connection 153.45.12.172..check ISP]
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-07-07 04:40
To answer the OP's original question: pertaining to what is the Quote:
best professional B flat clarinet
The answer is super easy! 
The best professional B flat clarinet is: the clarinet which gives you the sound you're looking for, playing the style you want to play.
Fuzzy
[edit] Everything else is just marketing. 
Post Edited (2017-07-07 04:40)
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Author: thereallukasj
Date: 2017-07-07 07:54
My question was meant to be more of a what do you play question not intended to skew my own thinking but to take a survey of sorts to see what people like.
Lukas Johnson
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-07 10:53
thereallukasj wrote:
> My question was meant to be more of a what do you play question
But that's a very different question.
Edit: just did a quick Google search on "what is the best clarinet" .... the question is obviously asked a lot, but the answer is the same every time; "it depends".
BTW, when my teacher played my clarinet (after I had it adjusted by a good tech), he told me that he would buy it, if I considered selling it .... that is professional enough for me ;-)
Post Edited (2017-07-07 13:24)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-07-07 17:29
Depends on your playing. For orchestras The Yamaha CSVR's. Project really well. A very warm sound. I'm using these.
Quintets, maybe the Selmer Recital. It's heavy thick wood. A dark sound. You don't have to project as much. However, the cost is high and the Yamaha's are working for me.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Wookie001
Date: 2017-07-07 22:36
it's like choosing the right wand in Harry Potter, you have to find yours
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-07 23:47
It is indeed the "futile" search for the Holy Grail. It will never be found or is it locked up in the Pentagon as they showed it in the X-Files?
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Author: lisseyjj
Date: 2017-07-13 00:09
I've got a 1934 Boosey and Hawkes (model unknown, sorry) and a brand new Yamaha CSG-III-H. Absolutely love them both. I understand the Yamaha is a very high-end model, but have no idea where the Boosey compares on 'the scale'. The sound that I get out of the Boosey and Hawkes, even with an incorrectly bored mouthpiece is exceptional! Warm but crisp, comparable to an extremely high-end Buffet or Selmer. I use the same mouthpiece on my Yamaha and it is still absolutely stunning, but the Boosey is still much nicer. I use the same mouthpiece, ligature and reed setup on both instruments - Rico Reserve X5, Vandoren M/O in either pewter or gold (depends on what instrument I use that day lol) and V12 2.5's.
To summarise, IMO, Yamahas (be careful what you choose, though) and Boosey and Hawkes are the way to go, If you don't mind the age. Other people may have different opinions, but I've had very bad luck when I try out other instruments. They all sound plasticy to me...
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Author: lisseyjj
Date: 2017-07-13 00:15
I've also heard that Backun instruments are very good.
I tried a Protege in grenadilla wood not that long ago and it sounded lovely. Great build quality too. I tried a MOBA in cocobolo wood and it was, again, a lovely instrument to hold, but the notes came out way too fuzzy for me. Might have been the fact I'd never played on a cocobolo instrument before, though.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2017-07-13 00:47
Unfortunately, MLB doesn't allow the metal ones, and despite their good reputation, I've found that Buffets tend to get sawed pretty easily by even an average inside fastball.
You're best bet for longevity is probably a single piece Rossi, but some of those German clarinets have quite a bit of pop in them--dense wood, but a little tougher to swing. I've found that too many keys means a lot of foul balls though, so maybe try a vintage Albert system.
Any way you cut it, none of them will help you make contact. For BP I recommend an old Bundy or an oboe.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-07-13 17:43
"Yamahas (be careful what you choose, though) and Boosey and Hawkes are the way to go, If you don't mind the age." Never played a Yamaha, but currently play 1010s. Really do love the sound and dynamic range, and more to the point, listeners seem to as well. A little less enthralled with the tuning, and the ergonomics aren't as good as the Buffets I played before if your fingers are short or skinny. By tweaking the setup, though, you can pretty much get the sound you want from them, from bright French to expansive English to centered German. Probably wouldn't advise someone trying to make it as a pro to mess with B&H at this point, but they're fun if you've got a solid day job.
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-13 19:49
dorjepismo wrote:
> "Yamahas (be careful what you choose, though) and Boosey and
> Hawkes are the way to go, If you don't mind the age." Never
> played a Yamaha, but currently play 1010s. Really do love the
> sound and dynamic range, and more to the point, listeners seem
> to as well.
I played a few Yamahas (650, CX, AE, 62 II) and they were not really to my liking. At least they were not what I was looking for.
But like all "what is the best" threads, this one also descends into posts about personal preferences.
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2017-07-14 07:15
'But like all "what is the best" threads, this one also descends into posts about personal preferences.'
Indeed! The FBI could probably do a complete psych profile on you if you let them play on your setup for five minutes.
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