The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Hope
Date: 2013-05-17 16:03
I'm looking to buy an affordable wooden clarinet after discovering that my current plastic one needs repadding and will cost too much to fix.
I've been given the option to buy a wooden Selmer Bundy or a Buffet-Crampon E11.
Does anyone know the real differences between these two clarinets? Is the E11 a much better clarinet than the Bundy?
Hope Pollard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-17 17:08
Have you been able to play test them side-by-side? Only you can determine which one is better for you, so compare them to see which one you like.
Being German, the E11 has the better build quality and keywork, but the wooden Bundy may have the better tone.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2013-05-17 23:10
Some old wooden Bundys were made in France. I haven't come across an American made Bundy that wasn't plastic.
Steve Ocone
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Author: jasperbay
Date: 2013-05-18 01:33
I would rate the quality of the keywork and sound about equal, with the german E-11 keywork slightly more elegant in appearance. Wooden Bundy's were french (Selmer) made before WW2, but most wood Bundy's you run into were made in the US after the war. Later ones were called Signets.
You've really got to play-test them both with a good mouthpiece to make a good choice.
Clark G. Sherwood
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2013-05-18 02:30
I agree with the others--you're going to have to test-play them. The tuning on the E11 is likely to be better than the wooden Bundy, but you might find the tone of the Bundy to be more satisfying.
These aren't the only affordable wooden clarinets out there worth considering. The Yamaha YCL-32, YCL-34, and YCL-450 are hard to beat and would be my top choices. Normandys and Selmer Signets can be very nice and tend to go for bargain prices.
Note that Leblanc sold a little-known and rather uncommon twin of the Normandy 7, known as the Jeffrey, that tends to sell for giveaway prices at online auctions when it does turn up. The Selmer Signet was also sold as the Buescher 400. This, too, often gets overlooked by Signet shoppers and quite often sells for less than its Signet twin.
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