 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-04-19 03:25
Just wanted to share my views on what I playtested so far (since I'm looking for a new instrument, and I'm very interested in Amati based on recent reviews and their prices).
For the record, I'm a college student so NOBODY sponsors me ever. I presently play on a 1970 Buffet E-13 (before it was called that) with stock barrel, Gigliotti MP, Gigliotti Ligature, and Gigliotti size 3.5 reeds.
I had playtested a few R-13's yesterday (thursday) morning. They didn't impress me at all, and if anything, seemed inferior to my current setup. I made an appointment at the Amati USA distribution warehouse (conveniently located 30 minutes, or an hour and a half if you get lost like I did, from my house) to try out some pro level buffets. When I arrived this morning, they had pulled an Amati 601II and a 604II. They only had one of each, since they don't hold many in the warehouse and Amati pro levels aren't sold as popularly here as are their beginner/intermediate instruments.
I first tested the 604. It was the one I was interested in. I was a little dissapointed in it. As far as feel goes, two of the rings were too high making it slightly uncomfortable to play. The articulated G# worked fine, however some keys seemed a little out of reach for my LH pinky. Filbert (his name) is a little on the short side and has trouble with EVERY clarinet he's tackled, but this one moreso. There was very apparent stuffiness in the sound (not to be confused with resistance in blowing, it was a rather easy blowing instrument). The intonation wasn't bad (I didn't bring a tuner since I didn't care so much about overall pitch, I was just testing to see relative pitch by ear from note to note), however some notes seemed annoyingly flat. I had to put it down after about ten minutes. It wasn't doing the music justice. I picked up the 601 since I've always been told, "Never base it on ONE clarinet, but test a few."
This one was a completely different story. It was wonderful. It was bright and cheerful for my music that I tested it with(Mozart clarinet concerto - All mvts, danza slava) and seemed to darken when I wanted it to (Fantasia - Weber's clarinet quintet, Mvt 2 of above mozart). There were no undertones on any notes, and every note was clear as a bell. I even pushed a VERY forceful fortissimo with all my fingers lowered (B/F) to TRY to get that edginess/squeek however wasn't able to get it. I was late for work because I didn't want to stop playing this clarinet. It felt great and I thought I sounded great. This 601, the lowest cost pro instrument in their lineup, completely outdid my Buffet E-13 and those R-13's I tried out yesterday morning.
I am still interested in the 604 since I've been assured by Graham Golden (a seller of Amati which I'm going to purchase mine from) that the clarinets he sells won't have these stuffiness/intonation/etc. problems that the particular 604 I tested did. I'd also like to add to those that might be thinking of upgrading to an intermediate clarinet (such as the Buffet E11), that you'd be crazy not to at least try out an Amati 601. It's completely free to try, and with a sticker price of around 800 dollars it is definitely worth it. That just seems WAY to cheap for an instrument like that which I tested.
Alexi
Just my thoughts on my testing today. Today I made up my mind to go the Amati route because of it's wonderful sound and so I figured I'd post why I chose it. Even though it's not that well written, hopefully it's informational to some out there.
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-04-19 04:55
Incidentally, WW&BW is having a closeout sale on Amatis. The 604 is on sale for $699.
P.S. I don't work for WW&BW or Amati, just happen to see this earlier today.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-04-19 05:10
sfalexi's positive review of the Amati 601 is very much in line with the detailed review I wrote of my Amati ACL 675 full Boehm A, and JMcAulay's review of his Amati ACL 602 II.
Both reviews can be found on this thread:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=78073&t=78073
I am very pleased to see that Amati is again being recognized as a superb instrument maker, offering clarinets at extremely reasonably prices, without cutting corners on workmanship and quality ...GBK (who also owns 11 different Buffet R-13's)
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