 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ClaRiNeT_CaNdY
Date: 2003-10-12 03:55
i havent really tried out many models, but i own a buffet RC and i really like it.. whats ur fave models and brands?
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Author: William
Date: 2003-10-12 16:42
For me, it's not the model or even the brand name that is important--it is how well the particular instrument in my hands and mouth performs. If I could find a set of clarinets that played beter than my LeBlanc Concertos do, given the finacial resource, I would switch immediantly.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-10-12 20:10
Well said Wm ! Quite a few brands, and with some, MANY models, with confusing ancestry and characteristics !! Most of us, with limited resources, will have found a few cls we are happy with [I like a Selmer and a LeBlanc, have little experience with Buffet and Yamaha or the very-high-priced Pro-pros] , so the best you may get here is a listing of personal preference, but good luck. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-10-13 13:51
My working horns are both Oehler systems. Number 1 is a Yamaha 457-20 and the back up is an F. Arthur Uebel 631. Both 20 key/ring set ups but the Yamaha has the LH Eb/Ab cheat key and the Uebel has a keft hand F/Bb. On the back up this week while I service and oil the Yamaha. Although I do considerable maintainenece work on all my instruments I am impressed by the Yamaha's reliability. I play in a bit of a niche market, jazz, military and commercial, so my choices do not represent the choices of many.
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-10-14 02:50
I like Peter Eaton clarinets. I've never seen one in person or touched one, but they have a cool unicorn logo and they look really well made and have nice keywork. I'm considering buying one when I get an A clarinet (I currently have an R-13 Bb, and YES, I realize that they might not match, but if I like the Eaton enough to buy it, I'll just use that as an excuse to upgrade my Bb as well!)
Don Hite
theclarinetist@yahoo.com
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Author: CharmOne
Date: 2003-10-14 05:19
Well, with my selmer for 9 mos, I couldn't be any happier. But, if I had some extra dough perhaps a buffet or Leblanc would be my upgrade. I have a few years till I go to a music university, so I wouldn't be worrying about buying one anytime soon...
CharmOne-
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-10-14 05:38
I've always been intrigued by Leblanc Concerto. It's like the coolest sounding name for a clarinet I've ever heard. With Yamaha Allegro coming up second in the "cool sounding names" list. I'm sure at some point down the road I'll end up trying those since I'm naturally drawn to it and a lot of people do LOVE that clarinet, as well as it's ability to be named by many as very ergonomic and confortable to play. I convinced my mother that a pro clarinet would be my graduation from college present. Of course now all I have to do is graduate . . . .
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-10-14 06:16
Mark Pinner ... and very fine instruments they are indeed (much more sensible design than Boehm if you ask me).
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Author: donald
Date: 2003-10-14 10:23
i like those neat ones with silver keys, what are they called? oh, and Yamaha have a neat poster now, that's really neat. yeah.
donald
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-10-14 15:59
I think it's so funny that many people are with clarinet (as with most other products) completely romanced by marketing. I mentioned liking Eaton Clarinets because of the pretty keys and Unicorn logo, and another user mentioned LeBlancs and Allegros because they have cool names, and another Yamaha posters. I admittedly also am drawn to clarinets that are played by professionals. For example, I've always held the (ill-founded) belief that Selmer makes bad clarinets. However, after discovering Victoria Soames (who plays Selmers and has, in my opinion, the most beautiful sound of any clarinetist I've heard), I'm suddenly interesting in trying selmer clarinets (logically, I realize that her sound is a quality of her abilities, no the clarinet, but that doesn't matter).
Die-hard clarinet people on this site will say "I like the clarinet that plays the best and gives me the best blah blah blah"... That's OBVIOUSLY the best approach when selecting a clarinet, but that will never change the fact that some of us are "naturally drawn", as sfalexi puts it, to certain instrument for no logically apparent reason. I guess it's a product of a world that places so much emphasis on image and marketing, often over quality!
As I mentioned, I have an R-13 Bb. It was hand-selected by a professional and plays incredibly. I'm very happy with the way it plays, but part of me wants something more exotic and different than the ubiqitious R-13, even though I have nothing but good things to say about mine. Kinda weird
Don Hite
theclarinetist@yahoo.com
PS - the moral of this story for clarinet manufacturers is put it in a neat case and make it cool looking and we'll buy it (or at least lust after it!)
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Author: David
Date: 2003-10-14 16:34
I like Wurlitzers what with all the extra lights, chrome, footpedals and the hydraulics to bring it up through the living room floor. The carrying case is real neat too...
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Author: Fred
Date: 2003-10-14 16:45
I'm not as serious about my playing as many on this board. I don't do it for money, have many other interests, but still thoroughly enjoy my playing venues. That being said, I don't want to play the same clarinet all the time - even if it is my best one. I enjoy the variety and what each different model brings to the table. Though I've currently got four Buffets (3 R13's and one Super Dynaction), one of my favorite clarinets is my King Marigaux made by SML. It wouldn't bring much on ebay, but the quality of the instrument itself is remarkable - from wood to keywork. I've chosen to play a plastic Vito V40 at times just to experience it - or my Silver King when I want to turn some heads. I'm still looking for a big bore clarinet to add to my stable.
So for me it is about experiencing clarinets and the enjoyment that brings me. I'll put up with some intonation quirks or tonal indiscretions for the experience of learning to appreciate yet another clarinet. I'm fortunate I can do that.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-10-14 17:12
Fred,
If you want to add a big-bore clarinet to your stable for next to no cost, go on eBay and scarf up one of the many Boosey & Hawkes "Edgware" models for sale --- always bunches of them out there, .593" bore, you can get one in playable shape for under $50 with very little effort.
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Author: sinkdraiN
Date: 2003-10-15 16:04
A good player will sound great on a garden hose. Consult a QUALIFIED repair tech before attaching your mouthpiece...
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-10-15 16:10
A good player will sound even BETTER than great when playing on a clarinet that's BETTER than a garden hose. Sure, Fangio may have been able to drive a Ford Pinto well, but didn't he really need the likes of a Maserati to become the world champion? Where the heck is this thread headed, anyway? I'm confused......Anyway, I'm going back into the garage to practice on my Boosey & Hawkes 8-10 (modified with electronic fuel injection, tuned exhaust, variable valve timing, and custom fuzzy dice).
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Author: OboeAtHeart
Date: 2003-10-16 02:20
I'm probably very biased, but I've found some of my favourite horns are in the Leblanc/Selmer line. I used to play on a Dynamic-H Leblanc (Pete Fountain Model, gold keys, ect ect), and then switched to an easier playing Concerto, which I love to -death-. I've never been fond of the Buffets. I get a very shrill sound on them in the altissimo register; (though I have been told by people who will remained unnamed it's because I'm not good enough to play on Buffets.. but ah, they're reed-snobs too.) ; and I've found that their response is really pretty horrible. The keys annoy me to a great degree; it's like they're offset or something.. I'm not all that sure.
Selmer makes some -awesome- clarinets, and they're by far some of the best horns I've had the pleasure of playing on. Their Signet model, which is I believe an intermediate horn was what I played on through my 7th grade year until I got the Dynamic-H. That horn was a beast sometimes with the key adjustments, but everything else played wonderfully. I'd reccomend either.
Clarinets I stay away from: Vito, Buffet, Mark I or II (The clarinets from Wal-mart and Sams! That's just NOT RIGHT!!), Bb Bundys (their Eb line is pretty good.) and the Selmer Omega is a little testy. Plastic horns are good for marching season and lamps!
Oh, speaking of lamps, does anyone know where I could find a metal clarinet? I'm looking to play some ethnic music coming up pretty soon.
-Jenne.
*~"The clarinet, though appropriate to the expression of the most poetic ideas and sentiments, is really an epic instrument- the voice of heroic love."~*
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