 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Josh
Date: 1999-02-18 04:38
I own a Yamaha 34 Bb and I love it. It's upper notes have a beautifull ring to them, the low notes have a beautifull ring to them, but my teacher (Nancy Coffee) pointed out in my lessen that my middle rang had not the same ring. I agreed but commented she could get the perfect sound out. She argued she could not, and that it was because of the cut of the clarinet, though it is a good one. I then played her Buffet R13 and played beautifully. My question is does anyone have any comments, suggestions, or Yamaha praises? After playing on her R13 I must admit I am now envious at how smoothly and easily it played.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-02-18 15:01
You need to be fair in your comparison of the classes of clarinets first. If you would take an equivalent Buffet or LeBlanc or Selmer clarinet and compare it to your (I believe) student class clarinet, you might be surprised at how well your Yamaha plays against equal competition.
I had a Yamaha YCL 52 intermediate grade clarinet for a couple of years. It was a very nice horn. It was very forgiving of typical student mistakes such as sloppy fingering, less than perfect air support, sloppy embouchure, etc. The quality of the keywork was first rate and the quality of the wood was right on target for a good intermediate grade horn. It played predictably in tune and it sounded okay. The price of the horn was reasonable. However, the tone it produced seemed a bit bland.
A few years ago, I bought a Buffet Festival premium pro grade clarinet brand new for a great price. Even though I purchased it for a great price, the Festival still cost well over twice the price of the intermediate Yamaha. It took me almost a year to get used to the Buffet Festival. I was stepping up from a good intermediate grade horn to a premium pro grade horn - and still learning how to play the clarinet a few hours a week as an adult novice. The Festival is a top-of-the-line pro grade instrument and it demands more discipline to play it. The quality of the keywork and the wood are excellent. It plays right in tune. The response of the horn to fast passages is very quick. The tone is absolutely superb. However, it cannot tolerate even the slightest variation in fingering, embouchure, or air support. Otherwise, I get very bad results.
Your teacher has a pro grade horn that's specifically designed to produce superior tone and excellent performance. You have a student grade horn that trades off a little here and there for tone, tuning, or performance to give you much more "forgiveness" for typical student mistakes. Chances are very good that you paid a lot less for your horn than your instructor did for hers. All of the manufacturers of instruments out there do the same thing. That's why there are different classes of instruments on the market. Each class of horn meets a set of requirements for playability, tone, and price.
The four major manufacturers of clarinets include LeBlanc, Selmer, Buffet, and Yamaha. As long as you are playing one of these brands of clarinet, you can rest assured that your clarinet will play and perform equally well with its peer model of any of the other brands in the same class.
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Author: Rich C
Date: 1999-02-18 21:54
I own a Yamaha 34 as well, and I love it! My clarinet always gives me a good dependable tone on all registers. Definately don't think of your Yamaha as inferior, it is quite a faithful instrument.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-02-18 23:17
Yamaha is famous for its computer based acoustical design of musical instruments inisitiated by them some 15 or 20 years ago.Almost anybody saids it sounds good from the beginning.But there are some people who say "Do not take instruments plyable easily from the beginning.Better instruments do not sound not so easily at first,but after breaking-in they become better and better".
This notion bothers me everytime I review what manufacturer should be bought(I play Saxes,flute,clarinet).
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Author: Carolyn
Date: 1999-02-19 05:41
I, too, play on a Yamaha 34. (though, I'll be upgrading to a pro clarinet soon!) This is an excellent instrument, despite being a student model. I get a great tone on it (but, it doesn't resonate as much as a pro horn) I've had the horn for about 4 years now and it has held up well. The cork did not did not last so long on the bridge key or on the F joint. (? where the F key connects to the front of the clarinet), though.
Another "benefit" of the 34: I get to go on a little underdog ego trip every time my playing on my little ol' student horn lets me beat out all those R-13 owners at seating auditions! :o)
Carolyn
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Author: Carolyn
Date: 1999-02-19 05:45
Sean,
I will definitely be interesting in hearing about the SE model. I was reading about the different pro Yamahas recently, and would really like to give them a try.
Also, in the Yamaha clarinet brochure they were advertising the 34II, but no plain 34. Does anyone know if they've stopped making it? What makes the 34II different than the original 34?
Carolyn
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-02-19 06:07
This is YAMAHA-US clarinet page.Maybe you can ask them directly.
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/gCLA00009
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