The Clarinet BBoard

Re: Ebay Shopping Help?

Author: Jack Kissinger  Date:   2009-05-23 16:44 John, A couple of things I would focus on if I were looking to buy the kind of instrument you are on eBay: (1) I would consider a Rideour TR147 if I could buy one in the $50-$100 range. They play pretty evenly and in-tune and come with a decent mouthpiece (unless the seller has removed the original). Also the model is recent enough that they are often still in decent condition. The one criticism I have of them is that their keys are a little on the soft side compared to other student models I've tried. (2) Another model I would look for is the Vito V40. When they were still selling these, Leblanc billed them as intermediate instruments. They aren't as common on eBay as other student models but they do turn up and usually don't sell for much more than the garden variety Bundy's and Vito's that generally populate the auction site. I picked one up on eBay for around $85. Others on the Board have paid even less (he said with rue ) If you can find one for under $100, it's worth fixing up, IMO. (3) A Yamaha student model, if you can find one in good playing condition for under $100. To buy this kind of item on eBay, I would look for a particular kind of seller -- a parent who is selling the instrument s/he purchased new and whose child played it recently but decided to quit (the fewer years the better). If the kid gave up after a year or so, they probably never played the instrument hard (in some cases, they probably hardly ever played the instrument). These often need little or no work to be in good playing condition. In my experience if a parent has said the instrument was in good condition, it usually was. The seller I would avoid is the one who says, "I don't know anything about instruments but this one looks to be in good shape. It might need a pad or two." This invariably translates to "Some of the pads are missing, the ones that are still there are mostly rotten and the corks are disintegrating." (Well, maybe not quite that bad but pretty close.) Best regards, jnk Post Edited (2009-05-23 16:49)

Re: Ebay Shopping Help?

Author: oliver sudden  Date:   2009-05-23 17:55 A bit off-topic, sorry, but just to answer this one - Call me naïve or undemanding, but I fail to see the fundamental difference in servicing a German and a French clarinet. Laws of physics and common player sense still apply, no? Well, maybe I am undemanding. Long as I can seal all the holes... That's what I thought of course. The problems were to do with the little finger keys: on German clarinets, for e,f#,b' and c#'' both little fingers are involved. That means the springs don't need to be quite so carefully regulated. As well, some of the springs down there are very short and that turned out to be a problem in getting them the right strength (the g#/d#'' spring ended up being much too weak and I finally had to tweak it myself). And the pads they chose apparently are a kind that responds best to fingerings with both little fingers; that often makes the sound a bit 'clunkier', especially in things like the slur d''-b'. (The Bolero solo is a horror on German clarinets, I'm told...) ...The four figures was for a pair, and it was at the very lowest end of four figures, so it's not quite as horrible as it seems... still, since the pair had only cost barely north of €5000 I was somewhat disappointed. I arrange trips to Paris when I need things done to my clarinets nowadays - it's not far away, my girlfriend lives there, and Franck Denize at L'Olifant is as far as I'm concerned da hype.