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What to look for when testing out a clarinet?

Author: BassClarinetBaby
Date: 2011-03-09 13:51

I have just ordered a Buffet R13 online. I know this is possibly the worst way to buy a clarinet, but as the nearest store that stocks the well-known brands is a 2-day drive away there was no other way possible. There is a 3-day return policy, but I am not sure what I am looking for in this period. Obviously I'll have to test how it feels to me but what are some specifics such as intonation etc that I have to look out for? And what is the best way to test these? I need to know how to tell whether the clarinet is the best quality or not.

Never Bb, sometimes B#, and always B natural! ♫♪

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Re: What to look for when testing out a clarinet?

Author: kilo
Date: 2011-03-09 14:23

Here's a couple of things, others will surely add more:

Throat tones want to speak cleanly

Alternate fingerings want to sound close to normal fingerings

Compare twelths between lower and clarion register

Or just send it to Walter Grabner for an evaluation and tweaking.

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Re: What to look for when testing out a clarinet?

Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-03-09 14:49

Kilo sort of summed it up. First choose a few that give you the tone quality and "feel" in resistance that seems the best for you. Key work can be adjusted but you don't want to have to mess with the bore later. Once you choose the few that you like the best the most important thing is intonation. You have to warm the clarinets up before checking the tuning because with almost all clarinets they will play flat and uneven until they're warmer. At that point you will probably have to pull out the barrel a little and then you can check the throat tones which should not be flat because that's a lot more difficult to fix than if they're just a bit sharp which is easy to work with. Checking the 12ths as Kilo suggested is most important especially the E-B , Eb - Bb and F -C. If the lower is a bit flat and the higher is a bit sharp don't buy the clarinet because fixing one makes the other worse. You can't get a perfect clarinet but you can find one as close as possible. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com

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Re: What to look for when testing out a clarinet?

Author: CocoboloKid
Date: 2011-03-09 14:52

Ricardo has a thing or two to say about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkvRy8kNnZg

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Re: What to look for when testing out a clarinet?

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-03-09 14:58

The search function will find several good threads, for example:

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=127055&t=127038

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=207358&t=207329

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=52277&t=52179

Hint: Intonation is the 3,000 pound gorilla.

Ken Shaw

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