 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kontra
Date: 2011-04-20 23:31
Is it absolutely necessary to buy a wooden/intermediate/pro horn in high school? I mean, I have a Penzel Mueller clarinet, and a Yamaha student model. Out of the clarinets I've played, the PM, Buffet B12, Yamaha Intermediate, Selmer 100, Selmer Signet, I like my Yamaha-250 the most. When playing the solo for moonlight serenade my Yamaha with a Fobes Debut and 3 1/2 reed gets a much better sound than my friend's Yamaha-450 and Vandoren B45. I'm not so much in the 'materials matters' boat, so I think if I set up my Yamaha properly it should be a fine clarinet for high school. I don't exactly need a Leblanc Bliss or the finest Selmer out there, I don't think. Is anyone else following me on this?
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2011-04-21 05:39
Kontra...if your Yamaha YCL-250 plays the way you like and you are blending and tuning well with your section mates, consider yourself a fortunate clarinetist. Hang onto that 250!
Approach the maintenance of your 250 as if it were a top-of-the-line pro horn, and you'll be amply rewarded with a more refined, satisfying, and dependable clarinet. If you haven't already done so, locate a good technician. Tuning adjustments, precision regulation, keywork silencing, and carefully selected/installed pads can transform your 250 into much more than just a "starter" instrument.
Even if you someday get a wooden instrument, you are going to need your 250 whenever your performance environment poses a risk of damaging your wooden clarinet.
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Author: Kontra
Date: 2011-04-22 08:17
Thanks guys. I just wasn't sure. It seems the big hype in high school to purchase a wood clarinet or you're not good or something, I don't know. The market seems to suggest this too.
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Author: stuper1
Date: 2011-04-22 19:48
Kontra, I'm an adult beginner, been playing about 1.5 years now. I started out on a Buffet B12 plastic clarinet, but I felt I must be missing something by not playing on a wood clarinet. Within a few months I found a good deal on a Selmer Signet Soloist, which is an older wood clarinet supposed to be pretty good (intermediate, not far off a pro horn, according to some). I bought it and played on it for about a year and made a lot of progress. Recently, I got my B12 out again just for kicks. I found that I sounded just as good on the B12 as I did on the Soloist. The only difference to me was that the B12 was easier to play and was better in tune. Now I'm back to playing on the B12, and I'm probably going to sell the Soloist. I'm just saying all this to let you know that you may not see much difference in your sound even if you get a wood clarinet. As long as you're happy with the key layout under your fingers, and the horn plays in tune, you should be good to go. You may want to get a different mouthpiece if you're playing on a Fobes Debut, or maybe not. I started on a Fobes Debut, and now I play on a Fobes Nova, which doesn't cost a whole lot more. I'd probably sound about the same on the Debut. Some people say a different barrel (maybe a Ridenour Ivorolon) will make your plastic clarinet sound almost like a pro horn. Might be worth a try. I'd say stick with your Yamaha, practice a lot, and save your money for other things.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-04-22 22:43
A good plastic clarinet is better than a crap wooden one.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2011-04-23 03:23
"Thanks guys. I just wasn't sure. It seems the big hype in high school to purchase a wood clarinet or you're not good or something, I don't know. The market seems to suggest this too."
The market will always tell you to buy a better clarinet, because it's in the business of selling clarinets. You've had some good advice here, get your Yamaha into good order and it will play better than you can for a long time to come.
Tony F.
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Author: clarinettefaerie
Date: 2011-04-23 03:56
The instrument can not and should not ever make the musician, end of story.
For a long time, my clarinet teacher played on her husband's Leblanc L7-- a clarinet that I still can't find very much about. All I know is that it was considered a bottom-professional model manufactured in the 1960's (probably the equivalent of a current Buffet E11 France). Nothing all that special or glitzy.
I played on it once. Heaven. The keywork is amazing for small hands like mine, and with the right barrel and bell, it sounds just as good as my $6000 Buffet Tosca. Hehe.
So, if you can make your Yamaha sound good, kudos to you.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2011-04-23 05:47
Sorry Beth, but you're not even close. According to Dave Surber of Leblanc, the L7 was actually Leblanc's top-of-the-line professional clarinet when it was made -- mostly if not entirely during the 1970s. (If you want to know more, use the search function here. The history of Leblanc's product line has been discussed here before.)
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-04-23 16:13
All Leblanc clarinets with the Leblanc lyre logo on them were pro models.
Noblet, Normandy and Vito were the intermediate and student models. It's only within the last few years that the name Leblanc is being stamped pretty much on every level clarinet made by the company, but the L7 is a pro model along with the other pro Leblancs bearing the Leblanc lyre logo - Dynamic H, L27, LX, LL, etc.
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/clsnLeblancInfo.htm#EmblemLeblanc
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2011-04-23 16:14)
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Author: Kontra
Date: 2011-04-26 03:17
Just a side note, my cousin works at a used horn shop here in Nashville so I checked it out. I played my Yamaha against a Selmer Omega, 2 Buffet E11s, and an Amati. It may have just been their condition, but I liked my Yamaha more than the models above. I could get a much bigger sound and ease in the high registers. Maybe I'm just used the the Yamaha, but I'll be sticking with it for awhile now.
Also, the Selmer Omega I saw was interesting to me because it did not look like most Omegas I have seen. I posted a thread about it.
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