 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2012-02-09 22:05
I've been thinking about how different the instrument market is now than it was in 2000. The Opus/Concerto are no longer in production, Buffet clarinets are nearly double the cost they were and people are generally worse off financially as they were before.
Parents cannot afford to pay what were Opus/Prestige prices back then that are now the cost for basic R-13s. The same can be said with Flutes the in entry professional range too. In a way I think this has been good for the music industry as it has forced consumers to look elsewhere and for the market to create new higher quality affordable instruments.
Leblanc came out with the Bliss clarinets, Ridenour with the Lyrique. Yamaha is finally getting the attention they deserve for the quality of horns they make at affordable prices. Most of the major flute makers are doing the same with creating more affordable flutes with the basic acoustical designs but with cost cutting methods. Powell/Sonare, Haynes/Amadeus and beyond.
We have more options and those options are better than they were before. Not every fifteen and sixteen year old kid needs an r-13 and nor should a parent feel like they should have to stretch the budget to provide that.
So maybe in some ways this recession has been good as it has forced us to really take a look at what the real value of what we buy actually is. Thoughts?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-02-09 22:41
Yeah - there are plenty of excellent used clarinets out there (or they will be after a good service or complete overhaul) for a fraction the cost of a new clarinet, so why buy new?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2012-02-10 05:54
James, I agree with you completely. In the past, it was almost a given that a serious high school student needed an R-13. Teachers told parents that it was a necessity, and parents would stretch the family budget to buy one. A few people here and there had Selmers and they were considered acceptable, but for some reason, Buffet R-13s were (and still are) much more common.
Many of these students didn't (and still don't) become music majors, and their expensive clarinets often sit gathering dust after high school graduation. At the same time, it's probably safe to say that a majority of high school players still use the cheap plastic instruments their parents bought in fifth grade.
It's been mentioned before, and I'll bring it up again: it's sad to see that music education is a situation of the haves vs. the have-nots. In more well-to-do areas, parents can afford to shell out the money for better instruments and private lessons. In less affluent areas, both are dreams.
I'm also happy to see that there are now some great clarinet choices out there at reasonable prices. I've had a chance to see the Bliss and some of the intermediate Yamaha models up close, and they're quite good. With a good mouthpiece, ligature, and reed, it's possible to perform on these clarinets at a very high level.
If a high school student shows exceptional talent and has his/her heart set on a performing career, it might be a nice idea to purchase a "professional" model. For most high school students, though, it really shouldn't be necessary. Parents should take the money they save and put it in their kid's college fund.
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2012-02-10 15:02
Try before buy, new or old/used. There are some great ones to be discovered.
richard smith
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-02-10 17:18
Chris P wrote:
> Yeah - there are plenty of excellent used clarinets out there
> (or they will be after a good service or complete overhaul) for
> a fraction the cost of a new clarinet, so why buy new?
>
I definitely agree with this as far as Bb soprano clarinets are concerned. It gets a bit murky when you try to apply this sentiment to bass clarinets, eefers, and A clarinets though as there aren't as many available on the used market and the used ones worth buying are often priced close enough to the cost of a new instrument that they aren't a good value.
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2012-02-10 19:15
SteveG_CT wrote:
> Chris P wrote:
>
> > Yeah - there are plenty of excellent used clarinets out there
> > (or they will be after a good service or complete overhaul)
> for
> > a fraction the cost of a new clarinet, so why buy new?
> >
>
> I definitely agree with this as far as Bb soprano clarinets are
> concerned. It gets a bit murky when you try to apply this
> sentiment to bass clarinets, eefers, and A clarinets though as
> there aren't as many available on the used market and the used
> ones worth buying are often priced close enough to the cost of
> a new instrument that they aren't a good value.
You can get a yamaha 650 A clarinet for under 2k.
Eb and Bass clarinets are more of a commitment but you put first things first. If one wants to be an orchestral clarinetist, they get a Bb and A, not a Bb and an Eb or a Bb and a bass.
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