 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul
Date: 2001-04-12 07:32
Hey guys,
I was wondering if anyone was familiar with the Shinghai Eb Clarinet. Is Shinghai a good brand? What's the reputation of this Co.? Does anyone own a Shinghai Bb or Eb Clarinet? I'm just full of questions, as you can see.
Thanks
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-04-12 10:47
If you examine the pictures of these Shinghai Eb clarinets that show up on eBay, you can tell that they are junk. They don't have a full complement of keys on the Eb, the keys look to be very poorly made and of extremely thin metal in comparison to the better made Eb student instruments such as the Selmer Bundy Eb or the Leblanc Vito Eb.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-04-12 13:13
Contact Professor Paul Shelden at pshelden@brooklyn.cuny.edu for a biased opinion. 'The Clarinet' ran an article on the progress of the Hebei Jinyin works and their steps toward quality.
It is telling that he was in residence (according to the article) less than two weeks.
My personal view of the Xinghai products is one of crude materials and uneven assembly. I haven't seen any of the Hebei Jinyin products, yet.
If I may be so bold as to recommend a Bundy Eefer, I think you will have something that is at least mechanically reliable.
Don't be tempted by low price, when what you are after is VALUE.
The Mainland Chinese stuff will improve, but buying something like this off the internet is foolhardy... you will likely need warranty support for the next few iterations of their manufacturing output.
anji
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Author: C. Hogue
Date: 2001-04-12 14:35
I second the observations of Dee and Anji.
We had a discussion about Shinghai eefers on eBay a couple of weeks back. Do a search on the Phorum. And as for my advice, don't throw your money away on one.
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Author: jan
Date: 2001-04-12 14:42
yes, i have one of these. makes a great display on my wall and thats about it
jan
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Author: Blake
Date: 2001-04-12 14:44
I too thought about one for a minute until i counted the keys.. having only two keys for your little fingers to use and only 2 trill keys would severly hamper your ability to play it. I just tried several selmer plastic effers and was not impressed. Intonation was all over the place and key action was not that good either. I used to play a Bundy in high school and college and remember the altissimo being so flat i had to transpose up a step to keep from splitting my lip... I'll keep my r-13 RC Effer... i had wanted a plastic one for marching but ended up getting a B-12 Bb Buffet. I definitely recommend trying several out at a time with a tuner and someone else with you. I knew there would be differences between horns with in a brand but was not prepared for the wide variance in pitch from note to note <I guess i naively expected a horn to be generally flat or sharp, not back and forth from note to note.>
Blake
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Author: Ed
Date: 2001-04-12 16:22
Remember, you get what you pay for. Often if a deal seems too good to be true, it is.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2001-04-12 16:29
It would be nice if someone, in the interest of clarinet research, would by one and post a first-hand report
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Author: Graham Golden
Date: 2001-04-12 20:49
Hello,
I would stay away from the shanghi brand at least for a few more years. They can improve as many other companies have. I tried a Shanghi Bb clarinet in a local music store ( the local cheap electric guitar and standard 1-2.5 rico reed selection type music store). It was a horrid instrument. It did not have a separate barrel, it was just a pot metal ring in the top joint. When I picked it up 2 keys fell off and there were still access plastic left in the bore from the crude molding process. If you want a plastic effer there are lots of nice ones out there. for wooden ones there are also some less expensive ones like AMATI, and other infamous names. Ken R. has a kohlert effer that he likes allot. ive never tried the UMI effers.
Graham
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Author: Graham Golden
Date: 2001-04-12 20:51
Hi,
sorry for my continuous misspellings of Shinghai as Shanghi. Ohh well. Its been a long week.
Graham
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Author: drew
Date: 2001-04-13 00:18
I can't comment on the Shinghai instruments, but I have had personal experience with the Buffet E-11 eefer, which is available in the mid $800 range (new) from most of the mail order companies. I bought mine in January 2000, and have found it to be a very high quality instrument for a resonable price. It compares favorably with the Buffet R-13 instrument, certainly not quite as good, but very serviceable for about ONE THIRD the price!
Steer clear of the Singhai eefer, unless you are shopping for an ornament...
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-04-13 14:07
For more laughs, take a look at the alto saxophone auctions on eBay. Someone in New Delhi, India keeps trying to sell alto saxes which are "made for the Indian Army and Police". It's hard to tell from the photos, but somehow these instruments just don't look right to me. The proportions seem off, they look more like curved soprano saxes than altos. And Lord knows what kind of mechanism they've got, or how they play.............
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Author: Graham Golden
Date: 2001-04-13 17:41
Ive seen those horns on ebay also Dave. They are scary. The alto doesnt look as if it has a low Bb, and it has no biss key, no alternative F#, no aux F#, no rollers, very few plam keys and it looks like its make out of pot metal. Not to mention it has plastic green pealrs.
Graham
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2001-04-15 15:53
That's kind of interesting, how Chinese clarinets are seen to be junk that will improve in a few years- because the same was true for Chinese violins. They used to all be junk but now you can get a very nice Chinese violin (I have one) for significantly less than a German or even Eastern European violin. Maybe that will prove to be true for clarinets- but for now, I'll stick with my Buffet.
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