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Re: Suggestion for a "Returner"

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2016-06-22 21:04

I'd second the idea of buying a used instrument, well regulated by a competent repair person. I've had high school students who bought used Selmer 10Gs and Buffet R-13s for a third or less the price they would have paid for contemporary equivalents (R-13 is still made, of course). For the same money, they would only have gotten a fairly low level step up instrument in a new clarinet.

Mouthpieces are a puzzle, too. Probably the best bang-for-the-buck if you don't really know what you want would be a Vandoren (the variety of facings might be a little daunting) or a D'Addario (also available in a variety of tip openings, but I don't think different curve measurements).

My own recommendation for a starting facing in a Vandoren or a D'Addario would be one of the facings at the closer-tipped end of their offerings. I know someone will rave about a B40 or B45, and you may eventually prefer that, but IMO the Vandoren M13-M13 Lyre-M15-5RV end of the spectrum are easier to control at the beginning and not so expensive that a change later will be prohibitive. When I tried D'Addario mouthpieces for myself, I preferred the X0 or X5, which are, again, closer-tipped and, I think, more easily controlled. YMMV after you're back in some kind of shape, but by then you may decide go in an entirely different direction depending on the kind of playing you're doing.

Depending on the facing you choose, you may as well keep things simple and start with plain Ricos, anywhere between #2 and #3. Did you really mean you have Rico #6 leftovers? I didn't know they made anything harder than a #4 (the highest Rico strength I see on Weiner Music's website), and most players by the time they think they need anything harder than a #3-1/2 have moved on to other brands. If I'm not misreading and the 6 wasn't a typo, I can well imagine that nothing came out when you tried a #6 reed after all those years of not playing.

Karl

Karl

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