 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: NBerg117
Date: 2017-01-30 00:20
Hello fellow clarinetists! I am curious as to when it would be recomemded that I upgrade to a higher end clarinet. I have upgraded once already, and I play on a Buffet E11. I really enjoy this instrument, but I was wondering when an appropriate time to upgrade would be. I am currently a high school junior, and I am a somewhat accomplished player in my district. I would be looking along the lines of a Buffet R13. I have played a few higher end clarinets, R13s, Festivals, etc., and K can notice a somewhat sucnificant difference playing these instruments, but I do feel that my E11 suits my level well. Just curious when an upgrade would be appropriate, as I am starting to consider moving up the line. Thank you!
Post Edited (2017-01-30 00:20)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-01-30 03:32
IMO (others will surely disagree) the time to upgrade is when the instrument you have will not respond to what you try to do musically as well as a better one.
When do you *need* to upgrade? Probably never - even an entry level clarinet in good mechanical condition with a decent mouthpiece and good, well-balanced reeds will play everything you'll likely need to play.
When might you *want* to upgrade? As soon as it seems like the upgrade makes a difference to you as a player.
You've mentioned upgrading to R-13. I don't think I'd bother moving into anything less than that. I don't personally see too much point in moving from a bottom level upgrade (E-11) to a supposedly higher level intermediate instrument (E-12? One of the intermediate Yamahas?).
Karl
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-01-30 10:11
Do you want to major in music in college? Are you studying privately? If not keep what you have.
A ton of people play R13's, and you really need a good private teacher or someone with connections to a good supply of R13 horns to pick one out for you. 1 out of 15 to 20 are good ones. The rest forget about them and hang on to what you have. Pretty much all of the R13 horns leak air from poor workmanship so after spending all of that money on the horn you will need to have the pads fixed and or replaced. Sad but the honest truth.
Because of this a lot of people including major pros are looking and buying the pro line Yamaha's the CSVR's. See what models will be coming out in a few weeks. The cost will surely be less by maybe $1000 to $2500 and pretty much every horn plays GREAT right out of the case. Tuning is excellent, better than the Buffet's. You won't need a teacher to pick out a special Yamaha horn, they are all excellent. I heard that they, Yamaha's, may have a new model out or 2 new models coming out this February. Keep an eye on the revised SEV model. It might be called SEV11 or something like that. Another great pro horn.
If you find that magic Buffet it's perhaps worth the price and waiting for. You should try to find someone that goes to the Buffet at the Florida plant and picks out horns then resells them at a higher cost.
The CSVR keys are made with double dipped silver. The key holes are already undercut so the notes play really well in tune and very even. With the R13's you will have to have some tone holes worked on for tuning. Some repairmen actually move, relocate the octave key on the Buffets, because its's too far forward. This helps the tuning of the horn. So as you can see R13 clarinets can be pretty expensive by the time all of the work is done to them, $5500 and up to make it that special horn. A Yamaha is about half that. You pick the Yamaha out of the case and it plays great!
I keep bashing Buffet for a good reason. I want them to become a great company again. I got mad at them last year and I was invited to become a Yamaha Artist because their horns are that good. I played on Buffet's for 45 years, but sadly they are living from the past. Yamaha clarinets are here to stay. Every year they get shockingly better. Buffet is in trouble. Will they stay in business? I hope so. They have a lot of catching up to do.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2017-01-30 20:40)
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2017-01-30 11:49
Hi, Nick:
Karl and Bob make some good points above. If there's a possibility of studying music in college, I'd simply wait until then to upgrade--use the guidance of your instructors there to carefully select an instrument that is the most intelligent compromise for the playing that you'll be doing there.
In the meantime--what do you find lacking about your current E11?
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