 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kporter24
Date: 2017-03-23 17:17
Hello! I'm asking for a band director friend. Anyone know much about a new-ish clarinet manufacture called Royal Musical Instruments? Specifically "the Classical" model as it rivals to the R13? My buddy got an email about this instrument and wants more info. Thanks!
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2017-03-25 00:05
Royal Musical Instruments ???
Nobody on this board so far has owned up to ever having heard of them.
With a name like that I'll wager 100 : 1 that these are Chineese
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-03-25 00:20
If you can get beyond that bloody annoying pop-up that asks for your name and email address (to no doubt clutter your inbox with even more unwanted spam) to even view their site, then you either have skill or determination! I can't get past it:
http://www.royalmusicalinstruments.com/
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2017-03-25 00:22)
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2017-03-25 00:57
Chris. Do a left click on the top right corner of the frame, the very tip.
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-03-25 02:35
"Do a left click on the top right corner of the frame, the very tip."
Doesn't work. If I can't see the product there's no way on earth I'm ever going to consider buying it.
Tony F.
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Author: bill28099
Date: 2017-03-25 03:59
These web pages don't seem to work correctly in Firefox but do under MSIE. Go to the upper right hand corner of the pop up and when the cursor turns into a pointing finger left click and pop up will go away for that page only to return when you go someplace else. The clarinets are designed by one Yuan Gao and Lisa Canning is a partner in the venture. The other partner is one Lacy Garbar. Although they offer wood barrels and bells I see no statements as to what the clarinets are made of. They do offer a 3 year warranty against cracking which is a hint.
A great teacher gives you answers to questions
you don't even know you should ask.
Post Edited (2017-03-25 04:00)
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Author: ned
Date: 2017-03-25 04:38
''...If you can get beyond that bloody annoying pop-up that asks for your name and email address...''
This just makes on-line shopping pure joy...does it not?
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Author: Adrian_B-flat
Date: 2017-03-25 07:01
This seems like a related address (found someone with the same name listed- Lisa Canning) and is more friendly than the other URL.
http://www.royal-musical.com/
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-03-25 07:19
Well, one regular poster to this list, Seven Ocone of Ann and Steve's Music, stated that he has set up some of the Royal clarinets, and according to some of my acquaintances who tried a Yuan Gao Royal clarinet at the ClarinetFest in 2014 and found it had some real merit, they don't seem to be vaporware. Gao answered my email to say he would be attending the ICA 2017 ClarinetFest in Orlando, Florida from July 26 to July 30, 2017, with some of his clarinets to try. I'm not sure if the "Classical" or the forthcoming "Legacy" model is intended to be competition for the Buffet R13, but I do plan to be in Orlando and find some time to give these elusive instruments a try if Gao has them on the table. Meanwhile, it would be nice if someone would produce a short video playing one or more of the available models.
Post Edited (2017-03-25 20:23)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2017-03-25 17:58
I believe that Jonathan Cohler uses their barrels and bells.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-03-25 19:45
They do make it clear they're a Chinese company, so at least they're up front with that.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2017-03-25 20:32
They are Chinese. They are high quality instruments. Not quite at the Yamaha level but very close. It is worth trying them out.
Steve Ocone
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Author: JF Clarinet
Date: 2017-03-25 20:41
I have a royal classical barrel for my a clarinet (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_rh76XIC8M1azFadUc2alhYeEU/view?usp=sharing). I can't speak to the quality of their clarinets, but as tacky as my barrel looks, it seems to be pretty good quality and plays surprisingly well. From my experience of trying to contact them, they are very responsive, and would be happy to give you more information about their instruments. This is the email I used to contact them: info@royal-musical.com
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Author: lacygarbar
Date: 2017-03-27 00:40
Hi everyone! A friend alerted me to this thread and I wanted to clear up any confusion. We are aware of the website issues and they should be fixed now, so please let me know if you have any further trouble navigating it. If you get the popup, just refresh your browser. And if you do sign up, we will not spam you (that's not what we're trying to do!), but you will get a series of about 5 informative emails with 4-5 days in between each. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Also, one person asked about the material these clarinets are made of and who makes them. They are designed and manufactured by Yuan Gao, a very talented and accomplished clarinetist in his own right. He uses unstained grenadilla which he puts through an 8-year air drying process, so the instruments are far less likely to crack. The key work, which Gao manufactures himself, is solid piece die-cut, and is double plated in silver.
This Classical model is a professional instrument that we believe is direct competition with the R13. The reason it's only $2,000 and not $4,000 is not because of any corner-cutting in its design or manufacturing, but is because we choose to sell direct in order to make quality professional instruments more affordable to more people. If you think instrument prices have gotten out of hand, read our Music for Good Manifesto: http://www.royalmusicalinstruments.com/music-for-good/
And yes, Lisa Canning of Lisa's Clarinet Shop is the advisor to this company. If any of you know Lisa, she has been a Buffet dealer for the past 34 years and is a stickler for quality, and will not put her name to something or her reputation on the line if she doesn't think it's good enough. And just like LCS, the Royal clarinets are professionally adjusted and selected for the individual, included in the purchase price.
Someone also mentioned a forthcoming model, and yes, the Legend will be available in April. In June/July we anticipate our high-end model the Voce, and a bass clarinet is in the works for ICA this summer.
I'd be happy to answer any questions - please let me know!
Lacy Garbar
Royal Musical Instruments
www.RoyalMusicalInstruments.com
lacy@royalmusicalinstruments.com
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-03-27 03:48
Lacy,
Can you estimate the selling price for the Legacy and Voce models?
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Author: lacygarbar
Date: 2017-03-27 23:40
Once we get them here in the shop I can tell you more! Thanks for asking!
Lacy Garbar
Royal Musical Instruments
www.RoyalMusicalInstruments.com
lacy@royalmusicalinstruments.com
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-03-28 01:14
Lacy...
They look like beautiful instruments. I'm curious what's the physical difference between models with the various throat vowels (oh,ah,ee)?
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: lacygarbar
Date: 2017-03-28 02:15
ClarinetRobt wrote:
> Lacy...
> They look like beautiful instruments. I'm curious what's the
> physical difference between models with the various throat
> vowels (oh,ah,ee)?
Hi! Great question - thanks for asking! There are no physical differences between the voicings, as they are all made the same way. The differences arise from the natural variation in the wood, as no two pieces of wood are exactly the same. We play on them to sort them into the three voicing categories based on how they hold the tongue position when focused as part of our hand selection process. Just like people have natural variation in their tongue position (we are all trying to get to Ee, but not everyone's tongue will go there naturally), instruments have natural voicing tendencies as well. Ever wonder why it is when five people play the same instrument, it sounds five different ways? One person may sound great, two sound just ok, and the other two sound terrible. Or any mix thereof! Or how you can play five different instruments and sound fabulous on one but just so-so or even meh on the others?
The whole idea here is that we try to balance out the natural voicing tendency of the player with that of the instrument. If a player has a low "Oh" tongue position and tends to play super dark, then an Ee voiced clarinet can help to bring their tongue position up and give them more highs and color in their sound, whereas matching them with a similarly voiced "Oh" instrument may result in them sounding too dark and lacking color. Similarly, if a player has a naturally high Ee voicing, an Ee voiced instrument may be too bright and not give them enough depth. Such a player may be better with an Ah or Oh voiced instrument to help balance them and give more depth of sound while they maintain the natural color and highs in their sound. And of course this is all balanced with the right mouthpiece and reed setup - all highly individual as no two peoples' oral cavities are exactly the same dimensions. It's like coming to an equilibrium using your equipment.
Lisa Canning put together an entire video course on this very topic that sheds light on how voicing affects instrument selection. If you're interested, here is the link:
http://www.royalmusicalinstruments.com/product/voicing-concepts-of-sound-production-and-finding-your-musical-voice/
Hope that answers your question!
Lacy
Lacy Garbar
Royal Musical Instruments
www.RoyalMusicalInstruments.com
lacy@royalmusicalinstruments.com
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Author: lacygarbar
Date: 2017-03-28 21:09
I did an interview with Sean Perrin of Clarinet for his podcast that he just released today. If anyone is interested, here is the link:
http://clarineat.com/53-royal-clarinets/
Lacy Garbar
Royal Musical Instruments
www.RoyalMusicalInstruments.com
lacy@royalmusicalinstruments.com
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Author: Ed
Date: 2017-03-30 14:23
That incessant pop up on the site is so incredibly annoying. It prevents me spending any time on the site to gain any info. It is kind of like the internets version of the robot caller.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-04-27 18:03
Lacey,
I read the review of your instruments with interest. Could you advise if there is an Australian distributor, or if not, are there any plans to appoint one?
Thanks.
Tony F.
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Author: lacygarbar
Date: 2017-05-05 01:15
Hi Tony!
Sorry for my late response - there is no distributor in Australia currently but there has been other inquiry/interest from there, so it may happen in the future. But as of now there are no plans in place.
Thanks!
Lacy
Lacy Garbar
Royal Musical Instruments
www.RoyalMusicalInstruments.com
lacy@royalmusicalinstruments.com
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Author: Cossack40uk
Date: 2020-05-14 07:45
Hi, I have a question, I have seen Jester Brand Saxophones posts on fb stating these are linked to Royal Musical instruments, is this correct ?.
Jester are advertising they are made in the USA, now i know from talking to many pro repair techs there that this is not true. So why is this
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