 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: TedW
Date: 2019-02-25 21:19
My daughter has been playing clarinet for 5 years and is considering a LeBlanc Bliss L210. She tried it out at a local music store and loved it. Would this clarinet be good enough if she wants to audition for high school area/regional band and potentially college as a music education major?
Thanks in advance for responding!
Ted W
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Author: gwie
Date: 2019-02-25 21:59
I've had a few private students on the LB210 (the grenadilla wood model of the Bliss lineup, designed by Backun).
I always felt that this particular model was vastly underrated, and at the price point that many of my students found it for sale ($1000-$1200 for store demos or used) it was the equal of many a "professional" clarinet. In one instance, a LB210 sounded and responded better than several Buffet R-13's, Yamaha YCL-650's, and others that we compared it to.
I'd recommend speaking with her private instructor to ensure her mouthpiece/reed setup is all good (since that makes a bigger difference than the instrument), and she should be all good from there!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2019-02-27 08:46
I had a Bliss 210 a while back. I found it to be a well-designed instrument that played and tuned exceptionally well. The only issue that I had with it was that unlike other Leblanc instruments the keywork around the crows foot was a bit bendy and required frequent adjustment. As long as it's handled with care it is a fine instrument. That being said, the 210 is the student-level instrument in the Bliss range, and if she wants to play it at college she might do better to look at the 320 series intermediate instruments. These have been discontinued since 2013, but they are still available as used instruments. There may even still be some new ones around.
Tony F.
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Author: gwie
Date: 2019-02-27 10:40
The Bliss 310 and 320 were composite body clarinets that were discontinued in 2013, whereas the LB210 (Leblanc/Backun, pre 2012) and the L210 (Leblanc, 2012 and later) are all-grenadilla wood. All of them have been discontinued by Leblanc and have been replaced with their new "Serenade" model.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2019-02-27 12:02
I played it and like it. It's been 3 years though, but I have a very good memory for quality. There is talk about a new model coming out so you may want to visit their website. Maybe it is out. Search LeBlanc then search for Julian Bliss's latest models. I often run into him for maybe 15 minutes few but due to health issues I skipped the NAMM convention this year. Have something called frozen shoulders which hurt when a person tries to raise their arms about about shoulder length. No surgery is needed! They have a great products for some pro's and advanced players and the notes are free and easy to produce. Not like some of the stuffy Buffets and surely less expensive. It's a decent horn for jazz. A nice bore as well as classical, but not as free as the old Selmer Series 9* clarines. Jullian is easy to talk to and fun to talk with. Although our conversations were limited to 15 minutes to 30 minutes it was really fun talking about reeds and sound with his new horns. He likes stiffer reeds.
Although I am a Yamaha Artist I wouldn't mind playing on these over Buffet's and pro model Selmers. i like the Selmer line but for the cost these Bliss horns beat Buffet and Selmer cost wise by half or 3/4's and worth the money for very good horns.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2019-02-27 12:07)
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Author: TedW
Date: 2019-03-01 00:17
Thanks for all of the replies!
It appears that there is quite a bit of confusion around the various Bliss models that LeBlanc put out over the years. The good news is that they all seem to have generally positive feedback.
Ted W
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Author: JulianBliss
Date: 2019-03-01 11:21
Hi Ted
Thanks for the interest in the instrument. If i can help with any more information, please feel free to get in touch.
Thanks
Julian
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Author: TedW
Date: 2019-03-12 16:45
Wow, thanks Julian! I don't frequent this board, but I just came back to post a follow up and I saw your post.
My daughter has been playing the clarinet for a week now and she loves it. She brought it to school for the first time yesterday and her teacher said it has a very nice tone and her intonation is much improved.
Ted W
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