Author: SwingQuavers
Date: 2019-07-17 23:20
Hi again!
Thanks four your input.
I bought my clarinet at a specialised woodwind shop and they set the instrument up before they sell it. This was very important for me because I don't know any repairers in my near surroundings. Unfortunately here specialised woodwind shops are rare. And everyone plays Buffet. I understand that Ridenour clarinets are American (?), but I don't know any shop here that sells them. Also, do they have the auxiliary Eb-lever?
About buying second-hand: the price of second-hand pro horns in specialised woodwind shops I saw was still much higher than what I paid for my instrument. And buying from ebay is out of the question since I don't have the knowledge to decide if the instrument is ok or not. Also I'm not comfortable about the warranty issue. I got 3 years of warranty buying new.
Putting all your comments together, I get the picture that the difference in intonation/playing comfort/tone quality... between a high-intermediate instrument and an entry level pro instrument can't be that large. Also, the E13 is advertised as having an accurate tuning scale on some websites. So I decided to stick with my new instrument, improve my technique and when I'll get very very good I might buy a top pro level horn, if I'll still play in the orchestra (here amateur symphony orchestras are super rare, and I might live somewhere else in the future, who knows?) and actually have the money. I feel that like this I'm more motivated.
In my youth I played for 7 years on my student E10 (which was a step below the E11, wooden with resin bell, but had the auxiliary Eb-lever) and my teacher never spoke about upgrading. So I had the idea that pro level horns are meant to be for professionals (people that play clarinet as a job), but mainly because of quality in the materials (and marketing). When I sounded good my teacher complimented me on my tone and asked me if I had practiced a lot. But I agree that the E13 is another world compared to the E10, tonewise and handling-wise.
About the mouthpiece/reed combination: I learned as a beginner on a B45, which is way more open than the BD5, so I'm not shure that I would be comfortable with an opening of 1.03 to 1.05 mm, and here you can't test the mouthpieces before you buy. I agree that the B45 is too tireing if not played everyday, but I feel comfortable with the BD5.
Lately I was quite sharp, so I thought about getting a B40, but I was told that clarinets tend to be sharp when it's hot outside. I have to admit that I find it very difficult to hear if I'm sharp or flat because I never played with other people before, and when you play alone intonation is not an issue (at least when I took lessons nobody talked about intonation).
Thanks for your comments.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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