 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kalashnikirby
Date: 2020-02-07 22:12
Greetings everyone,
before I start, does anyone wonder why I put that word in quotation marks? Because in this forum, we like to debate - which of course is great. That being said, ever since my "chinese eefer" post I've gotten more than one request and finally want to do a definitive statement on these instruments and the experiences I've been making since them.
First of all, what are we talking about? Since it's not allowed to post links (methinks), let me say as much:
1. There's chinese made ebonite clarinets that seem to copy some older Yamaha designs. Available through aliexpress under names like "moresky", eBay, Gear4Music and similiar online platforms. Starts at 80$
2. Similiar key ergonomics, but somewhat different is the wooden chinese eefer, also to be found in the same places as the ebonite one. Around 500$. Kessler used to sell it to, but discontinued it. Sometimes sold as being made from grenadilla, but usually said to be made from ebony (I'd agree)
3. Used Bundys ebonite eefers, found in many places (but not Europe...!!). Price depends on condition, but not above 500-600$ I'd say
4. Amati eefers, which mostly seem to share the same design and haven't been redesigned yet. Still in production, I think. (ACL 261/361). Always less than 1k$, used 300-500$.
So, I feel like having spent enough time on each of these instruments to give you a short comment. Granted, I'm still not a very good eb-handler, but I've improved. I use a Vandoren A2 crystal and a Pomarico, #3 with modified Pilgerstorfer Morré 2 1/2 strenght Bb reeds (but in the long run, will change to Legere Signature Eb!). Both mpcs have their pros and cons and seem to tune just fine. Without further ado:
1. You won't get it to tune well. Horrible clarion, with b'' being WILDLY out of tune, rapsy throat tones and a altissimo that just doesn't work from d''' above. That being said, surprisingly good keywork and setup, really sucks that the instrument really requires you to work more than you should. The sound is... not an issue, but I'd ultimately not recommend buying this, unless you really can't afford something else and need to buy an eefer STAT. Renember, the included mpc is trash, we won't even need to discuss this.
2. Wow, quite the opposite compared to 1. Lovely, sweetish sound that doesn't "sting" as much as some eefers do, but ergonomics are weird, as the RH pinky keys have a weird height difference (relative to the rest of the instrument, the RH F/C and Eb/G# keys are too high). Other than that, the keywork is well good, the plating looks decent and the instrument feels like being able to handle anything. The tuning is solid, but the altissimo could be a bit more stable, I think. Also, it suffers from the same issue as 1. with a too flat clarion b, but the rest of the clarion is great.
However, there may be QC issues: Not only did the bell have a crack, one of the barrels was too wide for the matching tenon. I didn't notice further issues, but this bothered me enough to send it back to G4M. They didn't offer any sort of discount, only solution was to sent it back! Lame! Apart from that, the included mpc is also trash.
3: Quite a revelation for what I paid. Proves that ebonite as a material isn't bad when the instrument is well made. Tuning, when you consider all registers, is probably better than 2. and I suppose once I'm done with repadding, it'll be easier to play. What I liked in particular was the instruments' ability to play an in-tune g''' and probably beyound! Could benefit from a wooden barrel, but the throat tones are still way better than with 1. Fantastic keywork/ergonomics, which was the best for me out of all instruments tested.
4: Friend got this one and I repaired it. The quality of Amati instruments is always decent or even good, the tuning isn't. Terrible altissimo, with no realistic possibility, no matter what fingering you try, to play a good f''' and above, flat chalumeau, not even the clarion is in tune with itself (c'' being... random, f'' too flat IRC, and so on). Does sound nice and punchy, but not acceptable for more serious uses. Still better than 1., but that's not so hard to accomplish!
This is my assesment so far. To be sure, other people will have different views and god knows I'm no pro, but hopefully this'll help anyone trying to find an eefer for a low budget. IMHO, given what I started with, if you just keep your eyes peeled for a good used instrument or take the risk of buying that wooden chinese one, you'll have a great start for getting to know these crazy and hellish accidents that may call themselves a clarinet - though I've come to think that one should avoid buying chinese made ones, as they might be blatant copies of existing designs, thus undermining honest instrument makers/developers. In a perfect world, someone would still make that Bundy eefer, or the Chinese would finally realize that producing ebonite instruments should never mean producing unusable trash, but until then, you might need to look at used eefers.
Thank you for your attention and let me know what you guys think.
Best regards
Christian
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2020-02-10 15:35
Thanks Christian for your post. Just purchased an Amati Eefer for £100+change here in the UK, as an introduction into that world. My first impressions confirm most of what you wrote although with the supplied Selmer C85 120 mp the tuning is not as dreadful as your experience above. Grenadilla instrument with an ebonite bell. Not the best instrument but not bad value either for the cost of a decent Bb mp.
Post Edited (2020-02-24 18:34)
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