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Re: Need Help Choosing Clarinet

Author: m1964
Date: 2020-09-04 09:01

Hi Jenny,

I had played (professionally) for a few years and then stopped playing for a long time, so I am (sort of) familiar with your situation.

If I were in your position, I would look for an entry level (read relatively cheap) instrument.
I cannot explain all the details you need to check when choosing a clarinet (new or used) in my reply-it would take a while to write. A good tech probably could write a few pages explaining how to chose an instrument. And a good player would add another few pages to that...

Since you have not played for awhile, you probably would not be able to enjoy a full potential of a professional level clarinet at this time.

If you can, get a used entry level clarinet that you can resell in a few months without losing much money.

Hopefully, you will be able to evaluate an instrument after you have played for a few months, so at that point you could start looking for a better one.

In my experience, craigslist was better than eBay in buying instruments.
I believe Canadian equivalent of Craigslist would be Kijiji.

If the seller claims that the instrument is in good condition, you can even ask them to demonstrate for you. Something that cannot be done on eBay.

Another solution would be to go to a brick-and-mortar store in your area and check their
selection.

Basic check of the clarinet would include:
Are there any cracks ( decreased re-sell value), not needed if buying plastic clarinet.
Do both joints hold air ? - both blowing in and holding suction?
Do all the keys move freely but have little play at the attachment points?
Do all keys lift to proper height? What is the condition of tenons and tenon corks?
And a lot more…

Maybe, you can find a clarinet player/ teacher who would volunteer to go into the store with you or check out the instrument if you buy online.

Good luck.

PS

I want to add this: you would need a good professional player to evaluate a pro level instrument because there are R13s that are fine (from any era), and there are some that just do not play - for many different reasons or even without any apparent reason.
Older instruments tend to have more problems with mechanics and more likely to need repair or even complete overhaul.
If buying off eBay, you may assume that the description is inaccurate and budget a few $100s to bring the instrument into proper playing condition- which may not be feasible to do if the clarinet is cheap.

Post Edited (2020-09-04 09:09)

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