Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-07-18 18:27
Trish -
The Vandoren 5RV Lyre is a good, middle-of-the-road machine-made mouthpiece, with a tip opening slightly larger than dead-center medium. It blows freely and has a nice sound. The 5RV (without the lyre) is the same design, but slightly less open. Your daughter should try both and see which she prefers. The 5RV will need slightly harder reeds to play the same as the 5RV Lyre -- neither an advantage nor a disadvantage -- just a difference. Vandoren mouthpieces have a lot of variation from sample to sample, so she should play several of them to pick out the best one. It would help to have her teacher or an experienced player along.
Frankly, for less money than the Vandoren ($75 or so), she can get a better mouthpiece -- one of the student models from Fobes, Hite or Pyne ($30-$50).
In my opinion, "step-up" or "intermediate" wood clarinets are little better than the plastic ones. Used top-of-the-line clarinets are available for the same money, or even less. It's very important to have your daughter's teacher or an experienced player along when you try them out, though. You must check intonation very carefully, since older instruments may have been altered, and you also need to check condition. Clarinet wood doesn't wear out, but it can crack, and keys can be bent out of shape.
You should stick with the "big 4" makers, Buffet, Selmer, Leblanc and Yamaha. While there are other fine instruments, these stand out and hold their value better. I play on Buffet clarinets because I prefer their sound, but that's a very individual thing. In the used instrument market, however, I suggest that you stick with Buffet, since there are a lot more of them to choose from. Yamaha is a relatively recent entrant into the top-line clarinet market, so used ones are uncommon. There are lots of Selmers around, but the older ones have large bores and are best for jazz, not wind ensemble. Leblanc has made "classical" clarinets for a long time, but in smaller numbers than Buffet.
The Buffet R-13 model with serial numbers between 90,000 and 150,000 (from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s) are a good choice -- old enough to be affordable ($600-$700 on eBay) and young enough to be in good shape. However, you should never buy one without a written agreement with the seller that it can be returned if you don't like it after, say, a 10 day tryout.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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