 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Sprite
Date: 2023-06-05 14:28
Hi, I had to turn in my instrument for the last time and it was an E-11 from buffet. I started looking online for clarinets. I looked for around $100 used intermediate clarinets but what I could find are vintage ones. The lesser known brands are in the $100 range but the more known ones like Buffet and Yamaha go way over that.
I searched far and wide and after some digging, I found a boosey and hawk 2-20 in the price and in the condition I liked. I heard that it's comparable to a E-11. Is that true? Is the 2-20 a good instrument for around $100?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: donald
Date: 2023-06-05 18:34
There's a Yamaha student clarinet (a YCL26 I think) for sale on "Trademe" with a $200 buy now... that's in NZ$ so will be maybe $150 US$
Might need a repad, hard to tell from the photos, but that's about as good as it gets.
If I were looking for a wooden "back-up" right now, I'd look for a YCL 33 or 35 and invest the $$ in an overhaul. These were/are super good clarinets for the price. One student of mine paid $300 for a YCL 33 and the tuning is way better than my Buffet Festival (hand picked at the factory some years back by Frank Celata).
An old colleague of mine played one of these through her undergrad which included playing Principal clarinet in NZ National Youth Orchestra. Eventually she swapped at Masters level to a pair of *well known French brand* and had lots of trouble with her intonation... swapping back to the Yamaha for a chamber chamber recital.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2023-06-05 20:36
B&H Series 2-20 clarinets are the next rung up from a beginner level plastic clarinet to a wooden clarinet and have the same bore and tonehole layout as all the B&H clarinets from the plastic Regent through to the pro level Imperial 926.
For £100, they're a solid and reliable instrument and if you're planning on have it fully restored, then it'll be worth it as the current equivalent clarinets to it on the market are the Buffet E11 and the Yamaha YCL-450.
Also if you're spending good money on its restoration, I definitely recommend you have the middle tenon rings rebuilt so there's a decent width upper tenon ring which will offer stability whilst playing. B&H used the exact same width cork slot on all the tenons, so the middle tenon being shorter than the others meant the tenon cork went right up to the tenon shoulder and also have the metal tenon ring either replaced with a new (and wider diameter) one or have the existing metal one shimmed and machined down to the ideal diameter to fit the lower joint socket.
The 2-20 is the same clarinet as a B&H Edgware, B&H Marlborough, Besson Westminster, Besson "55", Rudall Carte Starline and Rudall Carte Romilly Rondo - all were the same stencil model made by B&H. The main features being wooden body with inset ebonite tonehole chimneys, nickel plated keywork, stainless steel screws, either phosphor bronze or beryllium copper springs (later replaced with stainess steel) and were either fitted with or without a metal bell ring.
While you can buy them used for very little, their equivalent insurance value is that of a Buffet E11 or Yamaha YCL-450, so don't base how much you're prepared (or not prepared) to spend on having them restored as the purchase price isn't relative to the actual value.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: johnwesley
Date: 2023-06-06 08:32
Owned a couple of them. The better of the two was one David Speighenthal (sp)worked on for me. Did some customizing of the keywork and which he said all 2-20s should have done. Anyway, if you have the opportunity buy one. Tey are high quality and sound great.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2023-06-09 05:31
I still have one Series 2-20 and the similar Series 8-10, like them both, solid instruments as mentioned by Chris P. You could do far worse than one of these.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ursa
Date: 2023-06-09 07:13
Sprite, if you went ahead and bought the 2-20, and assuming you're in the USA, I'd suggest inquiring with David Spiegelthal above about having him set it up for you. I bought an 8-10 from David years ago and, thanks to his careful fine-tuning, it's among the most in-tune clarinets I've ever played.
Another significant advantage of the B&H wooden clarinets: the wood is less prone to cracking than that of most other makes.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
