 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JamesB
Date: 2024-05-22 04:35
Hi,
My son has just passed his Grade 3 on a hired John Packer clarinet. He is 10 and doing well, but weight is still a consideration, as is ease of play and free blowing.
His teacher has recommended buying a Yamaha 255 or a Buffet Prodige, or alternatively going up to a Yamaha 450. She didn’t mention the E11/E12/E13, but I don’t know why.
His teacher has recommended going to Dawkes (UK music specialist) and trying a few out. I have a slight preference for the warmth of a Buffet over the brightness of a Yamaha, although I’ll let him choose.
How far up the grades can he get on the student models? I still have my B&H 78 which got me to Grade 6, although probably wasn’t helping when I quit on Grade 8. I’m also aware that he’s still young and my original clarinet was stolen from my classroom.
Dawkes also have some reconditioned Buffet E13s for the same price as a new Yamaha 450.
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks,
James
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-05-22 08:44
JamesB,
First of all, Welcome to the Woodwind Clarinet Bulletin Board!
I appreciate you posting here and hope to see more posts from you in the future.
Now, as to what clarinet you should buy for your 10 yr old, soon to be grade 4 student, may I offer the following suggestion:
If it is at all possible, would you be able to find out what clarinet the current grade 8 students are using?
If a fairly large percentage are playing a specific make and model, that might give you sufficient incentive to investigate that particular clarinet.
This is simply my opinion and the method that I would probably use if I were in your position.
Good luck and please keep us informed!
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Author: donald
Date: 2024-05-22 17:27
I passed my Grade 8 playing a (plastic) Buescher Aristocrat student instrument, so long as the instrument seals and you have a good mouthpiece it's perfectly possible to play well.
There's something to be said for a nicer clarinet though...
If weight is a consideration, there are some great neckstraps available, make sure to go for an elastic one. (BG for instance offer two types, very similar if not identical except that one is slightly elastic and the other not. Get the elastic one)
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-05-23 00:26
Donald nailed it. Expensive instruments feel and sound great. But they're not necessary for virtuosity as long as your instrument is in good working order. So buy what you can afford and what sounds and feels best to the student.
Personally, even if my 10 year old was a prodigy, I'd consider the next 8 years of abuse a school instrument would have to endure and buy something of quality but on the lower end. Save the big spend for later in high school or college. I had a Selmer Mark VI sax as a kid, and even though a babied it, it still got beat up in high school. I'd have been better off with a less valuable instrument.
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2024-05-23 00:58
lydian,
I understood the OP's query a little differently. Will the OP's son be playing in a school band? And if so, wouldn't blending with other clarinets be important?
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Author: kdk
Date: 2024-05-23 17:15
Dan Shusta wrote:
> lydian,
>
> I understood the OP's query a little differently. Will the OP's
> son be playing in a school band? And if so, wouldn't blending
> with other clarinets be important?
Not at that level. He's 10. In the US, that's 4th grade.
In any case, most of the 10 year olds I taught over the years had very basic tone quality - it was either full and strong or it was fuzzy and breathy. They often didn't seem to care for a long while which they produced.
Karl
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Author: Ed
Date: 2024-05-23 17:44
At a fairly young age, it may not matter too much as long as it is a well made instrument, but I would highly recommend Yamaha. The instruments are very well made and can play better than most others in that class. Consistency instrument to instrument is amazing, which would make me inclined to buy without even trying. The evenness and intonation are superb. I have never found Yamaha to be "bright" in comparison to Buffet.
To add- as long as the instrument is of decent quality and plays in tune, a good plastic clarinet can take you far. I have had students who went all though school on instruments like this, but with a good mouthpiece, which is more important. If a student has good basics of embouchure, air, technique, those instruments will work well for years. Some of the students I mentioned only got a "pro" instrument as they were getting ready to go off to college/university.
Post Edited (2024-05-23 17:50)
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Author: JamesB
Date: 2024-05-23 20:17
Many thanks everyone for your advice. It seems like a good student model is the way to go with a good mouthpiece. The advice I’ve seen seems to suggest the Yamaha 255 has a better mouthpiece than the Prodige. I’ve shown my son a video of both and he prefers the sound of the Yamaha, whereas I prefer the Prodige. Typical! We’ll try both. Many thanks!
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Author: lydian
Date: 2024-05-23 20:46
I realize he’s 10. I’m looking ahead and assuming the intent is to play this instrument in 5th-12th grade. When I was a kid, marching band started in 8th grade. That’s a lot of years of abuse this instrument will need to endure.
In any case, looks like OP is taking a conservative approach which I think is a smart move.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-05-23 23:06
The Yamaha YCL-255 is a much better built clarinet compared to the Buffet Prodige and while the 4C mouthpiece that comes with it is indeed better, that's not to say you have to stick with the stock mouthpiece as you can always upgrade that later on.
When it comes to higher grades from Grade 6 upwards, you may want to consider upgrading to a wooden clarinet if you feel the plastic one is limiting, although many players have done Grade 8 on a plastic clarinet with no problem. The important thing being it's well maintained and there aren't any leaks.
And it's also good to hang onto the plastic clarinet when upgrading to a wooden one so you can still use that one for outdoor playing or as back-up when the wooden one is in for servicing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-05-23 23:45
Not saying this is always the best approach, but when I was about nine or ten I got a Buffet R13, and in retrospect it was absolutely the right decision to buy it. Not necessarily this model, but a very good pro clarinet. It was an R13 because that was one of the few (I think two) options we had here for a good clarinet. For a cheaper option I think there was the E11 back then. Consider that I was already playing for about two or three years at that point.
I've used that R13 almost until the end of high school and could continue long after. I only upgraded because I had a chance to go to a store abroad with a much larger selection and choose a clarinet I really liked. That original R13 was still pretty good but was chosen from a huge stock of two.
We didn't have a marching band or anything like that, but I did bring the clarinet to school once a week for more than a few years.
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