The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nahya^^
Date: 2002-07-31 22:14
i got it on ebay it was a little over 100 dollars. the guy was a power seller so i thought i wouldn't get ripped off. he used the words, "german engineering" so i supposed that it was a decent clarinet.
someone just said that it's made in china and is no good.
is that right?
am i getting ripped off?
and i just want to learn to play clarinet, and should i just ship it back (haven't got it yet) and buy something else?
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Author: nahya^^
Date: 2002-07-31 22:39
ooh..
but should i just keep it, cause i haven't even touched a clarinet before. so since it's cheap, should i practice with it, and if i feel that i want to advance and need a better one, then buy a good one?
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2002-07-31 22:52
Get out a tuner to see if it plays an even scale.
These things are notoriously unpredictable for quality.
For $100, if it lasts a year you did okay.
Just don't do any repairs.
Practice is the most important part of a good sound.
Don't feel too bad, okay?
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Author: nahya^^
Date: 2002-07-31 23:29
thanks for trying to make me feel better. well after a year i would have no time to play/practice it because of SAT and stuff so...
anyway... i don't think i have a tuner... actually i have never seen one before. lol.. can i just play the scale to see if it matches my sister's piano? the piano's not been tuned since we got it but i think it's good except one or two notes on high and low scale.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2002-08-01 13:53
Unless the piano was recently tuned, who knows?
The Korg company makes a cheapo ($20) tuner that I use for reference when fitting barrels to clarinets.
Your local music store should have one available to try out.
Don't get too excited about pitch variance at the start...
clarinets rarely play an even scale, regardless of price.
If you're within 10 cents of the tuner on a note, that's close.
The FAQ pages on Woodwind.org will also describe setting up your instrument to play. In hot weather, tuning the best horns is tough.
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Author: Sarah
Date: 2002-08-01 21:31
You might want to have a clarinetist try it out for you with a tuner since you have never played one.
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Author: Carol
Date: 2002-08-02 03:30
I found the eBay auction for the Stueben clarinet and it makes the following claim:
> The Steuben by German Engineering is made of "hand selected'
> composition ebonite of *ONLY*( the very best quality.
What on earth is "hand selected' composition ebonite? (It probably means somebody picked it up)
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-08-02 05:20
Oh, Carol ! hahahahahaha you're sooooo right on.... :] ahhh, somebody touched it - hahaha
that's goood - unhhhh, German Engineering too! What ever happened to 'recommended by Duncan Heinz' ?
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Author: nzdonald
Date: 2002-08-02 11:09
on the other hand.... the Germans actually ARE quite good at engineering.... it sounds like a no-brain wrote up the ebay post, but it could be a reasonably acceptable clarinet....?
most probably an old piece of junk i'd say, sadly for our friend Nayah^^
i really really wish that we could give $100 clarinets that played really really well to everybody. if i became a millionaire i'd do this- then i'd also pay the worlds best refacers to do great mouthpieces and give them to high school players all over the world for free!
i'd buy Rico, throw out all the cheap crap they sell and make them put great reeds in the "student" boxes
PLUS
i'd make them go back to the old "GC Thick blue box" design because those reeds were great.
ok
time for me to get some sleep
tomorrow = 4 hours practise, indian food for lunch, a few hours SURFING at Piha (yay!) then more practise in the evening (i've got an NZSO audition comming up)
one day i'll get to Mavericks- i'll be the only guy in the parking lot practising the e flat clarinet in the front seat of my car!
have fun all
donald
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