The Clarinet BBoard

Amati student Clarinet

Author: JMcAulay  Date:   2002-10-30 22:17 I wandered yesterday into an instrument store ("Woodwind and Brass Repairs") which I had never noticed before. They have a truly amazing amount of instrument stock (not all low-end), and the tech area appeared well equipped with tools and repair parts. The owner is a professional player, primarily sax, and his son -- an excellent flautist -- does or supervises the repair work. Aside from my astonishment at discovering this place, I also had my first opportunity to actually play an Amati ACL-201 "student" Clarinet. There were two on display, and I was invited to try either. Using a Vandoren B45 and a Vandoren V-12 #2½ reed, I found the handling and playing of the instrument to be quite good. I did not try it with a "stock" mouthpiece. There seems to be considerable similarity between playing this instrument and my ACL-602, although the characteristics are quite obviously not identical. It appeared to be well made, with no obvious evidence of poor workmanship. I was told they have around a hundred of these on rental with no reliability problems at all (I will find out more on this later). After I tried the other instrument (finding little difference between them), the store owner picked up one, got out his own MP/etc, and he and I then spent about 45 minutes or so playing duets of old Steve Allen tunes and the like out of thin air, and 'twas a good time. The instrument worked well for me. I've been wanting to try one of these for quite a while, as I had heard nothing good about the older Amati student instruments. It would seem their student line has been improved as have their professional Clarinets. My only suggestion is that the Amati 201 should not be eliminated offhand if one is selecting a student Clarinet. I'll not tell you where the store is located, but you can find out soon when they become BB sponsors. After all, they gave me a free V-12, so I don't want to promote them. Regards, John

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