 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Noverbuf
Date: 2012-03-08 14:30
I've been watching sales of alto clarinets on the famous auction site for last couple months and what I see isn't in accord with the suggested prices in the most threads bashing or praising alto clarinets.
In the first group of threads it goes: 'Because they are so useless and unpopular you can pick up an alto clarinet on that auction site for peanuts'. The second group of threads says that because there is belief that alto clarinets are useless and unpopular we, the lucky alto clarinet lovers can pick up these wonderfull instruments on that auction site for peanuts.
The prices that are usually quoted for brand name alto clarinets in the corresponding threads are 'below 400, below 300, sometimes even below 200', the latter being probably close to a very big bag of peanuts.
My observations show that that's not true and most decent alto clarinets end up at $600 and up. Just today the Linton alto(probably mistakenly described as made by Noblet; actually Malerne?) was sold for $695 'Buy it now' after being listed less than a day. Many Leblanc altos with goose neck end up above $600 and a few at $1000 and even $1200.
Oh, one observation to add: the $200 to $300 tag that was referred to in the mentioned threads to my surprise is now more like a territory of plastic Bundies and Vitos in decent shape.
Post Edited (2012-03-08 14:38)
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-03-08 14:37
Until I see more people actually playing alto clarinet I'm not going to call it a revival. People overpay for stuff on the auction site all of the time.
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Author: Noverbuf
Date: 2012-03-08 14:42
OK, I see. Should I've titled this 'Alto clarinet craze' instead? Where do they all go after purchase?
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2012-03-08 14:43
Well, it depends on what you see as "peanuts", I suppose. I picked up a good quality vintage wooden alto clarinet from a decent (but not highly sought after) maker a couple weeks back from the evil auction site for less than $200 US. I think that's peanuts. And, for a leblanc or other name brand, I think that anything under $1,000 US could be classified as "peanuts" for some.
It's the Spring, and I think that many a band director or instrument seller may be picking up project horns (and, honstly, many alto clarinets are project horns) to refurb over the summer for the "back to school" band push. In other words, I think it's a seasonal effect.
Just my two cents (as I've been watching the auctions for them as well).
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-03-08 14:44
My Yamaha also cost me £1400 off eBay which isn't bad for a pro model alto (it came from Greece) - but I couldn't leave it as it was and added a floor spike and LH Ab/Eb lever to it, as well as removed the lyre box and sling ring.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-03-08 15:08
Noverbuf wrote:
> Where do they all go after purchase?
Into someone else's closet to gather dust?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-03-08 15:31
And thus the cycle continues!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-03-08 17:16
I'm planning to quit my day gig and support my family entirely on income from performing on the alto clarinet.
Dream, or nightmare?
Don't kid yourself about the alto clarinet, it's a fun toy to play around with, but it has little or no relevance to the real world.
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2012-03-08 18:08
I agree with Mr. Spiegelthal....although, depending on what "real world" we're discussing, one could argue that clarinets in general have decreasing relevance (I've slipped on my flakjacket now, so go ahead and flame me!)
Just ask the thousands of clarinet performance majors who are NOT employed/paying the bills playing the clarinet today. Alto clarinets are simply the least commercially/musically relevant of the increasingly irrelevant family. Still, as noted, all clarinets are still fun toys to play around with...
Some people collect classic cars and would love to have an Edsel, just for fun Alto clarinet is my Edsel (and a heck of a lot cheaper too!)...
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Author: nosqueaks
Date: 2012-03-08 20:59
Full disclosure: I own a YAMAHA pro model Alto that I got for a very reasonable price years back- a very nice instrument. I wish I had an occasion to use it!
One use for an Alto Clarinet is to play Bassett Horn parts- you have to transpose 1 step higher, a fairly easy transposition, esp. for clarinet players who sometimes have to play a part that is in concert pitch. I have a friend who has an Alto with a low D extension so he can play down to the Basset Horn written low C-
With the crazy costs of new Basset Horns- it is worth considering.
Greg
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-03-09 00:03
The altos to watch out for on eBay and elsewhere are the older Selmers, Series 9 and earlier.
I also tried a Buffet Prestige that I loved. It played with the same facility as a Bb.
But my choice would be to get a Steve Fox basset horn and read up a step for alto parts.
Ken Shaw
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Author: dgclarinet
Date: 2012-03-09 14:31
I've bought two altos on ebay...a Selmer for $650 and a Yamaha for $750. You're looking at Bundys if the price is under $300...stay away from those. You can still find the older Selmers and an occasional Yamaha pro for under $1k. Right now, somebody is selling a newer Yamaha for about $3500...beautiful horn.
And I agree that alto clarinets are making a comeback...as are clarinet choirs.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2012-03-09 16:39
Well I have to confess, I bought a Buffet prestige alto and it is one of my favorite instruments of all. The sound is beautiful and it plays remarkably in tune with itself. It feels more like a "little bass" and I think adds an important voice in both band and clarinet choir. It is unfortunate that Buffet came out with this horn after the heyday of the alto; I think we might not have anyone slamming altos had these horns been around since then. You should hear it playing the slow movement of the Mozart concerto. Just gorgeous!
I've played in symphony bands at two locations so I've had enough gigs to make it worthwhile to me. Financially less so! In both of these groups, it has allowed them to play pieces with significant alto parts, like the Dahl 'Sinfonietta'.
Besides the horn, I have a Lomax mouthpuiece and VanDoren Optimum ligature. Both help the sound and articulation.
Eefer guy
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-03-09 19:32
dgclarinet wrote:
> You're looking at Bundys if the price is under $300...stay away from those.
Why? Because it has open-holed and not plateau-ed keys?
(I have one and I'm fine)
--
Ben
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Author: Kontra
Date: 2012-03-10 17:15
If we choose to look at it like Mr. Spiegelthal, then we only have ourselves to blame.
Hell, it isn't hard to write music. WRITE FOR ALTO. That seems to be the only thing we CAN do.
I've been messing around with an alto a little bit lately, and my perspective on the instrument has changed. I used to hate it. Now I like it, a lot. I'm buying one soon. If all else fails I'll have an instrument that I enjoy playing on my own time, which is all I can ask for from playing music.
Post Edited (2012-03-10 17:16)
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Author: alto gether
Date: 2012-03-10 18:58
Kontra, it's not your fault I am hijacking this thread, but:
It is NOT easy to write good music. It's easy to COPY music, and not at all difficult to transpose it - hell, that's so easy a dumb program like Finale Notepad can do it. I'm a starving songwriter and not everything I write is as good as I'd like it to be. The people who write better than I do work pretty hard at it.
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Author: Kontra
Date: 2012-03-10 19:02
I don't mean to undermine your work and talent. What I meant was that if people want to see parts for alto clarinet, they should write them. A band I was playing in just premiered a piece for a guy who writes a lot, and he said he wanted to see better bass clarinet parts. So he wrote a really long feature for them.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-08-05 06:30
last year i bought a mint noblet alto for 350 and another that plays execellent but is an ex school horn for 200. the second noblet needed just corks . yes the bargins are out there.
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Author: Reese Oller
Date: 2023-09-29 23:10
I was looking for an alto on the auction site for ILMEA a bit ago. Too expensive for me because I'm saving for a new bass clarinet-- my school bass is holding me back, as I came to realize a few weeks ago. I had the privilege to try a Privilege, and it was just so EASY to play!
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-09-30 02:31
yea you are better off saving for a better bass clarinet . however. and nothing wrong with a i have played alto clarinet in my community band for 3 yrs now and find the parts better than expected.i also have a bundy alto and its just fine.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-09-30 04:05
When I returned to college quite a while back (after a decade+ break), I bought both an Alto and a Bass Leblanc (both used). Both played amazing well after a few basic repairs. The school wouldn't let me play Alto. I was bummed because I never had the chance to play Alto in a real band before that point, and that Leblanc played very nicely.
It has sat in my closet for a long time now. Was truly fun to play, but never had its day to shine.
I need to dig both it and the bass out of storage to see how they're doing and get them acclimated to playing again. Wonderful instruments that seem to have lost their appeal/value in today's mad mad world.
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: 245264ycl
Date: 2023-09-30 06:14
I recently sold my Noblet wooden alto and kept the Bundy man-made substance one. There’s a matching Bundy “signature” mouthpiece. I’ve got a couple other mouthpieces, including a French Selmer open tip that I like a lot and a couple others that I don’t care for as much. It’s pretty basic, with its one piece neck.
I chose it to keep it for stuff that I find better suited to material meant for bass or soprano.
It’s a nice change from the more popular formats of horns. In closing I’ll add that I don’t think that we’ve got enough marching bands in Canada to spot me with it.
An AAB ( absolute beginner since ‘76) and nearly that old
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-09-30 17:16
i am playing alto clarinet in community band because i have had a bundy alto since 1989 and also never got to play it in a real setting. i didnt ask-i just showed up with it. its been a lot of fun.
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Author: Djudy
Date: 2023-10-02 17:47
I pushed my way up into our local wind band by offering to play alto clarinet. There was hesitation but I eventually got the green light. After 2 years of playing alto , our director has - unprompted - expressed his satisfaction at having an alto in the lineup. I'm far from a strong player but the alto does provide an audible contribution to the richness and balance of the group, fills it out in a nice subtile way, like the vanilla in a cake. I was more than thrilled as I love this instrument and am glad to have such a challenging opportunity to play it. Were all band directors as open-minded.
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Author: Patrick
Date: 2023-10-02 19:12
I never understood why the alto clarinet got so unpopular. I know when I was I high school, my band director promoted that instrument as a way for other clarinetist in the band as a way of not having to do chair auditions and being a section leader of one. I have yet to play one to be honest, but at the current moment, I am more of a Bb clarinet player due to manning.
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Author: Hugues Fardao
Date: 2023-10-03 23:13
I love my Alto, I feel more comfortable on it to improvise on jazz jams, low notes with an instrument less bulky than a bass.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-10-04 06:19
yes jazz jamming is the most fun on alto because its a clarinet in the lower register and sound just like a sax in the upper register.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2023-10-04 23:24
I think alto, like Eb, was part of an almost smear campaign in the 80's, scaring off composers for writing for them. It didn't help that the alto was passed onto weaker players on Bb. Our high school band had 2-3 and it helped out both bass and 3rd Bb clarinets. The "Eefer scare" seems to have subsided but the alto prejudice has persisted.
Although I normally play either Eb or bass, I have gotten into groups playing alto or made it known to the conductor that I own/ play an alto. This has given me opportunities to play solos like in the Dahl Sinfonietta, which is in a very effective range for alto and wouldn't have the same effect on bass.
The Buffet Prestige alto is an amazingly good sounding horn and the adjustable neckjoint makes tuning a breeze.
Eefer guy
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-10-05 00:11
i got to play a buffet prestiege alto in mint shape once-i was an experience i cant forget!
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Author: jasonalder
Date: 2023-10-07 20:40
Not almost, there was literally a smear campaign against the alto clarinet... a whole symposium of articles in the magazine the Instrumentalist called "Shall We Eliminate the Alto Clarinet" back as far as 1948
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Author: moma4faith
Date: 2023-10-08 21:08
The only place I've seen an alto clarinet played is at my local clarinet symposium, where they want every member of the clarinet family to be represented. And there are some very fine alto players who participate. In the local high school bands, I haven't found a single alto clarinet being used. I've been in two "good" community bands (one performed at Midwest), neither of which had an alto clarinet. So, in my real world experience, it is an instrument that is very rarely being employed.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-10-09 16:51
i didnt ask if i could play it in community band-i just showed up with it. and sure enough one of the directors said-{i usually dont allow those in my bands} of course he is a brass player. just last concert 3 of the best sax players didnt show and we were playing a big band showcase peice and i powered the saxes tru essentially playing {lead alto} on the alto clarinet. alto clarinet is very versatile in that it sounds like a sax up high and a bass clarinet down low and adds extra harmony to clarinet section passages
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Author: davidjsc
Date: 2023-10-10 09:30
RE: "i didnt ask if i could play it in community band-i just showed up with it."
That's exactly what I did when I joined one of our community bands in the late 1990s.
In my case, our conductor was a clarinet instructor so no opposition. also helped that, since our band was seriously weak on the bass end, with only a bass clarinet and trombone I recall as anything considered low instrument, I ended up covering transposed tuba or bassoon parts (whichever had more notes) to help buttress the bass end if the alto clarinet didn't really add anything or was duplicated by saxophones.
DSC
~~ Alto Clarinet; Bass Clarinet; B-flat and C Boehm Clarinets; Albert C Clarinet; Oboe ~~
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