Author: Richmond1958
Date: 2007-12-07 02:30
So here's the evening update. We went to the store and tried the following three instruments (which were the only ones available in the store in the range we were looking for):
-- One was the Accent CL920W. The salesperson told me that this instrument is actually manufactured by the same company in Germany that produces instruments for Buffet. Various parts of the clarinet have the words, "made in germany" engraved into the wood.
-- One was a Yamaha Allegro (I believe model YCL-550AL). This was the same model (but not the same unit) that was at upgrade night earlier in the week at the school.
-- One was the Buffet R13 Greenline. This was more of a reference standard than necessarily one that we were planning on purchasing, although the price was less than I thought -- I think $2625 (gulp -- what am I saying -- smile).
In all cases we used the mouthpiece from the Accent CL 920W, with the label "Vandoren M13."
As to fit and finish, the finish on the underside of the keys on the Accent is actually better than the Yamaha which has more of an unfinished "matte" look; the finish on the Accent was shiny and clean. However, the wood finish on the Yamaha appeared richer to me, showing more wood grain, but that's possibly because its not stained as darkly as the Accent. I did notice (to my completely untrained eye) some similarities between the Accent and the Buffet R13 as to design, so I think the story about common manufacturers (maybe not as to the R13 but as to lesser Buffet models) does have some veracity. Both the Accent and the Yamaha appeared well constructed, but the Yamaha appeared to be slightly better screwed together, so to speak.
As to the playing test, in my opinion, in my wife's opinion and in the opinion of the salesperson at the dealer (which was, by the way, the same salesperson as upgrade night) the Yamaha sounded better than the Accent, particularly on the lower notes. To me it sounded richer and had more resonance. The Accent sounded good and tight, but it just sounded flatter to me relative to the Yamaha in the lower notes and flatter generally as to the R13. We did the test in a small sound room off the main showfloor with my daughter doing scales a few times and a short song or two. The "raspiness" issue did not re-occur with the Yamaha as it did during upgrade night. The salesperson also acknowleged very readily that the Yamaha has a worldwide reputation and would very likely have much greater resale value.
My daughter, however, disagreed, so here's what we are going to do: The dealer agreed to let us have both instruments for a few days, and tomorrow her band director has agreed to do a "blind test" of both instruments to give her objective opinon as to which one sounds better. I will try to be there as will my wife.
So that's the evening update. More tomorrow. LeeB, thanks for your comments, and we are taking this very seriously. I think the reason Accent probably chose the ".cc" designations for their website is because that one allowed them to use simply the "accent" mark as their domain name. They would have probably had to pay a lot of money for accent.com or accent.net, if you know what I mean.
More tomorrow. Again, thank you all so very very much for your input.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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