The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2007-12-22 20:46
Never had one. Never played one. Thinking about buying one. Does anyone wish to share their opinions or experiences? (Trial period not offered.)
Bill.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-12-22 23:59
Hi Bill - I know little of the Sel 9's per se , but my Centered Tone Sel of that same time period is far and away the best cl for semi-classical and jazz playing I've ever encountered. Bore size is important, IMHO. Luck, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2007-12-23 18:34
The 9 "Star" is more than a refinement of the Series 9 - it's a fundamentally different design. It plays more like a modern French Bore clarinet.
The Series 9 is a larger bore instrument with a beautiful, clear, reaching tone to those that can tame the tuning irregularities in the throat tones.
The Series 9 is a monster that can sing sweetly when tamed...
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Author: Bill
Date: 2007-12-23 18:45
Syn Botch,
I believe you about the Series 9 (no star). So many whose opinion I respect have praised it. The funny thing is that I collect old Selmers, and I found a Series 9 (1961 manufacture) in a junk shop for $50 in quite good condition. I had it redone by Steve Fowler. But for some reason I never liked it. I never "got" it, never understood its qualities. Yet I have almost every model leading up to it. Maybe if I had it again today I'd have a different opinion. I thought it was thin-sounding and blah. Could have the individual instrument.
Bill.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-12-23 18:49
I'm finding my Series 9 full Boehms much easier to get on with now that I'm much more familiar with them than I was when I first posted on these boards, and know what to do to tame them without resorting to surgery (though the low E isn't going to budge from being noticeably flat without putting up a fight).
But I haven't tried any Series 9* clarinets yet - the narrowest bore clarinet I currently play is a Leblanc LL which I like playing just as much as my Series 9s as it does similar things (and that's 9s as in 'nines' [plural of 9] and not '9S').
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: haberc
Date: 2007-12-24 00:23
Hi, I have a Series 9* (S series) that plays like a dream for me. I love it.
I currently use an Otto Link Tone Edge 3 mouthpiece with a Winslow ligatlure and Vandoren V12 3 or 3.5 reeds. Classical or Jazz, this clarinet is a special instrument that responds beautifully low and high ( although the high notes above G still aren't pretty to me - but I believe that has nothing to do with the instrument but with the player).
I'd go for a Selmer 9* any day.
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Author: William
Date: 2007-12-24 13:47
Selmer's 9* model was designed and marketed to compete with Buffet's R13s.
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Author: b.roke
Date: 2007-12-24 20:01
one has just sold on ebay for $860! someone must have really wanted it for christmas. i bought one last year for $400 and it was quite good. not as good as a '76 R13 i bought at the same time and later sold.
a few months ago i bought 2 series 9's - no star - and there is something special about them. even the cracked and worn one is fun to play.
disclaimer - i am a novice with very little ability, but a strong enjoyment for playing.
.
steadfastness stands higher than any success
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2007-12-28 19:24
The series 9 is defintely a larger bore style clarinet. I started on one and found the sound very hard to focus .... more so in the throat register!
However, that being said it was a very nice clarinet to play in spite of what I felt was a lack of exactness in the way it articulated. Other fellow students who had them felt the same way...it just sometimes did not do what you expected. The mechanism was not too bad but a little bit awkward at times.
The tendency for them to crack was also noticed...at a summer camp I was at about 5 of them cracked within two weeks!!!
As to quality I thought the sound very good but a bit too diffuse and lacking centre...in jazz however it is a great instrument. Nowadays it seems the small bore is king.
David Dow
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