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Re: How to choose and buy a new clarinet

Author: m1964
Date: 2023-08-21 08:08

I was fortunate to buy a few new clarinets during the last few years.
All of them bought in Europe to take an advantage of the tax-free shopping. I simply would not be able to afford buying the same instruments here, in the US.

My best purchase was a clarinet that I chose from four of the same model- two clarinets played better than the other two, then I chose one of the better two.
It helps that my wife has good hearing (plays strings) and can advise on sound quality.

In the US, I would advise to go to a small shop because usually owners can hand-pick instruments they sell, and also will set them up.

Even if a plane trip is required to get to such place- plane tickets can be very cheap during off-season. Can be cheaper than a return shipping fee if returning an instrument that was bought online and does not play well.

Also, it is important to remember that no instrument is perfect and will have some out of tune and some stuffy notes, etc. That's where a good shop owner/tech comes in and will correct the problems.

My only negative experience with buying a clarinet from Europe was when I bought an A online, from the same shop I bought my Bb in person.
That clarinet was a so-so instrument but I kept it because I wanted/needed an A clarinet and did not want to pay for shipping it back to Europe.

Otherwise, my buying in person experience was great since I've done it when we went on vacations.

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