Author: mschmidt
Date: 2016-07-06 00:28
I would say "as soon as possible," i.e., as soon as you (or your parents) can afford to upgrade.
Think about it: what would be "too soon?" The only potential problem I could see is that you (or your parents) lay down a whole bunch of money and then you decide you don't want to continue playing. But, even then, you can probably get a good fraction of your money back by reselling, especially if you buy a used instrument.
My parents were poor. When I was in junior high, I suffered with a rented school instrument for a year before my teacher really twisted my parents arms until they bought me a Prestini, which was a pretty decent intermediate instrument. But then without access to a good repair person or a good teacher who could tell me where to go to get the thing sealed up properly, I was struggling with reeds, constantly trying to compensate for the leaks and ending up with a bad sound.
Finally, as an adult, I got a good used Marigaux, and my playing greatly improved. Then, the Prestini was stolen and not recovered, I got a great Lorée with the money from the insurance settlement, and I started sounding even better. I constantly wonder how much better I would have been in high school with a great instrument and a great teacher.
My apologies to those of you who have read this story from me before. I'm pretty sure I've previously posted it here, at least in pieces.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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