Right now I play on a fairly decent, Yamaha plastic clarinet, and I`m thinking about buying a brand new wooden clarinet. I`m thinking about a Buffet E11 but I`m not sure. I`m going into my 3rd year of playing, I play on a size 3.5 Mitchell Lurie reed (if that helps any). I`m probably gonna play clarinet for at least another 5 years (until I get out for high school). Got any advice? I`m thinking about Buffets but if there is any other REALLY good brand or type of clarinet to buy, here`s the place to tell me.

Nao

I`m also thinking about a Buffet R-13 but I`m not sure if thats gonna be a little too hard for me. I dunno. I really have no clue on brands and types and stuff. I just play the darn thing. Lol

Nao

Well if you think a better clarinet is easier to play, you`re wrong. They are usually a lot easier to play. They are made with more care and have better features than beginner clarinets. Usually people start on beginner clarinets because they don`t know where their playing is going to go, they are cheaper, and they are more durable. The switch from plastic to wood is uaully a bit hard because you have to use more air to make a wooden clarinet sound but the sound quality improvement is more than worth it.

There are many brands of "good" clarinets. The "big 4" producers are Buffet, Selmer, Leblanc and Yamaha. Unlike Leblanc, Selmer, Buffet and Yamaha names are not exclusive to higher grade clarinets. Buffet`s E11 and above are wooden intermediate models right up to high end professional. Selmer Paris (not Selmer USA) is the professional to high end professional model clarinets for this maker, but you can get their intermediate wooden horns under the Selmer USA name along with their beginner clarinets. Yamaha has their wooden clarinets which are beginner to intermediate, and then their "Custom" horns are the professional clarinets. I would suggest moving up in the Yamaha line since you started out on one, but around the world Leblanc, Buffet and Selmer are generally more respected- Buffet being the most widely used professional clarinets. Selmers and Leblancs are on the same level with Buffet, but Buffet is the easiest to obtain and generally the clarinet "of choice" for many people since they can get their hands on an R13 more easily than a Leblanc Concerto or Concerto II or a Selmer 10G or Prologue. All of these 4 are excellent clarinets, but one brand usually suits a particular person more than the other. I personally play Leblanc and favour them over any other clarinet. There are also other professional clarinet makers such as Amati which are good, but not many people play them. Then there are the hand made clarinets such as Patricola, Rossi, Chadash, Peter Eaton, Fox, and so on which some people like over the big 4 and others just stick to the big 4.

My advice is to TRY as many as possible FOR YOURSELF. Of all the brands you can. That is the only way you will know. If you just go and buy a clarinet because someone told you that you should get that one or you feel like it`s the one for you WITHOUT trying as much as you could, you will almost definetly have wasted your money and will end up unsatisfied if you realize your clarinet was inferior for the same price. Clarinets also differ from clarinet to clarinet, so not every R13 will be the same. That goes for every brand, but it seems to happen more often with Buffets.

Bradley

You can start with going to all the websites of the makers by going to http://www.orchestralclarinetist.com/makers.html and you should see links to almost all of the clarinet makers that exist.

Bradley

Thnx for the advice. I`m not sure exactly when I`m gonna get myself a new clarinet but I hope pretty soon. I think I`m gonna hold on to my Yamaha for marching season, then whatever clarinet I end up getting for concert season. I think a LeBlanc or a Buffet would be nice. I`m not sure though. Another question; how come it says some of the clarinets have 17 key and others 18? I don`t get what key they have extra. Is it to go one note lower, like a B foot, I think, on a flute?

nao

No. The 18 keys usually mentioned is an extra Eb level for the left hand. You will notice all of the keys in the right hand trill key cluster are duplicated in the left hand cluster except for the Eb/Ab key. The clarinets that have 18 keys have the extra key for certain passages where it would be easier with that key rather than the right equivalent. Look at the Leblanc Opus and Symphonie VII models for that key as well as the Buffet Festival, Prestige R13 and Prestige RC, and the Elite. Yamaha and Selmer also offer models with the key. Some clarinets, like the Amati 604 and some older Selmers offer 19 keys which do go a note lower, or half step rather like the flute with the B foot instead of C. This "new" note is the Eb below our lowest E.

Bradley

Well thanks a bunch for the help. I don`t think I`m gonna get a new clarinet in the next year or two because of a tight budget in our family. . Oh well, so I think I will take your advice and in another year I`l just try out a lot of different clarinets, which should be a little easier because my teacher sells all woodwind instruments and supplies. Thanks a bunch. How do you know so much on woodwinds? (That makes me sound like an idiot.

Nao

How do I know "so much"? I dunno
I mean I`ve for a long time been learning about Leblanc, and then about it`s competitors mainly for my own knowledge and also because I`m looking to upgrade my instrument and have been for a while now (since Dec. of last year). I`ve kinda taken a break to work on my playing because that`s what really counts, but either way- I suggest you don`t wait to start trying instruments. Start as soon as you can so you`ll have a good idea by the time you can get one and you won`t make an impulse purchase. I also learned about the flute for my own knowledge, not that I can really play it except for playing a couple notes and maybe a piece of their full range chromatic scale, but my best friend is a flautist and both of us want to have serious careers one day and so I thought learning about the flute along with her would be cool.

Bradley

well thats cool

if you make it big, send me an autograph.

nao

Definately get a buffet, i have one and it totally rocks.....but don`t get new one; for one they are a ton of money, for two the used ones sound better.....there like wine, they get better with age. My buffet we bought used so it was only 1100 bucks instead of 3100, also with a used one you have to wait a month before you can even bring it anywhere, because it will crack.....trust me on this, a used buffet is the way to go

hey hey... calm down...

i found this place where they were selling E11s for like $500 and R13 for like 800. I thought that was kool, and the dealer was a company and they were totally legit. I know hundreds of you are gonna go off on how i shouldnt trust internet sites... yadda yadda. I can`t buy one anyways so oh well.

nao

An R13 for $800??
Where?
New?

And also- you can trust internet sites. As long as they`re known like WWBW, BNWW, IMS, Muncy, Weiner, Matthew`s, and so on. Most of the players I know got their clarinets from internet sites, cause you can return a clarinet and play test a bunch before u decide.

Bradley

yeah it was a new one and it was in this special offer thing at wwbw.com

nao

Okay

I thought that was a regular price- which would be seem a little shady to me.

Bradley

Also, in response to lauren saying that clarinets get better as they age is inaccurate. Yes, they may be "broken in", but over a period of time they will lose their ability to vibrate. This is why you will see many older horns(5+ years) that are played out. I cartainly would not say they are like fine wines, because if my clarinets appreciated like wine, I`d be a happy man!