Expert: Rebecca - 12/23/2011

Question
I recently took up playing the Clarinet. And, I am already thinking about my next, and I believe final, Clarinet purchase.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could recommend some models at what I would consider the low end of the professional range of clarinets. Something that I could be happy with for the rest of my life.  There are just so many models available that it is quite confusing. I will probably never play for anything other than my own enjoyment. Cost is a consideration. And. I really like my Yamaha YCL 250.

Answer
Hi Kevin,

A student of mine recently lucked out with purchasing a lightly used Selmer 10s clarinet. The tone and intonation is really great, and he paid only $600. It was listed $850. It cost less than $95 to have some keywork adjusted by a pro repair guy, who guessed that the instrument was 5 years old. I usually recommend Buffet R13 clarinets, but Selmer clarinets are more consistent.  

See what you can find in your area - it's always best to test in person, though since you just started playing you might want to enlist the help of your teacher in the process.  Be sure to test the 12ths with a tuner - the closer they are, the better.

Here's a link discussing the Selmer 10s versus Buffet:

http://clarinetcorner.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/selmer-10s-and-buffet-r-13-an-exp

Good luck and have fun with the clarinet!

Happy Holidays,

Rebecca