Manufacturer A little note or manufacturer's fulll name(s) Country of Origin. Models I Know Of: Information, Picture Galleries, Modern Websites, etc.
. Do NOT buy an older model Chinese clarinet. It is too likely that it will be junk, and you will need to get it worked on. Getting it worked on can easily cost more than buying a new one. Check to make sure your band program will accept a Chinese clarinet. In my little town of Siloam Springs, AR, the band program doesn't accept them. Beware of counterfeit clarinets.
You can sometimes find a new 'Buffet' or 'Selmer' clarinet on eBay for very cheap (around $100 or less). This is a sign that the instrument is probably counterfeit!. Purchase from one of the main on-line music houses, and expect to pay $150 to $250. (Larger music houses that you should check are WWBW.com and HysonMusic.com.).
I don't recommend that you buy a Chinese clarinet via Amazon or eBay. Or, YOU can tell which ones NOT to buy just by looking at the price: DO NOT buy a new clarinet costing $69!.
You can't do this if you are in a hurry. If your child needs a clarinet really soon, see if you can borrow something for a couple of weeks. Make notes on the brands and models to look for below. Check the prices for the good models on eBay before looking at clarinets locally. Find a good brand clarinet that someone is selling ‘as is’ for $25 (for a plastic clarinet) or up to around $75 (for a wooden clarinet).
Ask around among the parents in your community. Some have clarinets in their closets. You don't have to worry about the condition! Just plan on having whatever you buy reconditioned. Avoid buying a cracked wooden clarinet unless it is the bell (lowest part) that is cracked. (That part hardly matters at all!). You can definitely find $25 clarinet with nice bright, shiney keys, so DON'T buy an old, musty clarinet with tarnished or damaged keys.
Look at this thread on the ClarinetPages.info forum:. Another link to the same information is found. Send your clarinet to one of the cheaper recommended services for reconditioning.
(Most local music stores charge over $200 now for this service.) Ship the clarinet without the case to save money. Your used clarinet should come back looking great and playing like new. Consider buying a new $30 case on the Internet if the old one does not present well. What the case looks like will probably MATTER to you child!
Don't embarrass them with a dowdy-looking case. The plastic has wonderful intonation and very sturdy construction. 19Aug2016 update I first wrote here that “ you can pick them up for a song. ” Instead of them going for $25 like I thought, they are going for more like $70. (I don't recommend the older Selmer Bundy plastic clarinets because of intonation problems.). Plastic and all models of plastic clarinets are abundant and often sold cheaply. You can often win an auction on a Vito for $25-35 (plus postage).
Wooden / / Leblanc clarinets: If you are patient, you can buy Normandy clarinets for $50-75, Noblets for a little more than Normandy. (Don't buy a Normandy clarinet if the keyed joints are made of plastic.). Wooden clarinet: If you are in a part of the country where the Yamaha instruments have been promoted by large music stores and with the cooperation of band directors, you may find that you can get good deals on this brand. If you happen to find a used 146, or a clarinet in your price range, get it!. Check the reviews at this site before bidding on or buying other brands/models.
I had the chance yesterday to take the post-restoration photos of my JK-stencilled Jubilee alto. It is a Toneking stencil that I bought earlier this spring, which is an exact match to my Jubilee tenor. I decided that I would take some artsy pics of the 2 horns together.
The alto is serial number 286XX, while the tenor is 29XXX. Both horns were built in 1957, and both had their Lucite angel wing and clothes guard replaced with original, Keilwerth replacement guards made of metal. My tech suggested I take them to a classic car show. They’d look great beside a late 1950’s American car with big tail fins and lots of chrome. I’m so glad that you enjoyed that particular descriptive phrasing, especially as you had also recently covered “The School Bari” at your Tech’s Shop. Really though, every time I take a few minutes to work on this horn my only concern in turning it into a Frankenwerth, however misplaced, is if there’s any value left in it’s rarity, even if it is a Stencil. To date, Inquiries sent to The Buffet Group and the resurrected Keilwerth have returned Nothing.
Nobody that I’ve been able to contact seems to know Anything about this (or any other) Evette Schaeffer Master Saxophone. So armed with that non-knowledge, and as I’m certain that you are the current authority in the Western Hemisphere on most things Bari/Bass Saxophone, I feel much better in going forward with the project. May even try to produce a “Wing” in Acrylic, as well.
On another note, I may have found the perfect ‘off-the-shelf’ case for a Bari. I just ordered it yesterday so after I get it in and fitted I’ll submit an article to you. Hello MontyMac. Welcome to my site. Thank you for your comments on my pics. I’m glad you like them. I’m not 100% happy with the lighting, but in the absence of studio lighting, I didn’t do too bad a job.
I have some ideas of next time. Where’s the angel wing bari you ask?
Oh don’t tempt me You’ll get my G.A.S. I’ve been behaving myself Well for all of about 6 weeks that is.
? the Poor Beastie that I rescued from eBay last May (and whatever school that treated it with all the respect and gentleness of a Crack Whore) Oh how I laughed my ass off with with one! ? I think your ideas for fabricating an angel wing are brilliant. It’s a horn with a high mileage history, so keeping it original isn’t really all that important. I think making it unique at this point would be fun, and interesting. Yes please, do send me photos when you’re done! The Golden Hawk, now there’s a classic car. Yes, my babies would certainly look good next to them.
I’ll have to check out the classic car club in spring when they have their next show and shine. Maybe a member has an idea or 2 about where I might find an owner of a 1957 Studebaker.