Clarinet purchasing help?

Question

I'm a rising senior in high school with a Selmer Paris, series 9, whcih is a good, intermediate level clarinet (they stopped making that model, though), and everyone I've talked to, including pro musicians who have tutored me, says that I have an excellent dark, rich, amazing, etc. clarinet sound. But now I want to take it to the next level and perfect my sound so that I can blow everbody out of the water, particularly the judges at the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian SU. Does anyone know of any professional level clarinets with a high ratio of quality, tone quality, etc., to price? And same for reeds too. Only I don't care so much about the price on the reeds; I just need to have some opinions on the best-quality reed available. Right now, I play on Vandorens.

Answer 1

I am a clarinetist, have been for eight years. I use a Bundy, which I found having much more control over my old clarinet, a Selmer. Selmer owns Bundy, but Bundy is more advanced. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

So, if you are serious about blowing folks out of the water,  I have the following suggestions.   Buffet, as mentioned above, is the instrument the majority of professionals play.   The Buffet models of choice are Buffet R-13 (at the low end of the price scale),  Buffet R-13 Festival and Buffet R-13 Prestige (the most expensive of the three).    The R-13 will run around $2600.00, the Prestige around $4800.00 and the Festival somewhere inbetween.   Of course the actual instrument is going to give you a brand new prespective on your playing but if you want to blow people out of the water...  you are going to have to have the best mouthpiece to do that with.   My professional musician friend who is a member of the Houston Symphony,  the Houston Ballet and Opera,  Houston Theatre Under the Stars....  plays Buffet Prestige with a vintage Kaspar mouthpiece.    Actually he has a set of Kaspars to choose from.  These run anywhere between $300 to $800.   Now I know that really sounds crazy for a high school student,  but if you play in college, you are going to hear that name brand.  My daughter  plays on Charles Bay and Gigliotti brand mouthpieces and she is happy with those.  She has a Buffet S1, which is the European or English equivalent to the R-13...  you cannot buy them here in the USA.    The reed of both their preference is the Vandoren.   Thanks for reading.

Answer 3

I actually just answered this question a little over a week ago... I hope you don't mind if I just repost a couple paragraphs of my answer- it was good, I promise!

97% of pro clarinet players use Buffet R-13. They have the same playability and pitch tendencies from one horn to the next... you ALWAYS know what you're getting with this one! It is preferred because of the tone quality and craftmanship, and it gives a uniform sound to a clarinet section. Those who use something OTHER than an R-13 have to work MUCH harder to blend and adjust pitch tendancies to those around them. The drawback, is of course, the price! They retail for around $4500, but are well worth the price if you can swing it! If not, try finding a used one (I got mine for $1250) in your local music shop or online... usually, other than pad replacement, you can be assured that this will be a great horn.

My other recommendation, IF YOU CAN TEST BEFORE YOU BUY, is a Selmer Signature. These can be great horns too, but the consistancy is not there. I've played some that would make your heart melt, and others that make you wonder what you ever saw in the clarinet in the first place! Again, the price for a new one kinda makes you cringe ($4200+/-), but if you can find a used one, all the better. As I mentioned before, I would only buy this kind if you have the chance to play it first- so not off the internet unless they have one heck of a return policy!

Since you are already familiar with the Selmer brand, you may be partial to it... but again, the consistancy is not as good with Selmer as with the Buffet.  And I guarantee that most of your peers in college (and beyond) will be using the Buffet R-13.

Personally, I love the R-13 for classical playing. It has a rich full tone and the key action can't be beat. For Jazz though, I prefer the Selmer Signature- it seems a little brighter and louder (again, this won't be the case with all Selmers).

As far as reeds go, Vandorens are great- they use a very good quality cane.  If you want to experiment a little, you could try a different cut... traditional cut gives you a clear sound, a V16 or Paris cut has more wood at the heart and heal and gives it more focused tone.  

A person's tone comes from a combination of mouthpiece, ligature, reed, instrument, and embochure.  If you are getting a beautiful, resonant clarinet sound with what you have, I would not suggest changing more than one aspect at a time.  First, change your horn, but keep your mouthpiece setup the same.  If it works for you, there will be no reason to change it (unless your private teacher says otherwise).

Good Luck, and hope I helped a little!

And here's a link for you:

http://www.wwbw.com/Buffet-BC1131-5-0--R...

(this is where I bought mine)

PS- Selmer is the parent company of Bundy... also of Vito and some other lesser knowns... these are all beginner model clarinets.  They are good student models, but if you walk into a symphony audition with one, you will not be taken seriously.