My daughter is in marching band for the first year, she is currently playing a wooden clarinet and I want to get her a plastic one for outdoor play, I am considering the Olds NA50VWP and the Buffet 2540. I have no experience with buying a clarinet and any info would be appreciated. She is in the 9th grade and has taken 3 years of band before that, but no outside marching band.

sorry i didnt realize i posted in the flute forum.

You should ask her. I`m sure her band teacher would have something useful to say on the subject and could help you choose a good instrument for her. Also, if you`re buying it for HER, you probably want to inclue her in the selection process. It needs to be an instrument that she`s comfortable with. And if you`re spending a lot of money on a new musical instrument for her, she should come along and give it a test-drive before you buy it.

I don`t know much about clarinets except the basics, but I`ve been playing flute for several years and have played several different flutes in my time. They come in a million different varieties and I`m sure the same applies for other musical instruments.

I can`t tell you which is better. But the biggest thing is to make sure it`s an instrument that SHE is comfortable playing. And also-- if it`s for marching, you probably don`t want to spend a whole lot of money. The quality of sound isn`t as important as her ability to blast it out of the clarinet. Volume is what matters. And plastic is a GOOD choice. It may get dropped, it may get a bit damp, a million things could happen to it.

SHE was involved in the choice and SHE got what she wanted and SHE is satisfied with what SHE got. Thanks!

That`s good.