from my teacher who has been a student of all the above mentioned clarinetists...maybe they have switched clarinets since then but thats what he said and I believe him

If you still have contact with that teacher, please ask about Leister in particular. I am most intrigued by this, as he is obviously a German player. I do not know why he would play number one a boehm clarinet and two, why a Buffet. This intrigues me so much that I might have to email Mr. Wurlitzer about this. Shifrin I can believe. Too bad he didn`t stay with the Cleveland Orchestra. I certainly would have preferred his playing in the post- Marcellus recordings.

in my opinion, if you have enough, get a buffet. and if you cant afford a buffet, stick with the french brands like selmer paris. they tend to be better, a LOT better. i personally wouldnt recommend a clarinette from their `b` and `e`s... i personally own a r13 buffet greenline professional, i have a pomarico crystal clarinette mouthpiece, a vandoren optimum ligature and couthpiece cap set of pure silver, and a click brand click barrel. it truly is the ultimate set up, but obviously, only if you have 5,000 bucks to spend on a clarinette

Stacy, why would you call your setup the "ultimate" setup?

Umm.....Stacey- please research a ot more before you post ever again in life.

First off, Selmers (Paris) tend to be more expensive than Buffets if you look in the right places (which truly isn`t hard). Also, where do you get off bragging about your mediocre setup? $5000 means you overpayed by more than a couple hundred $.

Bradley

Ultimate? I haven`t heard any good thing about the greenline besides "It doesn` crack as easily", of course I haven`t ever played one so my opinion in that area is irrelevant. I have played a click barrel just for the heck of it and I was very disgusted by the tone that was produced. Bradley - tell me about some of these set ups: mouthpiece, barrel and the greenline too. Whats your take on them all?

Who actually cares about a mouthpiece cap? Like it matters whether or not its silver or plastic...

The real point boils down to this: sawdust and glue does not make great instruments. Quite the contrary to Bradley, I have found that these instruments produce a dull sound. Why is this? Most likely because the instrument does not have the necessary wood to vibrate. Name me a great instrument that is made of sawdust and glue. Steinway, Heckel, Stradavarius? Nope. As far as the crystal mouthpieces, I have tried many with no luck. I cannot think of a single US orchestral player who performs on one. The best ligature I have found on the market is the Bonade. Everything else is just high priced garbage in my opinion. Too many people are wrapped up in thinking that the more expensive a ligature, the better it has to be. I think Bonades are about 15-20 bucks US.

i have the same clarinet 100 signet selmer that is very old over 20 years probably close to 30 years old its a very good clarinet i have played it for many years now but i was wondering how much it is worth if it is a rar clarinet to find these days and how much i could get for it

i heard from my band instructor saying that crystal mouthpieces are good for volume but not too much on the others, eg. running notes, goof articulation. she says it`s more on the military side.

as for the other mouthpieces we are talking about here, i think that vandoren make quite decent mouthpieces, at least i feel that what, it varies from player to player, don`t you think?

hi
I have a Selmer Signet Resonite clarinet and I just started to play the clarinet and I was wandering can any one tell me if its trash or treasure I bought it from eBay for $49 US that`s $75 CAN.
and how good is it for a beginner

My main areas in performing are chamber music, solo-concerto work and opera. I have found after playing and purchasing most all the major pro models of Boehm clarinets over several years, the ones I was most impressed with were the ones that felt most comfortable in my hands and produced clarity and a rich, deep tone quality. I favored the Buffet Festivals I owned for their easy projection; but I found them heavy, the tone too-spread, and they caused wrist pain with prolonged use. I loved my Selmer 10G`s for their sweet, focused tone and delicate nature for chamber music; however, I disliked their lack of power for orchestral playing and their unpredictable intonation quirks. My Leblanc Opus had fantastic intonation and a rich sound, but it never quite felt right in my hands. Other instruments I tried at clarinet festivals over the years have struck chords in me... recently, the Wurlitzer Boehm model really tempted me, but its price tag was abominable.

I play on a set of standard silver-plated Buffet R13`s made in 1975 (one of Buffet`s banner years in production quality) now, and I have to say that I play and sound better on these clarinets than I ever did on those expensive ones I owned previously, and my recordings are much more refined in every way. I find the biggest influences on quality sound (besides player ability, of course) tend more to be the mouthpiece, barrel, and reeds. With the right combination of these, even a plastic student clarinet can be played well and the listener will never know the difference.

What seems to suit me best currently are these, if it helps anyone`s considerations:
--Standard silver-plated (for resilience against wear) R13 clarinets
--AccuBore Dark Moennig barrel for the B-flat clarinet (darkens tone with more resistance and improves intonation)
--AccuBore ribbed PowerStar barrel for the A clarinet (frees up response and improves intonation)
--Grand Concert Evolution or Gonzalez FOF reeds
--Rovner old-style ligature (thicker material), modified with a black "mouthpiece saver" patch inside the surface that contacts the reed

Also, the two clarinets I own now are ones I purchased used. Many other pro players who`ve heard me on these have told me they wish their new, expensive clarinets sounded as good. When I let them try my instruments, they didn`t want to give them back. So, don`t get caught in some trap of assuming that the higher the price, the better the equipment. Each one is different, even from instrument to instrument within each particular brand and model, and only from trying them individually will you be able to make a truly informed decision based on what YOU yourself need and on your personal preferences in sound and feel, etc.

Good luck and enjoy your music.

(revised e-mail address)

My main areas in performing are chamber music, solo-concerto work and opera. I have found after playing and purchasing most all the major pro models of Boehm clarinets over several years, the ones I was most impressed with were the ones that felt most comfortable in my hands and produced clarity and a rich, deep tone quality. I favored the Buffet Festivals I owned for their easy projection; but I found them heavy, the tone too-spread, and they caused wrist pain with prolonged use. I loved my Selmer 10G`s for their sweet, focused tone and delicate nature for chamber music; however, I disliked their lack of power for orchestral playing and their unpredictable intonation quirks. My Leblanc Opus had fantastic intonation and a rich sound, but it never quite felt right in my hands. Other instruments I tried at clarinet festivals over the years have struck chords in me... recently, the Wurlitzer Boehm model really tempted me, but its price tag was abominable.

I play on a set of standard silver-plated Buffet R13`s made in 1975 (one of Buffet`s banner years in production quality) now, and I have to say that I play and sound better on these clarinets than I ever did on those expensive ones I owned previously, and my recordings are much more refined in every way. I find the biggest influences on quality sound (besides player ability, of course) tend more to be the mouthpiece, barrel, and reeds. With the right combination of these, even a plastic student clarinet can be played well and the listener will never know the difference.

What seems to suit me best currently are these, if it helps anyone`s considerations:
--Standard silver-plated (for resilience against wear) R13 clarinets
--AccuBore Dark Moennig barrel for the B-flat clarinet (darkens tone with more resistance and improves intonation)
--AccuBore ribbed PowerStar barrel for the A clarinet (frees up response and improves intonation)
--Grand Concert Evolution or Gonzalez FOF reeds
--Rovner old-style ligature (thicker material), modified with a black "mouthpiece saver" patch inside the surface that contacts the reed

Also, the two clarinets I own now are ones I purchased used. Many other pro players who`ve heard me on these have told me they wish their new, expensive clarinets sounded as good. When I let them try my instruments, they didn`t want to give them back. So, don`t get caught in some trap of assuming that the higher the price, the better the equipment. Each one is different, even from instrument to instrument within each particular brand and model, and only from trying them individually will you be able to make a truly informed decision based on what YOU yourself need and on your personal preferences in sound and feel, etc.

Good luck and enjoy your music.

Sorry, I neglected to list the mouthpiece. I like this Gregory Smith 1+ that I`ve been using for the past two years; it has an unusually nice amount of "positive" resistance and clarity in articulation. Prior to that one was a James Pyne mouthpiece.

Well, I have to say that having played several of the top of the line models from Selmer and Leblanc, I prefer my Buffet RC to any of them. However, as has been posted, All are quality instruments, and personal preference is key. I have yet to find a mouthpiece that agrees with me, though. All in all one could argue all day about the benefits of the R-13 as compared to the Signature series, but there`s really no point; once you have a horn of that level, all that matters is how you play it.