I am planning to buy a clarinet for my beautiful wife as a birthday surprise. She has never played the clarinet before but wishes to learn. I am trying to get away with spending as little as possible (not willing to commit until I see that she commits to practicing). I am tempted by the really cheap ones (Sky Brand?) that i find on the internet (ebay) but i don`t want to buy her a lemon. Could you please tell me which brands to avoid like the plague or which cheap / budget brands (models?) are actually not too shabby for the budget price. I`d appreciate your help; I`m not musically inclined and have searched for reviews on the net but no one has comparison websites like they would for other interests.

Bryan
Australia

The rule of thumb is to stay with the brand names. A few general comments:

Anything too cheap to be true, probably is. The new $100 clarinets such as Sky sold on ebay or anywhere else, for that matter, are lemons.

Stay away from clarinets sold at walmart, sears, costco, etc.

Try to stay away from anything made in mainland china - these are almost always junk.

Selmer, buffet, leblanc, and yamaha all make quality clarinets. It may seem much more expensive than the abovementioned clarinets, but it isn`t hard to pick up a used one for cheap, and a bundy from the 60s will still perform better than a spanking new "sky". Forte is also a quality beginner clarinet.

Cheers John

Bryan

have you ever heard of Severin
I have one and am not sure if it is a good brand of not.

Do what John says. If you can have someone who plays check out the clarinet before you buy one. There can be a variation between horns of the same make and model.

Have a look at Hanson Clarinets website www.hansonclarinets.com

I have been there and it is a friendly, professional, family business, making excellent clarinets and offering a terrific `package` of guarantee, service & `buy back`.

I am about to get one myself!

hey, vito isin`t a bad brand for beginners. i prefer to play on a selmer or buffet, but i have been playing for a long time now, i started out ona vito and am doing great now with my selmer.

I just got a `Pierre Dumont Paris` and don`t know if it is any good. My Uncle played it about 25 years ago.

i am 12 and play a vito it is good quality and has really good sound maby if you go to your local middle school and se if one of there subjects is band and if it is ask the band teacher what brand he/she sujests

Hi,
I would reccommend a buffet B12. They are very good starter instruments. They are about $500 USD new but I reckon that you could get a second hand one on Ebay for about $300 above or below. A cheaper version is the Buffet B10 which is about $385 new and cheaper used. The cheapest reliable brand is probably Amati either the Amati ACL201 or the ACL311.

Good Luck,

I would try to pick up a buffet - they are a good instumetn, and if you trawl some second hand shops you can often get lucky and pick up a good buy

Lots of people are really missing the boat on what`s available in the vintage eBay market. You can get a very nice used (read: better than much of the new) clarinet for little $. I bought a nice Buffet Evette & Schaeffer (E12) from the late 50`s, sent it to tonemusicshop who listed his clarinet overhaul service for $85 incl return shipping. He polished up the keys beautifully, repadded, recorked where needed and adjusted. Bottom line is that I have a great vintage wooden Buffet for about $250. This beats the "you know what" out of any recent used horn in this price range.

I also did the same with a Buffet Evette & Schaeffer (E13) Master (we`re talking 1/2 step under an R13 here!). This was of similar age. My total investment in this overhauled horn is <$300!!!

If your wife is just starting, I wouldn`t reccommend a vintage clarinet, or a wooden one (wooden ones are really expensive, mine was $3450 AUS it is an R13. The bst types for beginers are the resin ones. They are very easy to maintain and make a nice warm tone.

Correction. The E12 was not a Evette & Schaeffer, it was an Evette. E&S models are E13`s. The thing about an overhauled vintage horn is that if the new player doesn`t stick with it, it`s resaleable for your original investment - or in my case I can actually get more than what I have in both of those. I wouldn`t be concerned with maintenance issues with an adult. Kids yes. Bottom line is that used is the way to go even if getting a cheaper plastic one. Just make sure it`s a name brand whether it be Buffet, Yamaha, Selmer or whatever.