So you're in the market for a clarinet to get started, you don't want to spend too much but you also don't want to waste your money on rubbish. So what instrument do you choose?
What brand instrument should I buy?
There are three brands that seem to be very popular and these include Buffet and Yamaha. Buffet seems to be falling a little in popularity for beginners (however it is still THE choice for more advanced players) and Yamaha's seem to be taking off although the newer models are coming out of China (2021) and vary in quaality.
Why these brands?
So cheaper instruments are cheaper because of the quality of the materials used. For example, it is not uncommon for a student to be practicing and then a cork or pad falls off. Why? Because they use very little, low quality glue.
The other cost cutting avenue is the amount of time a human actually spends putting the instrument together. Instruments are intricate things where the slightest leak of a pad can cause significant issues. It takes a human to put instruments together and the more time they spend, the higher the cost.
Other things you may wish to consider is the resale value of these instruments. If, for some reason, you need to resell the instrument (hello Mum's and Dad's :P), these instruments tend to hold their value better.
And one final reason, instrument technicians will actually work on these instruments. Some of the cheaper 'no brand' instruments they will refuse to work on because it will generally cost you more in services, than the value of the instrument, to just get it playing.
How much?
A beginner clarinet in these three brands will set you back about $700AUD for a new instrument. Second hand, you're probably looking at about $450AUD and the third option is to loan the instrument. You can do this for only a couple of dollars a week!
Need more help?
Get in contact with me today! I would be more than happy to discuss instruments with you to ensure you find the right one to get started on.
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