Buying a New Clarinet

It can be tough to choose a clarinet for yourself, your beginning child, or your advancing high school clarinetist. Here are some tips that I have acquired in my experience as a clarinetist and educator. 

Where to start:
Start beginners with an intermediate clarinet, if your budget will allow, and then switch to a professional model in high school. If you must purchase a plastic beginner clarinet, choose one of the models below for reliability and durability, then switch to a professional model in high school.

Beginner models:
Choose instruments made in the USA or France.  These instruments are made from durable, quality material that sounds great and can withstand beginner wear and tear. Cheap instruments will break easily, and are inconsistently made, making replacement parts difficult to impossible for repair technicians to find. Many repair techs will refuse to repair cheaply made instruments. The instruments below are reliable student model clarinets:

• Vito
• Selmer USA
• Yamaha (student models)
• Buffet (student models)

Intermediate models:
(note:  I would recommend purchasing a professional model over an intermediate model if you can afford it.)

• Buffet E-11
• Buffet E-13 
• Buffet E-12F
• Yamaha YCL-650 (marketed as a pro model, but in intermediate price range)

Professional models:

• Yamaha: Custom CSVR (most affordable entry level pro model clarinet)
• Buffet: R13 (most affordable of this line, and best seller!), RC, Tosca, etc.  All models are great!
• Selmer Paris: Signature, Recital, Privilege, Odyssey, etc.  All models are great - find the one that works best for you!
• Leblanc: No longer being manufactured, but used models can be found: Opus, Concerto, Legacy, Symphonie

Clarinet - Intermediate and Professional Model Buying Guide
First, if you have a private instructor, please ask them to help you pick out a new clarinet.  Second, always try as many instruments side-by-side as you can.  Since quality clarinets are made of wood (a natural material), every instrument is going to feel/sound slightly different.  

You will need:  New reeds, a tuner, paper, contrasting pieces of music (fast, slow, legato, fast articulation, etc).

1. INTONATION TEST:  Goal is within +/- 10 cents.  Pick one clarinet, and play the chromatic scale from the lowest note to the highest note, slowly with full air support, while watching the tuner.  Have a friend or teacher watch the tuner, too, and take note of any intonation issues. 
   • NOTE: Make sure pro model clarinet is warmed up first. Also, Students coming from a beginner model clarinet will find a pro model clarinet to feel very different, especially in intonation. Be sure to play with high tongue position and full air support through the entire intonation test, and take breaks when you need to. I strongly advise students to involve their private teacher in picking out a professional model clarinet for the first time.
2. EVENNESS TEST:  While you are playing the chromatic scale, also pay attention to which notes are too "free blowing," "stick out," sound "covered," or "fuzzy" on the instrument.  Write this down to keep track and compare after trying out all clarinets. Any instrument with too many oddities in evenness would not be a wise purchase.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for all instruments. If any instrument has unusual intonation or is overly uneven sounding (some notes will be more free blowing than others), do not go on to step 4.
4. FEEL TEST:  Compare the instruments with the best intonation/evenness, play your favorite pieces of music, and compare the feel of each instrument.  At this point, you finally have to choose the instrument that best suits your personal style, sound, and that has the feel you want.