Buy an Oehler clarinet, help for the right one...

[Steve]

Referring to the Yamaha comment, Steve essentially said anything I would have regarding the company/build quality. There's also the point that ALL professional instrument from respected manufacturers have things to recommend about them. In other words, any pro player would probably find things to like about any pro clarinet, but he's probably going to prefer one more than any other. It's not that one is inherently better than the others; one is just better for him.

The key point here is that each instrument is different for different peoples concepts and tastes.

I just played a Cousenon. The first mpc I put on it was an older HS* and it sounded very nice. Then I tried a Vandoren M13lyre. If my only mpc was the M13lyre I would not want to play the cousenon at all. it was unresponsive and dull. The HS* made it sing up and down. Then you can vary your embouchure and throat to even vary the tone more.

Basically, it is best to somehow play the instruments you want to potentially buy before buying them. Simply because you never know if even the keywork layout will work for you, much less your equipment and playing style (as pete mentions)

 

[SOTSDO]

My reason for pursuing Yamaha was based upon:

1) Traditional good quality of workmanship

2) A company that I was able to contact, one I figured (wrongly, as it turns out) that would act like a professional operation.

I also wrote all of the German makers for which I could find contact information, but (as I said before) none of them bothered to even answer me, even with the provision of International Reply Coupons.

Once again, keep firmly in mind that this search was done before LONG BEFORE MOST OF THE SMALL MAKERS HAD AN INTERNET PRESENCE. I have to keep stressing this because all of the contact links being thrown up for German clarinet makers simply did not exist in the early 1990's. I know that they exist now, as GOOGLE makes a search for such companies a doddle, but my search was long before all of this stuff was in place.

At the time that all of this was going on, there were the Yamaha horns (unavailable outside of Germany), the Amati horns (available) and the custom German makers. No eBay, no web sites, just the mail and telephones (and the occasional company with email). Such a time once existed; hell, we even had drive in theaters and Hydrox cookies...

I now have the Amati horn, and (after a lot of work and innovative effort by me and my local repair dude) I have it up and working like it should. It works well enough now, and I now have myself an Oehler horn. And, if you have a credit card and the ability to tolerate the Amati's quirks, you can have one in two days without waiting or having to deal with the mother tongue (Deutch. Just visit the WWBW website.

What I really wanted was a German bass, but they all seem to be priced at stratospheric levels. One wonders what German high school students do when they reach for a bass clarinet...

 

[MrDibbs]

What I really wanted was a German bass, but they all seem to be priced at stratospheric levels. One wonders what German high school students do when they reach for a bass clarinet...

The German high school students probably have no occasion to reach for a bass clarinet. I think having military style bands in schools is mainly a US phenomenon. Schools here in the UK don't usually have them anyway. You don't see many cheap basses here either.

 

[tictactux]

The German high school students probably have no occasion to reach for a bass clarinet. I think having military style bands in schools is mainly a US phenomenon. Schools here in the UK don't usually have them anyway. You don't see many cheap basses here either.

Music education (except from the very basic stuff) is extracurricular here (Switzerland). If the kids are keen on making music, they join a proper youth music school or - if they want to play a wind instrument or drums - the youth section of a concert band. Most schools/groups primarily rely on privately acquired instruments except the bigger ones (both bigger schools and bigger/costlier instruments). Of course, there's always the odd fund for financially challenged families.

The forum discussion here roughly confirms this.

 

[clarnibass]

The German high school students probably have no occasion to reach for a bass clarinet. I think having military style bands in schools is mainly a US phenomenon. Schools here in the UK don't usually have them anyway. You don't see many cheap basses here either.

The school woodwind bands don't exist here much too, but there are clarinet students who also play bass clarinets. That is usually their choice and they add it to soprano clarinet and learn it from their private teacher the same. That's what I did, decided to play bass clarinet and my teacher, who also played most clarinet sizes, taught me soprano and bass clarinets. That was in high school. Kids here usually borrow a bass clarinet from the conservatorium they study in or possibly buy one (the latter pretty rare but happens).

 

[DavidBondy]

Caveat Emptor

I decided to buy a VENUS German Clarinet (26key). I bought it just for fun really and to mess around with the fingerings and learn Oehler keywork.

It is reasonably well made and the keys do not seem too soft or bendy. I had to make a number of regulatory adjustments (using the supplied screwdriver!) to make it play.

The supplied mouthpiece and reed are pretty awful! So I decided to get a Yamaha German (M3D) mouthpiece with a Rovner Ligature and some Vandoren White Master German cut reeds.

All well and good except the mouthpiece is just too big to fit the barrel! So, I have a not bad clarinet with a bad mouthpiece and a good mouthpiece which won't fit .... the supplier of the Clarinet is referring the issue back to the manufacturers ... I await results!

As the title says ... caveat emptor!

David

 

[Steve]

speaking of german clarinets.

I pulled a Conn 424 off the shelf that has been there for years .... and the upper joint was tapered but the lower joint (a quick staring glance) was a german bore - cylindrical most of the way until a quick flair for the bell. I thought that was interesting.

 

[SOTSDO]

Regarding the mouthpiece issue, the Vandoren mouthpieces that I bought for my Oehler horn was offered in two different tenon diameters. The idea was that you measure the tenon cavity diameter on your horn and then order the mouthpiece that fits in the lay/facing that you desire.

Since only two alternatives were offered, and since the one that you ordered does not fit, it seems to me that you are halfway towards getting the right one...

 

[DavidBondy]

Hello Terry and thank you for your suggestion. I understand that the Yamaha German mouthpiece which I have is only available in one size!

However, all is not lost. The vendor has offered to have the barrel modified to fit the Yamaha mouthpiece and I posted it off to his technician today. It is only going to need one or two mm of thinning at the tenon.

The supplied Venus mouthpiece is utterly unplayable .. the grooves cut into it extend right onto the table which really needs to be properly faced.

I think that I am going to bite the bullet and buy a "proper" German-made Oehler clarinet to extend my studies ...