- Joined
- Jan 26, 2008
- Location
- SoCal
Steve: With all due respect, if that Buffet you once owned was purchased sight-unseen, and it played okay, AND you were satisfied with it, then that's all you know about clarinets (well, except to play one well, from your description of your skills back then).
But if you have several clarinets side by side and play them all, you will soon learn that you don't know much of anything about clarinets. No accurate assumptions can be made from other's reviews nor by marketing B.S.
I've purchased MANY instruments sight unseen, and for the most part, I ended up with good players. That doesn't mean much except that I was financially able to take risks like that. But even if those horns I bought sight-unseen turned out to be good players, they often are not my first-choice horns because after buying such horns, I learned there were even better ones out there. I learned THAT from trying others before I bought them and then playing them over time in public performances.
At this point, the best advice is for you try a bunch of different models yourself. You could line up several Buffets and while all of them will probably be good, some will be better than the others.
Just because the Patricola line LOOKS good (and admittedly, the ones I played were decent), that is not the criteria you should use in selecting a clarinet UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD TO DO IT THAT WAY! Mail-order without return privileges is risky for someone on a budget. DAVE
But if you have several clarinets side by side and play them all, you will soon learn that you don't know much of anything about clarinets. No accurate assumptions can be made from other's reviews nor by marketing B.S.
I've purchased MANY instruments sight unseen, and for the most part, I ended up with good players. That doesn't mean much except that I was financially able to take risks like that. But even if those horns I bought sight-unseen turned out to be good players, they often are not my first-choice horns because after buying such horns, I learned there were even better ones out there. I learned THAT from trying others before I bought them and then playing them over time in public performances.
At this point, the best advice is for you try a bunch of different models yourself. You could line up several Buffets and while all of them will probably be good, some will be better than the others.
Just because the Patricola line LOOKS good (and admittedly, the ones I played were decent), that is not the criteria you should use in selecting a clarinet UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD TO DO IT THAT WAY! Mail-order without return privileges is risky for someone on a budget. DAVE