Any one heard of Borgani Clarinets?

vicky12

Borgani Macerata Bb clarinets.

I currently looking at one of these models but would like to know more about them.

I know Borgani used to make them but stopped in the 80's although they still make Saxophones.

Any information on the clarinets would be great. Does anyone else have one? What are they like to play?

Thanks
 
Borganis are hand-made and - looking at their sax prices - probably intended for the upscale market.
What's the price tag for this instrument?

Whatever the instrument, don't just buy because someone says "good" (or don't because someone says "crap") - go and play-test it, if possible. With a good mouthpiece and a good reed.
 
I'm not sure the current Borganis mean much for these older ones. AFAIK at some point they completely changed and started making the good saxophones. Before that I don't think they were considered as good i.e. old ones and current ones are probably completely different. BTW I've tried several new Borgani saxophones and yes, "hand made" and "upscale market" but objectively speaking they had good thigs and bad things about them, just like any instrument.

For their clarinets, you might have a chance on the clarinet bboard.
 
tictactux said:
Borganis are hand-made and - looking at their sax prices - probably intended for the upscale market.
What's the price tag for this instrument?

Whatever the instrument, don't just buy because someone says "good" (or don't because someone says "crap") - go and play-test it, if possible. With a good mouthpiece and a good reed.
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Its priced at £150.

They are too far for me to play test it as well. Its a nice looking instrument too.
 
vicky12 said:
Its priced at £150.

They are too far for me to play test it as well. Its a nice looking instrument too.
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Hmm. At that price I'd give it a shot. Be sure you get some trial period (even if that would mean to pay for a restocking fee if everything goes wrong). But I'm ever so slightly biased towards less known brands...

I bought my Marigaux that way - the only thing I had were some (slightly blurry) pictures, and the seller played it for me via the phone (not exactly HiFi quality)...well, I still have it and love it.
 
tictactux said:
Hmm. At that price I'd give it a shot. Be sure you get some trial period (even if that would mean to pay for a restocking fee if everything goes wrong). But I'm ever so slightly biased towards less known brands...

I bought my Marigaux that way - the only thing I had were some (slightly blurry) pictures, and the seller played it for me via the phone (not exactly HiFi quality)...well, I still have it and love it.
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It is very appealing. Its either that one or a B&H with a serial number that starts with 97. But there is no mouthpiece with it.

Oh and I put a similar thread in the clarinet family section to see if anyone there new about the Borgani but my thread got deleted for crossposting :-x
 
Double posting is extremely frowned upon, which is why the Sax forum got so big and hard to manage, and this forum seems to be doing a great job at maintaining a professional style forum. Newho.

I played a Borgani clarinet a few months ago and was impressed. It didn't hold up to my vintage big bore Leblanc, but I've been playing that clarinet for years, and am rather fond of it. Very well made instruments, and I'm with TicTacTux. I say for 150 quid it's worth it, especially if you can get a return policy. If you can't, it's still probably worth it as you may be able to recoup all of your money by selling it.
 
saxplayer1004 said:
Double posting is extremely frowned upon, which is why the Sax forum got so big and hard to manage, and this forum seems to be doing a great job at maintaining a professional style forum. Newho.

I played a Borgani clarinet a few months ago and was impressed. It didn't hold up to my vintage big bore Leblanc, but I've been playing that clarinet for years, and am rather fond of it. Very well made instruments, and I'm with TicTacTux. I say for 150 quid it's worth it, especially if you can get a return policy. If you can't, it's still probably worth it as you may be able to recoup all of your money by selling it.
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Yeah didnt realise it was classed as double posting. I have now found out that tictactux meant a different board :emoji_rolling_eyes:. Im new to these music forums.

Its worth a chance then? Would you say its better than a Boosey and Hawkes Edgware?
 
I haven't played the BH so I can't really comment on how they play against eachother. You might try looking at Sax on the Web. There might be something in there about them. I know it's a Sax forum, but there are fairly regular conversations about different instruments, clarinets come up quite a bit as most of us double sax and clarinet. You're likely to spark interest in quite a few people over there with this topic. There's over 16 thousand people over there vs the 350 here, although many of us are on both forums.
This forum is MUCH MUCH more tame though, and has serious responses where you're liable to get some wacky stuff over there.

Sorry to any mods if this is offensive, but it was the only other place I could think of to get answers. Not trying to get more guys over to SOTW, just trying to get a solid answer.
 
Vicky: Welcome to the forum.

I see where someone in this thread already mentioned that instruments vary, but I think it needs to be repeated. One person's pro-line horn may be another person's piece of junk.

There is no way to guarantee that a well-thought of brand name means that the individual horn you buy, sight-unseen, will meet your expectations. Unless you are made of money (or at least can afford the risk), you need to make sure you are working with a return policy and a low re-stocking fee, assuming you intend to buy this Borgani by mail-order.

As an example, when I bought my Buffet RC Prestige soprano clarinet (at Howarth's in London), I play-tested several brands of similar quality, even two other Buffets. The one I selected was heads-and-shoulders above the others - all well-known brand names.

And, the presence or absence of a mouthpiece shouldn't be a deal-breaker either. Most players already have a mouthpiece(s) they favor over anything else that may accompany a new purchase. If not, they know where to go to find such a thing that will almost always be better than what comes with a horn.

We'd be glad to help you along the way, just don't pass on a good purchase because the horn didn't have a mouthpiece. DAVE
 
Thanks Dave.

I didnt get the B&H unfortunately but I am watching another B&H and a couple of other makes. If I can Im gonna definately go for this other B&H as it really does look good and Ive had good feedback from the seller so far.

Although I still like the look of the Borgani clarinet. But we'll see how it goes.
 
Vicky - first welcome to the board.

When buying used instruments don't just ask general questions about its condition but also ask if it's playable - top to bottom. You may get a general "yes" or "no" but it is a starting point. The seller may not play at all or know anything about musical instruments.

Plus, any time you buy an older used instrument it may need to have some attention given to it by a technician. This can possibly cost more than the instrument price itself.

So the rule of thumb is to ask as many questions about the condition of the clarinet as possible, and as Ben had above - see if they can at least play it to you over the phone.

Good luck in your search

on another note, if you are in the UK I can contact some friends at repair facilities to see if they happen to have an inexpensive "ready' clarinet to sell.
 
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Hi Steve, thanks for your reply. Rest assured I am asking all the appropriate questions. I am fortunate enough to have a brother in the music business who is very knowledgable, he just doesnt know about the make of Borgani.

My brother also knows a very good repair chap, who has very reasonable prices so Im covered on that side of things.

I am based in the UK, im in Sittingbourne, Kent if that helps. Budget is a bit limited too £150 at the moment though.

Thanks for the help.
 
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