Untitled Document
     
Advertisement Click to advertise with us!
     

Cheap Clarinets (aka CSO)

Hi John, just wondering, have you seen yet the Chinese instruments that are not CSOs at all, and have decent build quality? I've seen more than a few now that were absolutely worth repairing. I also just recently saw a known brand name student model, it had a pretty good design, intonation, tone, but judging from the keys and pads, I would think it was a CSO!

What I am referring to are the brands such as:

Cecelio
Jinbao
Simba
Lazarro
Jolly Sun
No Names

They are flooding the US market from EBay. They cost $99 complete with "Flying Goose" reeds, a pair of white gloves, and the worst mouthpiece imaginable. They are advertised as "Music Teacher Approved", "Band Director Approved", and "Perfect For School Music Programs".

I know that some better quality instruments are starting to come from China. These aren't in that category by a long shot. They do make colorful lamps though---especially the ones made in green, yellow, blue, and red plastic.
 
The problem with these "brands"... is that they are not really brands. Except Jinbao which is a real factory, the others are just imported instruments. I think the price, at least for now, is a good indication. I haven't yet found a decent Chinese clarinet that could be sold from a dealer for the price you mentioned (unless a dealer gets a huge discount and is making almost no money). However I've seen awful clarinets sold by the same Chinese companies that sell very decent clarinets. The price was different though. The good ones have random names just like the crappy ones as an importer can order whatever they want, and many just order the cheapest. The decent ones also often include the gloves and an awful mouthpiece (I recommend to replace with an inexpensive good student mouthpiece).
 
CSOs and gloves

Gloves? How the heck do they expect one to play the clarinet with gloves on?

Although, I suppose one might end up chewing the ends off the gloves in frustration because the CSO is so bad...
 
Back
Top Bottom