BUYERS' GUIDE

RECOMMENDED BUDGET BUYS
The Buffet B12 is probably the best budget clarinet available.

Coming a close second are the Selmer CL311 (was CL301) and the Yamaha 250 (was YCL 26 II).
You may also want to consider the Vito clarinets from Le Blanc although these tend to cost more than the others.
Also Jupiter plastic clarinets can be quite good but do check for such things as whether the toneholes are round!

AVOID THE CHEAPEST!
We recommend avoiding any of the cheapest instruments. They have to cut corners to get the prices down and in our opinion this results in a poor instrument. Makers we would avoid are Shinghai, Parrot, Lark, Skylark, Arbiter 201, J Michael, Simba, Symphony, Odyssey, and Intermusic instruments etc.

WATCH OUT FOR RED PADS!
BE CAREFUL!!! There are a huge number of immitation instruments appearing in this country - predominately from India. These include metal clarinets and reproductions of simple system clarinets. Watch out for red pads and plastic case handles. They are all poorly built and not suitable for playing music on. They are really just ornaments.

WOODEN CLARINETS
Wooden clarinets are either of intermediate standard or better. The exceptions are a few instruments, generally Chinese, which are manufactured to poor standards. Not all wooden clarinets will be good buys!

Check the wood very carefully. Firstly some plastic instruments are grained to look like wood, so don't be fooled. Secondly, wood is prone to cracking if allowed to dry or subjected to extremes of temperature.

RECOMMENDED WOODEN CLARINETS
Recommended instruments are the Yamaha YCL 450 (was YCL 34) and their better model the YCL 650 (was YCL 64). Selmer are again producing the Selmer Signet which is a good intermediate model. Their better quality instruments are the Selmer Paris range. The Buffet E11 continues to be a good instrument with the professional model, R13 being so good that many others, including the Yamaha instruments, are based on it. LeBlanc wooden clarinets are also excellent.