If he won’t be playing for a long time or isn’t at a high level, I personally think a Buffet or other high end clarinet isn’t worth it.
Buffets also have gone way down in quality. My old Buffet bought 40 years ago was tremendous, but newer ones are just terrible (we returned one for my son before buying a Uebel, another high end brand from Germany).
Plastic clarinets have come a long way. Backuns were excellent for a while at a decent price, but my experience is that their reliability/quality has declined tremendously.
You may want to look at used Buffets, clarinets aren’t well known for retaining resale value.
As mentioned by others, annual and even semi-annual maintenance is a must as pads will become worn. If you are handy, many of the screws that come loose over time can just be screwed in, depending on how much it’s played. Also find a great repair/maintenance guy - I love our reasonably priced guy in the VA/DC area.
Buffets also have gone way down in quality. My old Buffet bought 40 years ago was tremendous, but newer ones are just terrible (we returned one for my son before buying a Uebel, another high end brand from Germany).
Plastic clarinets have come a long way. Backuns were excellent for a while at a decent price, but my experience is that their reliability/quality has declined tremendously.
You may want to look at used Buffets, clarinets aren’t well known for retaining resale value.
As mentioned by others, annual and even semi-annual maintenance is a must as pads will become worn. If you are handy, many of the screws that come loose over time can just be screwed in, depending on how much it’s played. Also find a great repair/maintenance guy - I love our reasonably priced guy in the VA/DC area.
Statistics: Posted by gronkman — Tue Aug 13, 2024 12:18 pm — Replies 16 — Views 759