I am going to start learning the clarinet in the New Year. Most people say rent for 3 months at first. OK, but which clarinet do I rent? Has anyone heard of the LYONS C CLARINET. Can anyone give me any advice on it? Many thanks.

Personally I don't like the C clarinet. If you are going to take up the clarinet I would go for the Bb. As for which one to rent go into your local music shop and try several they rent out and see which one suits you best as they all feel different. Its like any instrument different ones suit different people. Good Luck.

The Lyons C clarinet is for very young child beginners and doesn't have all the keywork that a standard clarinet has. I'd also recommend going with a standard Bb clarinet - you can branch out and get an A, Eb and C ('normal' one! - a C clarinet is actually very useful, as you can play violin/oboe/flute etc music with other people without needing to transpose, but don't get a Lyons! - the Ridenour Arioso is very good) and any larger sizes at your leisure later.

I started on a Yamaha 26 II student ex-rental Bb, which I got at a reasonable price, and it lasted me till about Grade 5 - which is when I started to collect my clarinets. I have quite a lot of them at the moment!!

The "Big Four" brands are Buffet, Yahama, Selmer and Leblanc; the most common student models are the Buffet B12 and the Yahama YCL250. You've probably noticed that these are far from the only manufacturers out there, so don't feel you have to plump for one of these makes. There are others out there, some of whom are very good (I've heard very good things about Hanson clarinets, for example), but if something seems too much of a bargain to be true, it probably is!

Feel free to post any queries over instruments here!

Jo's right, a student model is fine up until about Grade 5, which is when I too upgraded. There is no reason on earth why you have to upgrade at this or any other point - it's perfectly possible to do FRSM on a cheapo student model - but you'll probably find that after about Grade 5 you want the richer, warmer sound from a wooden instrument. That said, I seem to remember that elliewelly did very well in her Grade 8 on a student instrument.

I played a buffet B12 clarinet until monday - it was a really good student model. I now have a pair of emperors - they're great.
I;d say get a Bb clarinet - they're definatly the standard student type.
Good luck
Jonathan

It doesn't matter. The rentable clarinets will probably be Buffets or Yamahas. All very good models.

The other two big names are Leblanc and Selmer.

If you want to buy one, I can strongly recommend buying a Hanson clarinet. They're a very serious company, fantastic customer service, and my very first clarinet was from them. I still use it. The problem is that the lower price can make people think there must be a catch. Well, there isn't one. Their student clarinet is extremely well made. Even their accessories that come with the clarinet are top quality.

Please don't buy a brand new Buffet B12. They are ridiculously overpriced.

Get a cheap student clarinet - rented or bought - and then decide if you want to continue.

Steve

Agree - at least about the quality of the clarinets. We sold them at one time but in the end we realised that our website was selling more for Hansons directly than it was for us and that, coupled with other factors that are nothing to do with the quality of the instruments, meant we decided to discontinue them. if i wanted a clarinet myself to learn on they would be my choice.

Liz

I play on a SE-5 grenadilla and will soon upgrade to a professional T model (when I have enough money!) as they offer a 100% trade in against a new Hanson clarinet. They are seriously the most amazing instument you can play!

I'm glad you just said about the SE-5 as I've just been looking on the site at them!!! They look brownish on the site though. Are they or are they black? Sounds silly, but I'm not sure I want a brown clarinet!!!!!!!!!

I'm just starting as well and I've become quite obsessed with the clarinet. I've gone all out and ordered both the Hanson HE-5V AND (!) the Ridenour Arioso student model. I'll have to decide which I like better although I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll like both and won't want to return either one. I've read only good things about both and I had a very informative and pleasant chat with Tom Ridenour when I called. I'm sure both will come with better mouthpieces than the Vito I'm presently renting.

I currently play a 17+ year old Vito Dazzler

Those are the rosewood models. A hardwood like grenadilla, but lighter in colour. Absolutely beautiful!!!

Incidentally, an old clarinet will sometimes dry out and take on a reddish-brown colour and can then be mistaken for an old rosewood.

Steve