We got my dad a cheap and cheerful Chinese clarinet a few months ago, as he wanted to restart, having not played for about 40 years. He's been having fun working through a tutor book, but feels frustrated that he's not picking it up as quickly as he'd hoped, as he was once a pretty good player. His teacher pronounced his instrument fit for purpose once the reeds had been changed, but I'm starting to wonder whether it isn't holding him back. I've been toying with buying him a buffet / student yamaha on ebay, but wondered whether you felt it was worth it.

Oh also, is a Yamaha YCL24 any good?

Difficult to know without looking/hearing/playing it, but it's quite possible that the instrument is holding him back. Why not, if you can, take your Dad to a local music shop, and let him try a Buffet B12 and/or a Yamaha YCL250 and see how he gets on. If he clearly finds playing either of those instruments easier than playing the clarinet he's already got, then it would be a good idea to switch clarinets.

Another possibility, if the clarinet is 100% fit, is that the reeds aren't suitable for him (too hard or too soft). If he's not played for a long time, his embouchure may have weakened, so maybe a softer reed would help?

Good luck!

The clarinet is probably fine for a few years, but I wonder about the mouthpieces and barrel that came with it.

He really should invest in a good MP and makes sure that the strength of reed is correct for that particular MP. I had terrible problems with my first clarinet and eventually discovered it was because of the MP-reed combination, as well as the reed itself.


One of my clarinets is an old Yamaha YCL24 that I bought from Ebay years ago for peanuts and like all the Yamaha instruments, it's well made and plays very well.

For a brand new student instrument, I cannot recommend Hanson strongly enough. They're excellent instruments, extremely affordable, great customer service and come with decent accessories. I believe they still give a choice of two mouthpieces.

Steve

You won't go far wrong with a YCL 24 meerkat, as long as it's in good shape. The standard entry level clarinet now from Yamaha is the YCL 250, but there are still lots of second hand YCL 24s around, and unless they've been badly treated, then you should be OK with a YCL 24.

THanks for all your suggestions. I think based on them, I'm going to take him into Sheehans, see what they think might be necessary to improve the instrument, and let him have a go on the two recommended instruments.

May I ask what name is on the clarinet?

Steve

I can't remember, steve. He's arriving from Florida on Tues, and I'll have a look at the brand.

Well I'm with the side of the good condition clarinets, just make sure it plays well, and don't try some EX-PRO reeds, it will only get worse for some re-starter. Try RICO, it's better, I've been trapping in Vandoren, but now I'm in Rico Royal.