Wednesday 29 August 2012

Clarinet for sale

As a would be clarinet player I immediately noticed the on on sale in the window of Cancer Relief next to Murray's Chemist. As the price Of £65 seemed very reasonable and others may be thinking of buying it, I asked to play it, using my mouth piece and reed. I also took along my clarinet so as to compare the sound.


The volunteer had no problem with my request but her supervisor refused me permission to record the sound so that you could hear the two side by side.

The clarinet looked in good condition with what I take to be an ebony body and seemed in very good condition . What I found was that I couldn't get a note out of over half of the notes. The ones that played compared favourably with my own clarinet which is worth far far more than this one.

My limited knowledge as to why clarinet notes don't play suggested that there are some of the pads that leak air so that some of the notes need new pads: it could even be just one. We in Ulverston are fortunate enough to have a skilled repairer who can do this kind of work - David Kyle - email david at intunewoodwind.com - phone 01229 480060. If I was going to buy this clarinet I would want to take it to David so that he could look at it and give his opinion as to how much it would cost to put it right.

Overall this clarinet seems to be a good one. However it's great that we have the expertise available locally to advise us as to whether it is worth going any further.

3 comments:

Acker Bilk said...

I will pay 65 for Stephen Fry's mobile number.
We all need a hobby and hurling abuse at Stephen Fry would be great fun.

Geoff Dellow said...

You're sick Chris. Try making compliments to all those you can.
It's a great feeling.

An yes learn to play a musical instrument. People really appreciate it when you play . . . . well!

Geoff Dellow said...

This clarinet has now sold, being the second of three. The last apparently needs cleaning.