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Clarinets Has anyone played a clarineo?

I

ilovebech

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I know you can buy a decent student clarinet with standard keywork,for less than the price of this instrument, but I wondered if anyone has played it?
 
Not me, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has. They are stocked by Jonathan Myalls - Griff, if you're not away dealing with naughty pirates, did you ever play one when you worked there?

They can be bought for about £112, so about the same as the cheapest student clari. On Amazon there're three reviews, two very positive, one (barely literate) very negative.

Marketed at kids from 6-7 years and up. However, my daughter could manage a full sized clari from the age of 9, so really you'd be buying for a couple of years' use. Personally I'd be attracted just by the novelty, but then I guess that just explains why I've got a house full of musical instruments.
 
jonf said:
Not me, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has. They are stocked by Jonathan Myalls - Griff, if you're not away dealing with naughty pirates, did you ever play one when you worked there?

They can be bought for about £112, so about the same as the cheapest student clari. On Amazon there're three reviews, two very positive, one (barely literate) very negative.

Marketed at kids from 6-7 years and up. However, my daughter could manage a full sized clari from the age of 9, so really you'd be buying for a couple of years' use. Personally I'd be attracted just by the novelty, but then I guess that just explains why I've got a house full of musical instruments.
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The Clarineo is an updated version of the Lyons clarinet and I have indeed played one or two of them - ideal for a child beginner but obviously not as robust as a decently made student clarinet. I say decently made because you can get a cheaper clarinet, that looks great and plays very well and in tune, however some clarinets' keywork is very soft and can easily bend when the instrument is being put together- particularly if the person assembling it has not been shown how to do itcorrectly .

Playing wise the Clarineo is very capable of a good tone, because of its lightness it does feel to me a tad flimsy.

My advice to anyone interested in considering a clarineo would be to get to a decent music shop that stocks them, give it a test play and if at all possible, take your teacher along for advise.

The only advantage of having a Clarineo over a half decent student clarinet IMHO is weight.

You can find a decent 2nd hand Buffet B12 or Yamaha 24II for under the price of one of these.
 
ilovebech said:
What is the mouthpiece like,and what reed does it take,please Griff.These are supposed to be an improvement on the earlier version.
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The supplied mouthpiece is what you would expect for a beginner to learn on - its actually an Eb clarinet mouthpiece - so any standard Eb mouthpiece will fit along with the Eb reeds. The ligature has a cam for quick fitting and release. What I didn't mention in my earlier post is that the instrument is keyed in C.
 
I did know about the key,the main reason I was interested was the fact that it was the only way to get a C clarinet without a re-mortgage.
 
A friend of mine bought a C clarinet from John Packer and it was not expensive. He uses it to play violin parts with a string quartet, just for fun. His regular clarinets are Buffet R13s and Selmers. He has no complaints about the JP.

Jim.
 
griff136 said:
John Packer does have its own branded resin C clarinet and at under 200 quid its still reasonable in my book! Jonathan Myall AKA just flutes (dont let the name throw you - they sell all woodwind and brass) also sell the JP range and have one on their website.www.justflutes.com.
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Is the tone of a C clarinet a little less rich than a Bb clarinet - and is that why they've never really caught on, despite their obvious advantage to play at concert pitch?
 
A lot of the kids around here start on them, cos their hands won't quite stretch to a Bb. They always sound harsh to me, compared to the Bb, even in the hands of a more experienced player.

Not too many clarinet parts written for a C, so you're back to transposing....
 
kevgermany said:
A lot of the kids around here start on them, cos their hands won't quite stretch to a Bb. They always sound harsh to me, compared to the Bb, even in the hands of a more experienced player.

Not too many clarinet parts written for a C, so you're back to transposing....
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But the major advantage is that you can pick up any piece of sheet music and play with non-clarinet playing friends without needing to transpose up from Bb.
 

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