Clarinet Buyers Guide

At Karacha we understand that our customers are made up of schools, parents and adult learners fulfilling a lifetime ambition. Our Clarinet guide aims to cover basic questions asked by all our customer and we hope it’s a useful aid when buying your instrument.

Quick facts:

• The clarinet is part of the woodwind family which includes other instruments such as saxophone, flute and oboe.
• The clarinet’s sound is produced by a reed resonating.
• A reed is piece of cane which attaches to the mouthpiece through which the musician blows.
• The standard first clarinet is the Bb (“B Flat”) Clarinet.
• Other clarinets exist including the Alto Clarinet and the Bass Clarinet.
• Good student clarinets are made from a hard rubber known as ebonite.

My first clarinet, what to look for and budget?

With the dawn of the internet and places such as supermarkets selling instruments the consumer’s choice has never been wider. This has had the favourable effect that music store prices have been forced down, you can now pick up a good clarinet for between £100-£200 and an excellent student clarinet for £300-£400.

 Although the internet has forced prices down we can not stress highly enough that the clarinet is a technical musical instrument, you will likely need advice and the instrument will require maintenance throughout your playing career. Buying from a store that does not have a clarinet musician and a workshop is high unadvisable. Many music stores will also be less willing or indeed refuse to repair cheap unbranded instruments bought off the internet or from supermarkets. Whether you buy online or in store from karacha you know advice is freely available, as too is a full accessory range and all instruments have a 12 month warranty covered by our workshop.

When buying your first clarinet look out for the word “ebonite”, the hard rubber ebonite body is a sign of a good student clarinet, a plastic body is definitely a no go area but unfortunately is a feature of many of the influx of cheap clarinets.

Look for nickel or silver plated keys.

Expect a fitted case, mouthpiece and ligature included in the price.

Many good student models will come with two barrels.

What else do I need when buying a clarinet?

A box of reeds, initially you will require 1 ½ strength but your tutor will advise on an ongoing basis. Cost c. £6-£12.00

A care kit, including a pull through, cleaning cloth and other accessories. Cost c. £10-£20.00

On going costs:

A clarinet is very cheap to run, a reed will last c. 2 weeks depending on the level of use and cost less than £1.00. From time to time perhaps every 18 months you may like to bring it to our workshop for a check up and overhaul but this will likely cost less than £30.00.

If you have any further questions please feel free to get in touch via the “contact us” link at the top of the page.

Our clarinet of the month is the A Carmchael ACEV21 Bb Clarinet on sale at £114.99, it can be seen by clicking here.

Lastly, why buy a clarinet from karacha?

Whether you buy online or in store you receive the same prices and same great service.

7 day teacher approval rating.

Advice on the phone, via email or on in person.

12 month warranty at our workshop.

A full range of accessories and high end accessories such as rovner ligatures and meyer mouthpieces to help you progress.