Buy Yamaha Clarinet !FREE!
Yamaha designs and creates clarinets for woodwind players who are just learning, intermediate players, advanced players, and professional musicians. The components included in Yamaha clarinets range from stainless-steel springs and matte ABS resin to nickel-silver keys and Valentino padding.
buy yamaha clarinet
Made of wood or plastic, the mouthpiece determines the quality of the sound. A wood mouthpiece of a good quality is more likely to give a crisp, sharp, and accurate sound. Typically, you will find plastic mouthpieces on student clarinets and wood mouthpieces on higher-end models.
The YCL-255 clarinets are the perfect start for young clarinet students. Made from durable ABS resin they are easy to handle and with the new adjustable thumb-rest and improved strap ring, they are now more comfortable to play.
The clarinet is a good example of the natural branching-out of musical instruments over time. Although it's a woodwind it was first developed in the early 1700s to solve a brass instrument problem: the difficulty for the era's trumpets (which lacked valves) to play the high or "clarion" register. Clarinets went through many changes over the centuries leading to the primary modern variants - the Bb clarinet and bass clarinet. The instrument also transitioned through several woods before settling on the Grenadilla wood used on high-quality clarinets today. As a single-reed instrument the clarinet offers players their choice of mouthpieces and ligatures as well as reeds in natural cane or synthetic materials to achieve their desired tonal qualities.
Due to its popularity and versatility the clarinet is widely produced by many manufacturers. Some brands such as Allora are particularly well-known for their easy-to play student Bb clarinet models. Other nameplates carry a broad selection for musicians of all skill levels including Yamaha whose models run from the beginner to advanced levels. Buffet is considered by most to be the leading name in clarinets.
These Yamaha YCL-255 Clarinets are well known for their sound and quality well beyond their price. This Clarinet is ideal for someone looking to purchase their first clarinet or for someone looking to upgrade from a second-hand to brand new instrument.
The barrel joint is an extremely important aspect of the overall acoustical design of the clarinet. It has a profund affect on modal ratios (pitch) and tonal coloration. We can think of the barrel as the "interface" between clarinet and mouthpiece.
As the successor to the YCL-250, the 255 is a great clarinet. In fact, it was among the top-rated student clarinets of the 15 models we reviewed. But of course, the decision to buy a clarinet is not that simple.
Whereas it can be challenging just to get some clarinets to produce a sound, the YCL-255 is responsive and smooth to handle. Its adjustable thumb rest make it easier for musicians with differently sized hands to play.
The Yamaha YCL-255 is not a great choice for someone who is just mildly curious about the clarinet. This model is better suited for someone passionate about learning to play and committed to learning for at least a couple years.
Clarinets can include a variety of accessories to make playing and maintaining the instrument easier. Some clarinets include everything from cork grease and spare reeds, to short lesson books, a carrying case and an extra barrel for tuning.
Again, the YCL-255 is a clarinet that lasts most musicians several years or more. And the included warranty is just one of the many benefits that make this clarinet one of the best-value models available.
The Valentino Green Back pad has gained tremendouspopularity and success among repair technicians, as well as professionalmusicians and band directors. And many stores prefer them in their rental stockbecause of their durability and long life. Two of the major band instrumentmanufacturers, Yamaha and Buffet, install Green Back pads at the factory on allof their student clarinets.
Particular attention is given to the bore design, wood handling and tonal beauty of each Yamaha clarinet. Depending on the level of instrument, the goals of the design will vary. Student instruments need to be light and easy to play, professional instruments need to offer unparalleled tonal quality and resonance.
Yamaha have a range of global Atelier centres where they work alongside leading professionals to enhance their designs. Leading professional Clarinet players around the world choose Yamaha instruments and the developments on these professional instruments filter down to the student & intermediate range. The student models (YCL-255) feature light-weight bell and body designs to make them easier to hold and play. The intermediate wooden clarinets (YCL450-650) from Yamaha feature many of the internal bore modelling of the professional range resulting in excellent tonal quality.
Used Yamaha professional clarinet the model is called Custom AE as far as we can tellcomes with original case and case coverthe case cover is old just the case coverThe case is in good conditionthe instrument has been serviced by our band instrument repair personThis instrument plays and plays well. The finish is in great condition.
It's not really noticeable from the picture, but the first thing that strikes you about this clarinet is the glorious colour of the wood. Ever since clarinet makers started using exotic hardwoods (as opposed to European Boxwood) to make clarinets there seems to have been an unwritten law that all clarinets must be black - save for those made from obviously different woods, such as Rosewood and Cocobola. This has led to the regrettable practice of staining 'blackwoods', given that so few blackwoods are actually all that black naturally. I've always felt this to be a shame - and a real pain in some cases, as the dye can sometimes come off when the body is oiled - because it disguises the natural beauty of the wood's grain. Top marks and drinks on the house then to Yamaha for using an unstained Grenadilla for this range of clarinets. No two examples will look the same, and when you open the case you get this immediate sense of the instrument being organic, alive, individual. I warmed to it straightaway. But looks aren't everything, so I was keen to see if the clarinet was really as good as it looks. Build quality is of the usual legendary Yamaha standard, everything is neat and tidy. There are no rough edges on the body, and the pillars and fittings are well made and fitted. About the only distinguishable feature is the profile of the barrel, its slightly dumpy look makes the clarinet look...dare I say it...cute? The clarinet shares some of the handfinishing techniques as applied to Yamaha's CS-V range of clarinets, and this includes some undercutting of the tone holes (a process of shaping the tone holes to give more stability and precision to the note) and a few other tweaks with regard to the bore. The keywork is well made, and finished with silver plate. I was pleased to see locked pillars for the low E/F cluster - these are particularly prone to working loose down the years - but a bit disappointed that they didn't go up as far as the lower ring key, where they're often needed as well. The point screws are proper points, which ensures that the action that uses these screws can be adjusted to take up any wear over time. The whole thing is topped off with an adjustable thumb rest, which is always a handy addition. Yamaha have chosen to use a pin and socket arrangement for the left hand spatula keys (E/F#). I'm not a fan of this arrangement as it requires the use of some padding material in the socket to keep the action from rattling, and it never seem as precise in feel as the standard stepped key design. On the flip side, you don't get that key bounce that you can get with the stepped design if it's not set up properly. I'm at least pleased to report that the pins are metal, and not the frankly absurd nylon affairs seen on the Buffets and other makes. These keys might get rattly if you don't replace the padding regularly, but at least the pins are unlikely to break halfway through a gig. The setup was average, the action being slightly on the hard side. This was easy enough to tweak, and brought the action a nicer, more coherent feel. The padding was reasonably good. I often find that new clarinets have problems with the low E/F key pads, ranging from slight inaccuracies in the regulation between the two keys through to outright leaks due to bad pad seating. All that was needed here was a slight adjustment to the F key cup angle. It's always worth having a professional setup done on a new clarinet, it can make such a difference. I mentioned earlier that this clarinet has some extra tweaks to the bore to aid tone production and tuning. The only one that's really visible is inside the bell. Looking down the bell you can see a distinct rounded groove cut into the upper end. Given that the bell really only comes into play on the lowest notes (and the lowest of the upper register) it's a fair bet to assume this modification is to help the tone and tuning of the low E/mid B notes. In playing I found the low E to sound slightly strange in comparison with the other notes. I think I'd describe the tone as slightly boxy. Having said that it was quite hard to determine whether this was a good or a bad thing, as many clarinets get quite boomy on the lower notes. I actually quite like that boominess, and I suppose over the years I've learned how to anticipate it and adjust my embouchure depending on whether I want to accentuate it or back it off. Perhaps this groove takes the choice away, and leaves you with a more evenly matched set of low notes. As with all matters tonal it's entirely down to personal choice, but I'd recommend a careful assessment to see whether it matters to you or not. Other than that I felt the clarinet was nicely balanced between dark and bright tonewise. Yamaha clarinets have always felt to me to be quite sprightly in terms of tone, with oodles of clarity - and the 650 seems to retain that punch but doesn't run into excessive brightness. I was quite pleased with the response over the throat A - it seemed very clear and open, so much so that it took me a while to get used to it. Yamaha describe the tone as warm, and I suppose in terms of their previous models it could be called that, but overall it doesn't quite have the 'gravitas' of more expensive clarinets...but then it doesn't have the price tag that accompanies that complexity of tone. The tuning is as you'd expect, nicely balanced throughout. The clarinet works well with the standard mouthpiece supplied, but it really does deserve something a little more advanced. The action feels nice under the fingers, the tweaks to the springing really helped to speed up what was already quite a fast and responsive action, and I can't see many players having any real problems with the ergonomics. The case as supplied is tiny. Really tiny. I think it has to be about as small as I've ever seen for a Bb clarinet - and there's precious little room for anything other than the instrument and a few reeds, plus a tub of cork grease. There's very little padding either, so I wouldn't say this is a case that's designed for a life on the road. That said, it's small enough to fit into the average overnight bag or backpack. The very best thing about this clarinet is the price. It's a superb instrument for the money, ideally suited for the dedicated amateur or the casual pro - and many experienced players will find it has all they need without having to break too far into the four-figure bracket. Pricewise it competes directly with the equally good Buffet E13 and the Leblanc Esprit. I wouldn't like to have to choose between the three in terms of quality, but you'd be foolish if you tried the other two and missed out the YCL650. Top of page 041b061a72