Most clarinetists start on plastic and move to wood a few years in. The makers design their lines around that path, and it's a good one to follow on the used market too. Here's what each material does well, how to look after a wooden clarinet, and what to check on any used clarinet before you pay.
Plastic for the first clarinet
Student clarinets like the Yamaha YCL-255 and the Buffet B12 are made of ABS resin. Yamaha describes ABS as extremely strong and highly resistant to humidity, and Buffet says its ABS body can be played outdoors in any weather without the risk of cracking. That's the case for plastic with a beginner. A ten-year-old will carry the case to the bus stop in January and start playing in a warm band room ten minutes later, and a resin clarinet takes that in its stride.
Plastic has limits. Yamaha warns that ABS can deform near heat, so a clarinet left in a hot car isn't safe just because it's resin, and it says not to put bore oil on resin models. Buffet's advice for beginners is that synthetic clarinets are easier to maintain and better suited to outdoor use, while grenadilla gives a richer tone. Buffet even sells the new B12 as an outdoor or backup clarinet for advanced players, which tells you how it sees the trade.
Wood for the step-up player
Almost all wooden clarinets are grenadilla, also called African blackwood. Yamaha notes that it can be worked almost as accurately as metal and moves less with temperature and humidity than other woods. Lisa's Clarinet Shop, drawing on 40 years of helping players, lists two or three years on a plastic clarinet as a sign it's time to move up.
The usual step-up clarinets are the Buffet E11, the Yamaha YCL-450 and the wooden Leblanc Bliss LB210. Paul Effman Music, a New York school-band dealer, finds that clarinet teachers lean toward Buffet because most professionals play one, while many band directors recommend Yamaha for its reliability. Above those sit the Buffet R13 and the Yamaha YCL-650. Ask the teacher before you buy, since some have a strong preference.
There's a middle ground too. Buffet's Green Line clarinets, made since 1994 from grenadilla powder bound in resin, are built to resist cracking. Yamaha's YCL-450NM puts a grenadilla insert inside an ABS upper joint, and the Bliss LB310 and LB320 used composite bodies.
Why wood cracks, and how to prevent it
Wood takes on and gives off moisture. Kessler & Sons, a Las Vegas clarinet shop, explains that a crack starts when the wood absorbs moisture unevenly and the stress builds until it has to give. Yamaha's manual names the usual triggers, which are sudden changes in temperature or humidity, direct sun, heaters and air conditioning. Buffet adds that moisture left sitting against the wood is one of the main causes, and that a sudden change in temperature is riskier than heat alone.
The habits that prevent it are simple.
- Let a cold clarinet reach room temperature in its closed case before you play it.
- Swab the bore after playing, and during long sessions too. Buffet suggests every 30 minutes.
- Dry the joint ends, where Yamaha says water collects.
- Keep it in its case and out of cars, sunny windows and spots near heaters.
Makers also ask you to break in a new wooden clarinet, and their advice differs. Yamaha says 20 to 30 minutes a day for the first two weeks. Buffet says no more than 30 minutes a day for the first month. Paul Effman Music starts at five minutes and adds five more each day over about a week. A used clarinet that has sat unplayed for months deserves the same slow start. Paul Effman Music found that a cold, dry winter shrank the wood on its display clarinets enough to bind keys and loosen rings, and that letting them take on moisture slowly over a few days put them right.
Cracks that have been repaired
A crack isn't the end of a clarinet. Buffet says a properly repaired crack won't affect intonation or tone. The usual fix is pinning. A repairer sets small pins across the crack, kept out of the bore, to pull the wood back together, then fills the holes with grenadilla dust and glue and refinishes the area until it's hard to see. When a crack runs through a tone hole, Kessler & Sons fits a hard rubber insert as well. Some shops band a crack with carbon fiber instead, which Paul Effman Music says should be stronger but is easier to see. Ask any seller of a wooden clarinet whether it has ever cracked and who repaired it, and ask for close photos of the work.
What to check on any used clarinet
- Tenon corks. The cork rings on the joint ends should be whole and even. Torn cork, or tape or thread wrapped around a tenon, means a cork job is due.
- Pads. Look for flat, whole pads with no tears or swelling. Yamaha says a deformed pad leaks air and the clarinet won't play in tune.
- Bridge key. The lever where the upper and lower joints meet bends when a student twists the joints together. In a photo of the assembled clarinet, the two halves should line up without touching.
- Cracks and pinned cracks. On wood, look along the upper joint, around the top tone holes and at the tenon ends for hairlines, and ask about repairs.
- Barrel and bell. Check both for cracks and for loose metal rings, which can mean the wood has shrunk.
- Register key. The thumb key on the back of the upper joint opens a small vent for the upper register. It should sit straight and close fully.
- Joint fit. Each joint should slide together with a little cork grease and hold firm without wobbling.
- What's in the case. Look for the mouthpiece, ligature and cap. Student clarinets usually come with all three, but Buffet's current R13 kit lists a ligature and cap and no mouthpiece.
Rental returns, school surplus and fakes
Plenty of used student clarinets come out of rental fleets and school band rooms, and Paul Effman Music says the E11 once dominated rental inventories across the country. These clarinets have usually had hard use, and the dealer warns that even one described as excellent may need some work to play its best. If a listing shows an engraved school name or an inventory tag, ask how it left the school. Either way, plan on a shop checking the pads and corks.
Fakes turn up as well. Buffet USA's chief executive told clarinetist Jenny Maclay that a far-too-low price, a seller who won't share the serial number and sloppy details are the red flags. Some fake R13s carry an R13 stamp that real ones don't have, some fake E11s print the model as E 11, and some misspell Paris. Paul Effman Music has also warned about counterfeit new Yamahas on auction sites. Ask for clear photos of the logo and serial number on each joint.
So which one?
For a beginner, buy plastic. A YCL-255 or B12 in good order is the safe start, and you'll find more under student clarinets. After two or three years, or when a teacher asks for it, move up to wood with an E11, a YCL-450 or a Bliss LB210, and keep it out of hot cars and cold trunks. You can read the maker's story on the Buffet Crampon page, see our back-to-school buying guide for the bigger picture, or browse every clarinet we cover.
