Have had this clarinet for a day and given it a good playing in. The reason I bought it was because the tone sounded good and the price.
I have been meaning to get a C clarinet for years , I have a Bb and an A.
I am quite good at transposing on sight but it enables you to concentrate more on the nuances of the music rather than making sure you play the correct notes , some keys are harder to work in than others . My other clarinerts are good quality African Blackwood
but I bought the plastic version because the sound
is good. I have not made a mistake . It will never be by main instrument but it is really good to have this alternative. The upper register is rather shrill as you would expect a wooden one would also be equally shrill because of the pitch of the clarinet. But the middle and lower registers are very clarinet sounding and more than satisfactory. I do not think the extra cost of the wood version would be worth the money. The only thing I have had to change is the sharpness of the ends of some of the scews . With some careful filing this can easily be removed and you are less likely to scatch your fingers. The case is more than adequate and the choice of barrels is a nice touch. The mouthpiece was a great surprize . I have bought Chinese made instruments in the past and the mouthpieces have been terrible , roughly made and totally unfinished . I bought a Vandoren B45 for this clarinet but I think I will have to send it back because the mouthpiece provided with the clarinet is very good indeed. I doubt whether anyone could tell the difference in sound between the B45 and this one !!!!! I shall probably retain the B45 for use on my Bb clarinet. It has been nicely finished and the lay carefully ground , it is just like an expensive mouthpiece. It is probably plastic but the sound is excellent. The inside of the clarinet and the mouthpiece have been polished , very commendable . I don't know if this affects the quality of the sound , but Buffet Crampon polish the inside of the plastic lining of their oboes . So may it does. There is a hole in the bell for what reason i do not know. Maybe it is to adjust the pitch of the lower notes ????. It is neatly done as are all the other tone holes . I checked the pitch of all the notes and they were spot on , though as you know the pitch is governed as much by the player as the instrument itself.
It uses scews into pillars rather than long screws that go the whole lenth of a key barrel , but there is a mixture of both methods of securing the barrels , This is no special disadvantage since I know that this method is used on my Yanagisawa saxophones.
I think it is excellent value for money and would recommend them .
