Tag Archives: plastic

Rubber vs. Wood

Dubya writes “what are the differences in hard rubber vs wood for clarinets? I know plastic is the student model material, but I’ve seen pro stuff in both of the others. Is there a quality difference, or is it more up to preference? What would guide those preferences?” 

I can’t think of any “Pro” clarinets that are made of rubber. Never heard of such a thing. There are clarinets that are made of wood, wood and carbon fiber (called Greenline by Buffet), or ABS Resin (Plastic). None of these are rubber. Wood is the way to go. If you live in an area where cracking could be a problem, or are playing in situations where cracking might happen, the wood/carbon fiber is the way to go. Plastic is for student models. Wood simply gives you a better sound, and the cracking potential is very low. So get a wood clarinet.

Is it wood or resonite??

akakoa writes “I have a Selmer Signet 100 series B flat clarinet. It’s serial number is 95593 and it was made in the USA.

Is this clarinet wood or resonite??”

Good question. I don’t know much about Selmer Clarinets. But, it’s usually easy to tell if a clarinet is wood or resonite. Maybe take it to a shop and have someone confirm what exactly it is.

Of course, we really want to know, does it BLEND.