The 10 Best Clarinets

Music teachers keep pointing beginners to the Yamaha YCL-255, and the spec sheet shows why. The body is a matte plastic made to look like wood, so it copes with dry band rooms and cold bus rides without cracking. Yamaha borrowed its barrel design from higher models for a focused tone, and an adjustable thumb rest with a strap ring helps small hands. It costs a lot more than a starter kit, and stock comes and goes.

For a family that wants a real instrument without a big bill, the Jean Paul CL-300 is the usual answer. Jean Paul has a repair technician in the U.S. set up and play each one before it is sold, which catches the leaky pads that plague cheap imports. A case, a mouthpiece, reeds and cork grease come in the box. The tone is plain, and notes in the middle range can feel slow to respond.

The Yamaha YCL-450II N is the step many students take once lessons stick. Its body is grenadilla, the dense African wood that professionals play, and it gives a warmer, rounder sound than plastic. Leather pads, an adjustable thumb rest and a dependable Yamaha mouthpiece come with it. Wood needs care, though: swab it after every session and keep it away from heaters and cold cars, or it can crack.

Tight budgets are where the Hisonic Signature 2610 earns its spot. It pairs nickel-silver keys with pads made in the U.S., a mix that rarely turns up this cheaply, and a hard case keeps it safe in a school locker. Guides that follow student instruments describe it as fairly trouble-free through a first year or two. Experienced players find the sound thin, and the stock mouthpiece is worth swapping once a student gets serious.

Players heading toward college auditions often land on the Yamaha YCL-650II. It shares its bell and barrel design with Yamaha's custom line, and the tone holes are hand-finished inside, which helps notes speak evenly from the bottom of the range to the top. The body is select grenadilla with silver-plated keys and leather pads. It blows very freely, so someone used to more resistance may need a few weeks to settle in.

Ask a symphony clarinetist what they play, and the answer is often the Buffet Crampon R13. Buffet introduced it in 1950, and it is still the company's most popular professional model. The grenadilla body gives the dark, round sound many teachers want to hear, and a wood-shell case comes with it. The dealer's photos look homemade, so confirm with the seller that the instrument is new before buying.

Students who have outgrown a starter clarinet but aren't ready for wood can look at the Jean Paul CL-400. It keeps a tough plastic body and adds silver-plated keys, blue steel springs and a better mouthpiece. Two barrels of different lengths help with tuning in warm or chilly rooms, and Jean Paul has a U.S. technician set it up. It is a fairly young model without much long-term track record.

The Buffet Crampon E11 puts an African blackwood body within reach of a serious high school player. The keys are silver-plated, and the pads use a double layer of fishskin that seals the holes well. The thumb rest is fixed, which can bother players with small hands. A few owners have had to tighten loose screws and fix tuning on some notes early on, so a check by a repair technician is a good idea.

For a working player who wants a top-tier horn off the shelf, the Yamaha YCL-CSVR belongs to Yamaha's Custom line. The company plates the keys thickly for a fuller sound when playing loud, and its leather pads keep buzzing out of soft passages. A professional-grade mouthpiece is in the case. It is far more clarinet than anyone still learning needs, and the grenadilla body asks for daily drying and steady humidity.

Parents who aren't sure a child will stick with band often start with the Mendini by Cecilio MCT. The kit holds a case, a stand, two barrels, gloves, a cleaning cloth and ten reeds, so nothing else is needed on day one. The trade-off is quality control: some arrive out of tune or with sticky keys, and they tend not to last. Have a band director or repair shop look it over first.