Mark II Clarinet?? Good clarinet? HELP!

[Saxaholic]

I need to learn the clarinet. I went to my local music store and saw a basically perfect condition Mark II clarinet for $150. Barely used, everything is in perfect working condition, and it needs nothing.

Is this a good quality horn and is it a good deal? Please help me out. Thanks.

Saxaholic

[retread]

The answer to both your questions: almost certainly not.

The only reference to Mark II clarinets on the Clarinet Bulletin Board is that someone saw a stack of them in Sam's Club.

If you're looking for a good, low-priced clarinet, contact Dave Spiegelthal, who posts here occasionally. He rebuilds some of the the less-known older French clarinets and sells them very reasonably. Search under Malerne clarinet on this forum and you'll find a post by him.

[Anji]

Most any decent, playable Plastic Bundy/YCL26/Selmer CL300 will do for doubling, if set up with a decent mouthpiece.

Buy one of the Mainland Chinese clarinets and be ready for heartache.

Check out your local (or nearest) repair shop and ask for the
"Do not repair" list...

You'll find most every mainland Chinese make on that list.
(Lark/Monique/Parrot/Heimer/Haydn, and probably Mark II)

A playable horn for under $200 is tough, considering an overhaul alone will cost $125!