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UPDATE: It's come to my attention that my instrument needs some repairs done. I plan to take it to a repair shop this week, and my review will probably change drastically after the instrument is checked over by a repairman. I've heard a lot of positive things about Ridenour clarinets; this review is based on my instrument, which needs some repairs done before it will be able to play as well as Tom intended. Until it is updated, this review is probably very inaccurate!
Earlier this week, my dad and i bought a Ridenour RCP-575A A clarinet for me to use in my youth symphony. This is my review of the instrument, comparing it to my experience with Buffet and Leblanc. Let me start by saying that the review begins with all the cons (negative points) the instrument isn't a huge hunk of crap as i may initially lead you to believe, it's somewhat satisfying, and for the price is ok. I just don't think it's a profesional instrument, as advertised, and i believe there are A LOT of thinks tom could have improved on to make this instrument better.
As i opened the package, the first thing i notice is a very nice case. as I open it, i notice seems to be made of the same material as most backpack cases (buffet/Leblanc/Jean Babtiste). It has a very small storage space, and room for another (Bb) clarinet. The storage space is so small, i can only fit my swab and cork grease. I can't even fit my Selmer reed case in the storage space, so i have to use the outside pocket, which is supposed to be for sheet music. The space for mouthpiece is too small for a cap, so i had to stuff that in the small storage space. First problem: i can't fit my Bb in the double case. It's obviously intended for another Ridenour clarinet, strictly. Thank god this crappy case is made out if inferior material, so a couple weak bashes with a screw driver allows me to tightly fit in my precious Buffet clarinet. So tightly, i couldn't even close the case properly without having to push in the weakly designed top. overall, the case appears nice and light, but isn't as protective as other cases, and really won't work with anything other than another Ridenour Bb clarinet (unless you like bent keys)
I set this aside, and pick up the Ridenour A clarinet. As i assemble it, i notice the cork seem to be nice and tight, and seals quite well. The nickel keys are nice and polished and sturdy, and the plastic material is covered with some sort of cosmetic, used to make it look more like wood (i've seen this on other plastic clarinets before). It comes with two barrels; one short and one long. I assemble the whole thing, other than my Vandoren mouthpiece, which can barely fit onto either of the made-in-china barrels. After applying what felt like 3 pounds of cork grease, it finally fits onto the shorter barrel.
I play an open G, and am confronted with the first problem. On my Bb, and even Eb clarinets, i get a nice, pure, open G - "lahhh!!" and with this, i get more of a suffocated, dying, "DUEHHH". A pad check reveals no apparent leaks, so i guess it's just the design. The keys feel quite similar to my buffet, but they are very clunky, loud, and distracting. I play a few scales, and discovered about 5 to 8 stuffy notes in each register. The lower register is a little fuzzy, but very rich and full, as i would expect from an A.
And now, i'm confronted with the most annoying register key i have ever felt in my entire life. It's very thin and weak, if you so much as touch it by accident it will go up. It's designed with "Tom's ergonomic design", which allows the register key to bend around the thumb hole (see picture), which doesn't seem to have any difference at all compared to a traditional register key. Worst of all, the register key barely moves! i don't mean it's clunky, or it sticks, but the posts are so close to the wall of the clarinet, the pad barely moves away from the whole. the result is 3 very annoying, stuffy, annoying, unpleasant notes - Bb, B, and C. These are all ungodly annoying, but the Bb is so dead and stuffy it doesn't even really sound like a note, so much as a quite grunt.
As i scale up the instrument, i find more and more stuffy notes, and I come to the 3rd Bb, which sounds just as dead and stuffy as the other hundred-something notes on the instrument. The forked F#/B key is very airy, and leaks ALL THE TIME! The altissimo register came out surprisingly nice - just as well if not better than my Buffet clarinet. I decided to try putting my stock Buffet Bb barrel on the instrument to see how it affects it. It cleared up many of the lower notes slightly, and fixed the problem with the 3rd Bb. This means that the Grenadilla wood barrel works better than the crappy plastic barrel Tom supplied. WHY?!
If you go onto the web page for Ridenour's clarinets, he has a 4-page long article explaining why he thinks rubber works just as well as Grenadilla wood. Not only is the rubber barrel a pain in the neck, but the tone of the entire instrument sounds like it's lacking the full sound i get from my wooden instrument - the same problem i notice from my $200, plastic, student instrument. Clearly, this rubber material is not as good as Grenadilla wood! Tom claims this material is just as good as Grenadilla, but it's not! it's cheaper for a reason, tom, and not just because it's more scarce! Of course, he advertises this instrument as a "professional" model. I feel like i'm gonna be sick. Nothing could possible be farther from professional than this instrument. The keys are loud and clunky, it's full of dead notes and bad tones, the register key makes me wanna throw up, and the whole package is very, very unsatisfying.
Tom describes the product as a professional instrument, on par with the R13. So than how come my E13, described by Buffet as a STUDENT INSTRUMENT is 10 times better than what you advertise as a PROFESSIONAL INSTRUMENT?! this is far, far, far from professional. i feel like i'm playing one of those crappy chinese-made knock off instruments. I think i am! I'm pretty sure these instruments are made in china. I bet this instrument will fall apart by the end of the year. I still can't believe the false advertising - saying this is a professional instrument is like calling a Buffet Tosca a bottom-of-the-line student model. FALSE ADVERTISING! Almost everything about this instrument is unpleasant, uncomfortable, and dead-sounding. and worst of all, i'm stuck with it. I need an A clarinet, and everything else seems to be too expensive. I may end up selling it on eBay in the near future.
I admit the instrument has its pros - a very rich, full low register, a nice clear altissimo, and a nice resistance compared to my Bb. Plus, the rubber material, though not as full-sounding as Grenadilla, makes the instrument impervious to problems cause my climate and moisture changes. Overall i give it a 6 or 7/10 - if you really want a good, reliable A clarinet to go with your Bb, go somewhere else. Tom clearly doesn't know what the term "professional" means. Tom is trying to create an affordable professional instrument to compete with brands like Buffet, Leblanc, Yamaha, and Selmer Paris, but he clearly doesn't know what he's doing.
I'm always gonna stick with my Buffet clarinets, and even my ancient Leblanc Eb clarinet (an instrument nutorious for being difficult to play) feels and sounds alot better than this instrument. these Ridenour clarinets are probably more designed for affordability than professional use. Maybe his other models are better than this one, but i see it more as a step-up student model than a professional horn.
Earlier this week, my dad and i bought a Ridenour RCP-575A A clarinet for me to use in my youth symphony. This is my review of the instrument, comparing it to my experience with Buffet and Leblanc. Let me start by saying that the review begins with all the cons (negative points) the instrument isn't a huge hunk of crap as i may initially lead you to believe, it's somewhat satisfying, and for the price is ok. I just don't think it's a profesional instrument, as advertised, and i believe there are A LOT of thinks tom could have improved on to make this instrument better.
As i opened the package, the first thing i notice is a very nice case. as I open it, i notice seems to be made of the same material as most backpack cases (buffet/Leblanc/Jean Babtiste). It has a very small storage space, and room for another (Bb) clarinet. The storage space is so small, i can only fit my swab and cork grease. I can't even fit my Selmer reed case in the storage space, so i have to use the outside pocket, which is supposed to be for sheet music. The space for mouthpiece is too small for a cap, so i had to stuff that in the small storage space. First problem: i can't fit my Bb in the double case. It's obviously intended for another Ridenour clarinet, strictly. Thank god this crappy case is made out if inferior material, so a couple weak bashes with a screw driver allows me to tightly fit in my precious Buffet clarinet. So tightly, i couldn't even close the case properly without having to push in the weakly designed top. overall, the case appears nice and light, but isn't as protective as other cases, and really won't work with anything other than another Ridenour Bb clarinet (unless you like bent keys)
I set this aside, and pick up the Ridenour A clarinet. As i assemble it, i notice the cork seem to be nice and tight, and seals quite well. The nickel keys are nice and polished and sturdy, and the plastic material is covered with some sort of cosmetic, used to make it look more like wood (i've seen this on other plastic clarinets before). It comes with two barrels; one short and one long. I assemble the whole thing, other than my Vandoren mouthpiece, which can barely fit onto either of the made-in-china barrels. After applying what felt like 3 pounds of cork grease, it finally fits onto the shorter barrel.
I play an open G, and am confronted with the first problem. On my Bb, and even Eb clarinets, i get a nice, pure, open G - "lahhh!!" and with this, i get more of a suffocated, dying, "DUEHHH". A pad check reveals no apparent leaks, so i guess it's just the design. The keys feel quite similar to my buffet, but they are very clunky, loud, and distracting. I play a few scales, and discovered about 5 to 8 stuffy notes in each register. The lower register is a little fuzzy, but very rich and full, as i would expect from an A.
And now, i'm confronted with the most annoying register key i have ever felt in my entire life. It's very thin and weak, if you so much as touch it by accident it will go up. It's designed with "Tom's ergonomic design", which allows the register key to bend around the thumb hole (see picture), which doesn't seem to have any difference at all compared to a traditional register key. Worst of all, the register key barely moves! i don't mean it's clunky, or it sticks, but the posts are so close to the wall of the clarinet, the pad barely moves away from the whole. the result is 3 very annoying, stuffy, annoying, unpleasant notes - Bb, B, and C. These are all ungodly annoying, but the Bb is so dead and stuffy it doesn't even really sound like a note, so much as a quite grunt.
As i scale up the instrument, i find more and more stuffy notes, and I come to the 3rd Bb, which sounds just as dead and stuffy as the other hundred-something notes on the instrument. The forked F#/B key is very airy, and leaks ALL THE TIME! The altissimo register came out surprisingly nice - just as well if not better than my Buffet clarinet. I decided to try putting my stock Buffet Bb barrel on the instrument to see how it affects it. It cleared up many of the lower notes slightly, and fixed the problem with the 3rd Bb. This means that the Grenadilla wood barrel works better than the crappy plastic barrel Tom supplied. WHY?!
If you go onto the web page for Ridenour's clarinets, he has a 4-page long article explaining why he thinks rubber works just as well as Grenadilla wood. Not only is the rubber barrel a pain in the neck, but the tone of the entire instrument sounds like it's lacking the full sound i get from my wooden instrument - the same problem i notice from my $200, plastic, student instrument. Clearly, this rubber material is not as good as Grenadilla wood! Tom claims this material is just as good as Grenadilla, but it's not! it's cheaper for a reason, tom, and not just because it's more scarce! Of course, he advertises this instrument as a "professional" model. I feel like i'm gonna be sick. Nothing could possible be farther from professional than this instrument. The keys are loud and clunky, it's full of dead notes and bad tones, the register key makes me wanna throw up, and the whole package is very, very unsatisfying.
Tom describes the product as a professional instrument, on par with the R13. So than how come my E13, described by Buffet as a STUDENT INSTRUMENT is 10 times better than what you advertise as a PROFESSIONAL INSTRUMENT?! this is far, far, far from professional. i feel like i'm playing one of those crappy chinese-made knock off instruments. I think i am! I'm pretty sure these instruments are made in china. I bet this instrument will fall apart by the end of the year. I still can't believe the false advertising - saying this is a professional instrument is like calling a Buffet Tosca a bottom-of-the-line student model. FALSE ADVERTISING! Almost everything about this instrument is unpleasant, uncomfortable, and dead-sounding. and worst of all, i'm stuck with it. I need an A clarinet, and everything else seems to be too expensive. I may end up selling it on eBay in the near future.
I admit the instrument has its pros - a very rich, full low register, a nice clear altissimo, and a nice resistance compared to my Bb. Plus, the rubber material, though not as full-sounding as Grenadilla, makes the instrument impervious to problems cause my climate and moisture changes. Overall i give it a 6 or 7/10 - if you really want a good, reliable A clarinet to go with your Bb, go somewhere else. Tom clearly doesn't know what the term "professional" means. Tom is trying to create an affordable professional instrument to compete with brands like Buffet, Leblanc, Yamaha, and Selmer Paris, but he clearly doesn't know what he's doing.
I'm always gonna stick with my Buffet clarinets, and even my ancient Leblanc Eb clarinet (an instrument nutorious for being difficult to play) feels and sounds alot better than this instrument. these Ridenour clarinets are probably more designed for affordability than professional use. Maybe his other models are better than this one, but i see it more as a step-up student model than a professional horn.
