After my success with the Sterling Bb tenor saxophone STS-500DN, I have lashed out the grand sum of $139 (+$30 freight) for a Sterling Bb nickel clarinet SCL-250N.
How can Student Instruments import and sell musical instruments on eBay for about the price of a decent pair of running shoes? These really are disposable instruments — they will probably cost more to repair than the price of a new instrument. When they wear out, just throw them away and buy another one — after all, that’s what you would do with your running shoes every six to twelve months!
I tossed up between buying a Sterling clarinet or a Cibaili clarinet from Student Instruments. An e-mail to the seller revealed that the Sterling is a slightly higher quality instrument range than the Cibaili range. While the Cibaili coloured clarinets are definitely a lower quality range, I still can’t figure out the difference between the Sterling clarinet SCL-250N and the Cibaili clarinet CCL-250N. The Cibaili is $20 dearer, but seems to be the same instrument with a different name on it. Meanwhile, the Sterling clarinet SCL-250N is also listed on eBay for $189. Go figure. I bought a Sterling clarinet for $139.
I dabbled playing my sister’s clarinet in high school — my primary instrument was alto saxophone. I am going to need to start from scratch learning the clarinet. But having had a blow on the Sterling clarinet, it seems a decent instrument to start on. And if I don’t continue with it, so what?