Yamaha, YCL64, B Flat Clarinet
A very fine condition Yamaha YCL 64 Bb clarinet, which is a commission sale for Clarinets Direct. It is received wisdom within the music industry that when Yamaha launch a new product, they will have made every conceivable effort to outdo their competitors, at a considerably cheaper price to the customer. So it was in the late 1970's and early 1980's, when Yamaha made their first serious foray into top of the range professional clarinets. The wood was computer controlled, kiln dried, to assist in avoiding cracking, the silver plate, and key work, was of considerably better quality than Buffet. Many players found the ease with which these instruments responded completely won them over. Eddie Daniels, the world's foremost jazz player was such a convert: Perhaps surprisingly he preferred and endorsed the YCL64 range to the YCL84 which were Yamaha's most expensive Custom model. Though the 64 and 65 were sold as professional clarinets, unlike the modern 650, which is a Buffet E13 rival. The modern equivalent of the YCL64/65 is todays Yamaha CX Custom or above.
The clarinet has no cracks or damage to the wood, which is finest aged, unstained, Grenadilla, apart from some minor surface marks. This Bb S/N 001863, has just been thoroughly checked over in our Clarinets Direct workshop prior to sale. The Silver plated key work is very good throughout, with no discernible wear, only light surface scratches. The instrument features an adjustable thumbrest. The supplied m'piece, is a used Vandoren and the case is in good condition