Hameln Pocket Clarinet

Normal Price:$75.00
Our Price:$79.00
Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days

... For more information or Buy from Amazon.com ...

Manufacturer: Hamlin Music Products
Model: H21600
Publisher: Hamlin Music Products
Label: Hamlin Music Products
Special Features: rosewood body, mouthpiece & reed included, case included

NEW!!

Enjoy drawing this product with our drawing board.

Drawing Activity for this product

Features for Hameln Pocket Clarinet:

Solid rosewood body
Includes the clarinet mouthpiece, ligature, & reed
Case included
Fingering like a soprano recorder
Two-year warranty / Free standard shipping in the continental USA

Small Picture
Medium Picture

Editorial Review
Here's a handy way to always keep a clarinet nearby. Whether at home, in the car, or on outings to the park or beach, this pocket clarinet is small enough to take and enjoy most anywhere you go. Plus it fingers like a soprano recorder, making it a great introduction to reed instruments for those already familiar with the recorder. It allows the student to become comfortable with blowing a reed without worrying about the fingering. It's smaller size makes it easier for small hands too. It plays a chromatic scale in the range of C4 to D5, making it possible to play a wide selection of songs. The body is made of beautiful rosewood, and it comes with everything needed to get started, the mouthpiece, ligature, reed, and carrying case. Hameln instruments have steadily earned the respect of music professionals nationwide, and gained a featured place in many of the most reputable music stores. We're confident that the quality of our instruments exceeds that of similarly priced offerings, and we're proud to back our confidence with a two-year warranty and outstanding customer service. We don't offer deep discounts on over-inflated prices.With our factory-direct, no-nonsense prices, you can be assured of getting a good honest value on an exceptional quality instrument.
Cached date: AWS Called=true

Customer Reviews

Less than expected!

2008-01-13
I already have a Xaphoon Pocket Sax, so I thought this would be another nice little instrument to carry with me on various adventures. Unfortunately, the playability is poor.

First, it is attractive and appears to be externally well-finished and sturdy. It comes in a fairly nice case with one reed installed, a spare reed, enough cork grease for six lifetimes and no instructions. Visually, it is worth a smile and begs excitement for the anticipated sound. But that's where the fun ends. I started playing clarinet decades ago, and while not a serious musician, I know what to expect and how to play a clarinet.

While a bit of effort was put into producing a pretty product, it appears that much less emphasis was placed on the sound. The mouthpiece is very cheap, as is the ligature. The installed reed was actually too small to seal the opening and wouldn't play at all. The spare reed was far too large to fit the mouthpiece or even be clamped by the ligature (probably a tenor sax reed). Neither reed was a brand-name product and I suspect that they were just generic foreign manufacture. I substituted a real Bb clarinet reed and was able to get it to play, but the result was disappointing.

The interior of the barrel is poorly finished and rough, and the holes were rough underneath with cut wood fibers protruding. The holes had not been deburred or undercut. It was not tonally smooth even over its narrow range, which by the way, is a narrower range than a recorder since it lacks the ability to play the higher notes in the upper register. Some of the notes within its range are weak and very difficult to play, while others produce an agreeable tone. I'm guessing that a higher quality mouthpiece and some careful work to clean up the interior of the barrel might produce a much more satisfying instrument. If you like to fix things and have some skill, this might work out for you.

On the good side, it looks very nice and would be an attractive display in the den or library if you're into that sort of thing. Also, it feels good in the hands, with a comfortable barrel size. It looks and feels like it should sound sweet. Mine didn't. The hole placement is much more comfortable than on a Xaphoon. My hands are not especially large and the finger positioning on the Xaphoon is not easy to manage, but at least it sounds nice.

So if you want a fun pocket instrument, I suggest you go with a Xaphoon. They sound good throughout most of the range (more like a clarinet than a sax) and seem to be built with solid quality. Mine is durable injection molded plastic that looks like it might survive almost anything. It plays well aside from the difficult finger positioning, and the oversized mouthpiece that takes some getting used to. They're usually only about $50, and I got mine on ebay for only $35.

Back to the Pocket Clarinet... well maybe mine was just a poor one and maybe you'll get lucky and buy one that sounds great... or maybe you just want something cool for the mantlepiece. In a pinch you could probably use it for kindling. To their credit, the seller gave me a full and timely refund, but you should check their return policy closely before buying.