Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am a 6th grade beginning band director. One of my students purchased this instrument. The reason it is cheaper than the "Name" brand instruments is because it doesn't work. When I played the instrument it was very difficult to get air through the mouthpiece. It is a terrible mouthpiece. If I can't get air through it, a petite young girl is never going to get air through it. Second, as I played the instrument, pitch was all over the place. The open "G" note (no keys pressed down" was so sharp in pitch that it was registering on the electronic tuner as the next higher pitch (G sharp), however the next pitch down (an "F") was a quarter-tone flat. I could not find a single pitch that was in tune on the entire instrument. One would be sharp, the next three flat, then two really sharp, etc. There are many instruments being manufactured by overseas companies that are cheap in price, but they do not work. They do not make the parts to any specifications, so when a part goes bad, it can not be fixed. It has to be replaced. It is basically a "disposable" instrument. This lack of specifications is also what causes the instrument to play out of tune. No student can have success on such an instrument, because they can not match pitches with the other students. A good student model clarinet is going to cost $600-800 brand new. Like most things, the more you pay, the better the quality. You can usually find good instruments for less if they are used, but have a reputable music store evaluate the instrument to tell you if it is of a useable quality. There is nothing more frustrating and defeating for a young musician than an instrument that will not work properly. A good music store will rent you an instrument on a month-to-month basis, with rent-to-own terms, and without charging you interest. The music store our school does business with does not charge any interest on their rentals. There is a $1-2 per month insurance charge, but no interest. If your music store will not give you similar terms, they are not committed to you or your school's music program.