Absolutely the best music store in the whole wide world!!!!!!!! A truly fantastic place for anybody who plays woodwind or brass, I would strongly recommend this wonderful store. I went over there at the beginning of August to try out student clarinets, and I had 2 absolutely heavenly hours of clarinet playing, trying out 4 different ones. Matt was most helpful, really lovely, and he helped me to make the best choice. I'm now the very proud owner of a Jupiter JCL 700SQ student b flat clarinet which is absolutely gorgeous to play, and I'm now learning to cross the break, something which I have struggled with for a very long time!! I'm making some progress in this which is wonderful, and I'm working on Grade 3. What a fabulous store Dawkes is with extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful staff, and although we live a distance away, hubby and I will definitely be returning there again soon. What is so lovely is that Dawke's regularly have recitals now that they have the raised stage in the middle of the reception area and the gorgeous grand piano!! Oh wow, this is the most fabulous place ever!!!!!!!!!! God bless you wonderful people at Dawke's in all that you do for us woodwind and brass players, and I look forward to coming back to see you again very soon. XXX❤❤❤

A great listen.

Absolutely superb!!!!!!!!!!! My hubby and I went over there at the beginning of August so that I could try out some student clarinets, and I spent 2 whole blissful hours trying out 4 different clarinets!! I am now the very proud owner of a Jupiter JCL 700 SQ clarinet, and it's so gorgeous that I can't leave it alone!! Oh yes Dawke's is absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to get back there mega soon!! Dawke's have got me going on the clarinet again, and it's so wonderful!! These people clearly are woodwind and brass experts, and this is definitely the place to come for those of us who play. We had a long journey to get there coming from Tonbridge in Kent, but it was definitely worth the effort, and I will find a reason to return!!!!! God bless you wonderful people at Dawke's for all that you do, and I look forward to seeing you again mega soon!!!! 🤩

Rico Metalites are crazy, plastic high-baffle mouthpieces that sound like a professional MPC for a cheap price? You gotta be kidding me, God bless you Rico.

Mmmmmmm,Selmer sound…..gooooooood😊

the eastman and p-mauriat are in the same category cheap but does the job

I love my 480, playing it with the Yamaha metal thumb set, Vandoren V16 A6M, Légère Signature Reeds 3.0 and the ToKo Klangbogen.

I love my 480, playing it with the Yamaha metal thumb set, Vandoren V16 A6M, Légère Signature Reeds 3.0 and the ToKo Klangbogen.

Very cool!!

They sound so tightly wound, the 6 is best

Thank you! I’m relatively new to repair work and got stuck with one of these at my job and had no idea how to get the rotors out this helped a ton!

Can you please do a video comparing The buffet divine, tosca, legende

My husband actually owns one of each type. He prefers the curve soprano and less pressure on one’s thumb.

Curve soprano : Kim Waters sound.

For the ease of scrolling, playing demo 1:38 Drake "David Sanborn" 5:47 Jody Jazz 'Super Jet' 9:19 Theo Wanne 'Fire'

Standard: 0:57, 1:14 Marble: 1:32, 1:49

Please, is 445 slide avaliable on 447 bell? ( I have a 447 and looking for a 525 slide ) Thank you. Hallo from Italy

Another great video from you Alastair. I started playing Legere a couple of years ago having b been prejudiced against them having tried some very bad synthetic reeds in the 60s. I have been using European Cut for a little while and have grown used to them and it’s also great if you like them that you end up playing the clarinet more that spending a lot of time adjusting reeds. Recently I’ve played The French cut which is narrower and feels more like a Traditional French cane Reed I agree with you it’s a bit softer than The European Cut so I’d probably go 0-25 harder in strength it works well for me on 1010s , Buffet and Selmer clarinets. I’d give one a go. As you say Alastair it’s a good idea to keep one in your case as a “ stand by”. It may seem an amazing price for one Reed but how many have you wasted over the years. If you like them then you’ll save money because you’ll use fewer reeds. I am sure Dawkes will give you great advice. Thanks Alastair, God bless. Bill. Uk

very helpful. I love this channel!!

I'm a bari and a bassoon and this embouchure is soooo haaaard 😭😭😭

Yup, the Windcraft had it for me, too. Fuller, richer sound - it just sounded more playable. I had one as my first, and it was great.

selmer saxophones are overrated. Conn 10Ms are the best tenor sax that was ever made !!!!

Got any Bari related Q's? Let us know in the comments!

Folks, I must tell you that I am amazed by the quality of the work that you do here. Your opinions and insights are priceless as buying a first alto sax since my college days is confusing. I learned clarinet in High School, picked up an alto just to play with and dropped ALL of my music after college to raise the kids and pay the bills. Now, I am back and getting clarinet lessons and I practice one hour every single day. I am looking for a sax to that I would double on. It is all so hard. Stressful. Does one need rolled tone holes. Can a 480 do it? Love a 62 but do not want to spend that money. Are mother of pearl buttons good? Necessary? Can I pay someone to put them on? Should I go with a better horn but used? Could be good but buyer beware I have heard great things about Selmer as my clarinets were Selmer but I hear that the keyword in the alto just is not right. Buffet, seems to have no interest in this level of saxophone. I tried 16 clarinets, desperately wanted to love a Selmer but simply hated the keyword. That is just me. Might be great for another but I was so unhappy and coming from two Selmer clarinets, (CT, Series 9) I was surprised. I tried an R-13. The silver on the bell spun in circles and a key on the bottom joint was frozen. Horrifying. What is the saying? When it comes to engineering, the French copy no one and no one copies the French. Actually, I do not expect you to solve my problem. I just wanted to say hello and thank you for your fine work here. Howard By the way, Simon is AWSOME

Great playing Simon. When I was In Las Vegas 1969-74. I played baritone on many gigs. The real hard thing was to begin alone pianissimo on the low A on a slow ballad with a string section behind a famous singer. I would have liked to hear that reality demonstrated. I had a new Conn with a low A, which they never had before 1969. It was a great horn.

Thanks for this video. Is there anything you can’t do Simon. I agree I think the Windcraft sounds the best to me. Hopefully you will get some more people playing baritone. God bless the three of you. Bill. Uk 🎷🎷🎷

Great video! Can’t wait to get down to the new shop and try out some horns.

I feel like the muting qualities of the french cut work very well for saxophone and harm the clarinet a bit.

Would love to here these with a different genre. Great playing and lovely instruments for sure!

I've got a 1922 adolphe sax tenor and love it, cost a bit to get it working but saved it from the depths of a cupboard and brought it back to life 🎷

So, recently I decided to try standard vandoren oppose to v12’s, and I just pulled these reeds out and some of them sound like they have a very pinched sound. Is this a me issue or the reed? I’ve never had a reed sound like this before, it’s so weird

The slots sound well defined

Is this sax made in the Selmer factory in France or is it made in china with a few finishing touches put on by Selmer. I am in the market for a new alto and I will NOT buy anything from China if humanly possible. Where is it designed and constructed.

Seems like a mighty fine store from here 🗺

Loved the duet and you have a beautiful tone! Neat that folks can rent a soprano at Dawkes. very difficult to rent anything other than a tenor and alto where I live in the US. I just bought a YSS 475ii (normally play alto) and it's arriving in a few days. Can't wait to play it!

In alto sax, if we press which keys together with the octave key, the octave crook key does not go up?

I finally had the chance of trying out both a standard and reversed lead pipe model 43s at the same time. I could definitely feel the resistance in the standard compared to the reversed, and I definitely felt like I had less trouble getting around on the reversed compared to the standard. Other than that, they're both divine trumpets that have definitely earned their Mark in the world of professional trumpets

@Georgina ♥♥♥😘

I guess I need to get a bronze horn! Nuff said.

You guys are absolutely amazing!!!!!! XXX

I love it

Yamaha rules 🎶🎼💙

Awwwwwwwwwwesome!!!! I'm looking forward to coming to see you guys for the first time next Friday to look at some yummy student clarinets!!! I'm looking to upgrade my Jupiter 631 b flat clarinet which I've had for 20 years!!

Wich the diference Selmer C** and Selmer C** Soilist?

No thumb pressure with the curved one. Not a small thing to overlook.

Can you compare and contrast shifrin signature versus vocalese (sp)?

Ive learned that the C* selmer is pretty much the perfect all around mouth piece for every style, not saying its the BEST for every style, just that is works well for every style

Hey there dear Liz, just also wanted to mention that my hubby and I will be visiting Dawke's on 2nd August at 11.30 am so that I can try out a few student clarinets as I'm looking to upgrade my Jupiter 631 which I've had since 2000. I'm very interested in the Jupiter JCL 700SQ, the Yamaha YCL 255S and also the Backun Alpha. I see that they all have a neck strap ring and an adjustable thumb rest, which would be fantastic for me as I have tiny hands!! I'm very petite, and my height is now only 4 ft 10!! Anyway I've been researching thoroughly the different clarinets to see which would be the best ones to try out, and these are the ones I think would be best. I've got a Buffet Crampon BC4131 Prodige Thumb plate oboe, so I could also look at the Buffet Crampon Prodige clarinet which I know that Dawke's does sell. Really looking forward to our visit to Dawke's on 2nd August!! Having two whole hours with the woodwind experts, so I hope to see you there!!🤩

Thank you Liz for your highly informative and extremely helpful video. I've come back to the clarinet after a long break, and I've had a few struggles but I'm persevering, so to be able to watch this video here is absolutely what I need!! I don't have my own teacher, so you are being a wonderful guide. I will be getting my clarinet out on Saturday, and I will be working on long notes just like you said. So vitally important to have the best posture possible and to breath using your diaphragm to get the best possible tone. I've recently bought a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece and a Rovner Dark ligature, and this has proved to be a superb combination!! My clarinet tone is much more mellow, and there is much less squeaking too!! I've been working on playing without a neck strap just recently which also helps, and I'm following your advice on hand position too. Crossing the break has been very difficult, but hopefully with improved hand position, it will improve too. Hubby and I will be very busy the next couple of days at church helping with the children's Holiday Club. I'm playing my oboe with the band, and my hubby is doing bible teaching with the children. But when Holiday Club finishes on Friday, we will be back home again, and after a good rest I will get back to practising my clarinet at the weekend. Really hope that I can get the hang of crossing the break!! God bless you, and please do come back again with more videos soon, cos you're an absolutely fantastic teacher!! 🤩

Why is he sooooo cute and handsome😍