<p>Hey everyone, I'm the mom of a 10-year old clarinet boy. I posted here a few months ago about getting him a new clarinet. Which his doting grandmother did. So my next question is this: Is there any way to mark a clarinet to identify it as belonging to its owner? Thanks, again!</p>
<p>Most mid-price and all professional clarinets have serial numbers on them already, at least on the 2 main body parts which have identical numbers. The bell, barrel and mouthpiece don’t, although some of the more expensive and unique mouthpieces may…</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go around marking up a horn. What I would do is make sure there’s an ID on the case and emphasize how important it is for the horn to either be in his hands or in its case.</p>
<p>Thanks ImperialZeppelin (as always!). I didn’t think to look for a serial number but I’m going to do that, and I will lay down the law as far as keeping the instrument in his case. He’s leaving the Buffet at home and only bringing the plastic to school every day, but he tends to be a bit flighty. So thank you again for your kind advice!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And if it’s in the case…the CASE should be in his hands. Tell him NEVER to leave it unattended…NEVER.</p>
<p>Check with your homeowners to see if you can get a rider for theft and loss. You want BOTH. If your kid puts the clarinet down and someone takes it, that is considered a LOSS…you have no way to prove it was stolen. If it’s in your house and the locks get broken or the windows broken and the instrument disappears…that is theft. You need both. Some homeowners policies will let you get this as an added rider on your policy. You will need a current appraisal of the instrument or your bill of sale if it is a recent purchase. Get replacement value.</p>
<p>Agreed…do NOT mark the instrument in any way. Someday you may want to sell that instrument, and it’s value will be greatly reduced if it is marked up.</p>
<p>If the doting Grandmother bought a wood Buffet mid-level horn like an E-11, then there are serial numbers for sure. I know my D’s had a serial number and I even think her plastic Buffet B-12 has a serial number too…</p>
<p>If it’s an E-11 or similar, I don’t think you need to worry about a rider/insurance since the differential between your detuctible and the horn price may not be much, if anything. We didn’t start the Home Owner supplement for instruments route until the professional horns started showing up…</p>
<p>If Grandma sprung for an R-13 you may want to consider the insurance route. If she did this, does she want more grandchildren?</p>
<p>Check with your homeowners to see what they provide. We had ALL of our instruments insured (even the plastic student oboe). We also had a $100 deductible…way less than the replacement cost of even our cheapest instruments.</p>
<p>You all give good advice. I’m going to find out which model it actually is (I wasn’t present when purchased – hubby was.) Thanks so much again. I’m a total musical ignoramus, so I appreciate the help!</p>
<p>Zoosermom…check with grandma too. Some companies offer insurance when folks purchase instruments. See if she bought it.</p>
<p>remember you serial number. REMEMBER. just in case you encounter a clarinet with its serial number filed down or something, contact police maybe.</p>
<p>oh. insurance may be nice too. :P</p>
<p>Depending on the type of Buffet, you may want to get it insured through an instrument insurer, like Clarion or Johnson. The E11 or E13 models are expensive enough that you may not be able to get a rider through your homeowners (talk to the insurance company about that). And I agree, emphasize that the instrument and/or case cannot be out of his sight, if he has to take the buffet to school tell him not to leave it in a hall locker (if he has one) or in an orchestra room locker, and likewise if other places he should know where it is and that it is secured. Clarinets are tempting because they are relatively small and can be concealed under a jacket, even in the case, which you can’t do with a tuba:)</p>
<p>My other question would be has anyone talked to him about maintaining the instrument? Plastic clarinets can take a lot (ah, vito reso-tone, how you know that only too well!), they can suffer a relative lot of abuse, in environment, in <em>ahem</em> not cleaning it out after use, or in trying to force the pieces together without enough cork grease. The same is not true about the wooden clarinets, they are a lot more fragile. The grenada wood can crack pretty easily, and if joints are tight it is a must to use cork grease to allow relatively easy fit. Not cleaning the instrument after playing can cause problems, leaving it near a high heat source like a radiator can be a problem, or temperature differences (the case does ameliorate a lot of this, if it is in its case when moving from a warm interior to a cold outside it will be fine, but doing that with the clarinet outside the case could cause problems). It also will not take falling over very well if left standing on its bell and other common mishaps I have seen…</p>
<p>As far as a serial number goes, the buffets do have one I believe.</p>
<p>You might also want to buy a case with a shoulder strap–some of them come in brighter colors–not as unobtrusive as a plain black or brown case. Have a bright luggage tag on the outside of the case, and a card with name and address inside the case as well.</p>
<p>We just got D (an elderly age 16) her first set of R13’s, and also got the BAM Trek case, which is really nice. Very sturdy but relatively light-weight. They probably have a similar one for single clarinets. Just make sure to get a case where it is easy to tell if it is zipped up or not. Lots of tears are shed from folks who thought the case was closed tight when they picked it up.</p>
<p>We got S an Altieri bag, which is great (single case). It has side pockets to hold all his accessories as well as full music folders for his various ensembles. It also protects against our cold Midwest climate. He loves it.</p>