The Uebel Superior Plateau clarinet is a rare animal: it's a Bb clarinet with closed keys. Why closed keys? Why not?

Never considered a closed-hole clarinet? You're not alone—about 99.98% of clarinet players play "regular" open-hole clarinets, but think about it this way: if you have 1) little or skinny fingers, 2) an ailment that makes it difficult to feel whether your fingers are covering the holes (like peripheral neuropathy), 3) are a sax player that doesn't want to have to deal with covering open holes with your fingers, or 4) a bass clarinet player who is like the sax player in #3...well, this instrument makes it 1,000,000% easier to play the clarinet (and in some cases it's the ONLY way someone can play it!)

But it's not for everybody. So, if you'd like to order it to see if it's for you, all earspasm instruments come with a 7-day trial. Please read my trial policy before pulling out that credit card. Or, you can stop by the studio and try it yourself!

Same plateau setup, different wood. The Mopane responds a hair faster and holds pitch better when you push it — if you're gigging with this thing and need it to behave under pressure, this is the one.

Resistance: 8/10, Medium-Heavy

The Plateau clarinet, due to its design, feels quite resistant, but never stuffy. It's got a beautiful sound—and in that, it stands alone in the world of Plateau clarinets (let's be honest though: the Plateau world is pretty small, and full of instruments that are 50+ years old).

In general, more resistance in a clarinet design usually keeps the louder dynamic ranges from spreading; the clarinet "holds its core" and focus, but will provide a smaller dynamic range (on both ends, loud and soft) and smaller color palette. A less resistant clarinet typically provides a much wider tonal palette to choose from, but will require more control from the player to control pitch and sound consistency.

When listening for how a clarinet responds to added air pressure and embouchure control, listen to the Weber example (wide dynamic range and color range), then the Berlioz excerpt (wide dynamic range, but narrow color range), and finally the Gershwin excerpt (narrow dynamic range and narrow color range). You will hear how these clarinets respond — for better or worse! — to my input as a clarinet player.

Tariffs: The Gift No One Asked For

As of April, 2025, thanks to new U.S. tariffs on imports from Germany, the cost of these clarinets shot up by about $550. Yeah—I choked on my Schnitzel too. I'm covering half of that increase because I like you (and because we’re not monsters), but unfortunately, the other half is now baked into the price. I hate it, you hate it, yet here we are—bonded by bureaucracy.