Honesty time.

I'll be upfront: I wasn't carrying Yamaha for a long time, partly out of stubbornness and partly because the instruments I already carry are hard to beat, but once I tried the CSVR at ClarinetFest I knew that had to change. They also happen to be the most free-blowing clarinets I carry — which I did not see coming. More on that in a sec.

First a little more background: Yamaha didn't want to open me up as a dealer because I won't carry their Bass Clarinets — I really don't like them — and after I kept saying "Bass clarinet? No thanks," they just said "No thanks." And then they stopped returning my emails.

Soooooo, third upfront thing: I now source them directly from an authorized Yamaha center overseas, which means two things — 1) I get them straight from the source, and 2) I provide the warranty directly, which makes things quicker. This also has a third benefit to you in that I can offer them for less, though that's just a side benefit. 

Okay enough backstory.

I know Yamaha makes student clarinets that people (read: band directors) seem to like, but Yamaha Professional Clarinets?

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was — Yamaha's Custom line...man, it's almost unfair how consistent they are. Play five R13s and you'll find five different instruments; play five CSVRs and you'll find...five CSVRs, because Yamaha's manufacturing precision is legendary.

SEVR or CSVR?

The CSVR has a more cylindrical bore than the SEVR, with smaller tone holes and a tighter undercut, which in in theory (and in practice) gives you a focused, bright, clear sound — think "R13 character," but more even and predictable than an actual R13 tends to be.

One thing I wasn't expecting: this instrument is super free-blowing, and given the smaller tone holes, I assumed I'd feel more resistance — nope. It's among the lightest-blowing instruments I carry, which means a wide tonal palette is available to you, but controlling that palette means you are going to have to manage pitch more actively. 

Resistance: 3/10, Light

Both Yamahas sit at the light end of what I carry, so if you're coming from a more resistant clarinet, budget some adjustment time.

In general, added 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.

Important note about this clarinet's warranty.

As I mention above, these are new clarinets sourced directly from an authorized Yamaha center overseas, which is why our price is lower than most US dealers.

The tradeoff is that they don't come with a Yamaha USA warranty, because Earspasm is not an authorized Yamaha dealer. But never fear: Earspasm provides one directly — a five-year term covering manufacturing and material defects, with the same exclusions as the factory warranty. If you have a covered claim, you contact me instead of Yamaha. Honestly, that's probably faster. Full warranty terms are in the FAQ below.