Royal Global MAX Bb Clarinet

Like a lot of clarinet founders (Backun, Selmer, Uebel), Yuan Gao is a clarinet player. He started kind of late, at 13, but only three years later he won China's National Clarinet Competition. Daaaaaamnnn. He did some of his later studies in Boston, and founded Royal Global in Boston in 2007.

Here's the thing about Royal Global: yes, the instruments are made in China, but not in the way you might be thinking. Gao built his own factory, he sources Grenadilla directly from Africa, runs his own sawmill (which is nuts, actually), seasons wood naturally for 7–10 years (like Uebel — no kilns), and controls the whole pipeline. Contrary to what you might read on Facebook, his designs stay in-house — he doesn't farm out production to some OEM that also makes fifteen other brands. Then, when they get to the US, they get hand-finished by Brian Corbin (and then set up by us).

The MAX uses "ECO wood" — Royal's term for recaptured Grenadilla powder generated when milling their wood clarinets, then mixed with a little carbon fiber for strength and some synthetic resin to hold it all together. It's Royal's answer to Buffet's GreenLine: it captures most of the acoustic properties of wood but is virtually immune to cracking. Aimed at students and outdoor players who want wood-like response without wood's frailty.

How it plays

Even though the MAX is considered a "student clarinet" (mainly because of price), it centers really well — one of the better intonation profiles in the "entry" tier. But the real surprise is the articulation: it's quick and clean, near the top of anything I've measured, student horn or not. 

One anomaly I found when testing: 3-finger C drops a lot going from soft to loud, so be mindful. (See all of the data in the Dashboard below.)

Resistance: 5/10, Medium

Playing the MAX has a terrific feel. With its medium resistance, you get a balance of tonal flexibility and a center to the sound that holds its core. Compared to the Alpha, the MAX is darker and articulates a good deal cleaner, with a scale that's about the same. That said, I like it better than the Alpha, to be honest.

Want to hear how it handles air and dynamics? In the audio player below, listen to the Weber first (wide dynamics, wide color), then the Berlioz (wide dynamics, narrow color), then the Gershwin (narrow on both). You can hear how the timbre responds to me as a player... warts and all.

Before you decide

Play (or listen to) the Backun Alpha right next to it — brighter, articulates less cleanly, and the reason I'd point you at the MAX first.

The Royal Classical Limited is a little darker, and has a bit better intonation, and it's the one to try if you want naturally-seasoned wood with the same characteristics. The Uebel Advantage is brighter, and the Yamaha 650II is the name-brand in the range — it runs a little flat overall, though pretty uniformly, which a shorter barrel should handle.