Ridenour Lyrique 146

Intonation summary: Wonderful! Professional level. The only real problem is the low throat tone Bb, and that can easily be tweaked.

Key work quality: Very thick and sturdy. Perhaps the metal is not as hard as some, it is so thick that the keys won’t bend unless the clarinet suffers a major trauma. This key work will be great for students, and will work well even for professionals.The 146 does not have the Ridenour ergonomic register key, and the thumb rest is not adjustable. But just as good, the clarinet came with Ridenour’s thumb saddle, which I love.

The case is WAY better than what is bundled with any of the student Chinese instruments I have seen. Nice space-saving design, excellent hinges and latches. This will provide long-lasting protection.

The mouthpiece that came with the 146 is made of plastic. According to the web site it is supposed to be faced by hand. I thought the mouthpiece would be good for a beginning student, but more advanced students taking lessons will want a hard rubber mouthpiece.

The clarinet has a hard rubber barrel, however the body of the clarinet is ABS. They have finished the ABS part so that I can’t really tell the difference. Even though this is marketed as a student horn, this plays better than many professional level clarinets. (As long as the throat tone Bb has been tweaked.) As I have said elsewhere on the site, past the mouthpiece, the barrel is the next most important piece of the clarinet. At the very bottom of this page is a sound comparison of the Lyrique 146 and the fully-hard-rubber Lyrique 576 (named “Bb playing in G”). The tests were made one day apart.

The only downside of this clarinet that I can think of is that wooden instruments generally have a higher resale value.

This clarinet is most appropriate for: Anyone. And I really mean it.