Ridenour Lyrique G1

I was able to test the G1, but the one I tested had not been fully tweaked by Tom Ridenour. I am therefore only giving my general impression. If there is an advanced student out there who wants a fantastic instrument, and will not consider one of Ridenour's hard rubber professional instruments, then choose the G1 and save money over other instruments (like the Buffet R13). I believe that Ridenour Lyrique and Libertas instruments have a bit better intonation, and the tone and stability of hard rubber is a real plus. But for you who want a wooden instrument, this is wonderful.

Barrels: 66.2mm, 65.4mm

Bore LH joint top: 14.8mm

Bore LH joint at bottom: 14.7mm

Intonation summary: The G1 clarinet that I played had not been tweaked for intonation and there were some problems. I think that the G1 was designed more like Ridenour's Libertas than the Lyrique line. The Libertas has bold symphonic tone but is not quite as well in tune as Ridenour's Lyrique line. The G1 is modeled after the Leblanc clarinets that Tom designed that are still sought after today. And those clarinets would also not quite match the Lyrique in its unsurpassed intonation.

Key work quality: The key work is absolutely excellent. It looks very classy because of the silver plated keys. I love the comfortable feeling of the ring keys. The left pinkie E/B key is positioned a bit more to the right than I am used to.

This clarinet is most appropriate for: Anyone. Any advanced clarinetist will love the way this plays.

Other notes: I notice that the bell and the right hand joint are not marked with the Ridenour logo. The bell has lovely styling and does not have a metal ring at the bottom. It doesn't need one as the wood is so thick there. The G1 does not have a serial number, but very few of this model were made. As always, the case that comes with the G1 is a professional quality case. I note that Tom does not normally like metal rings on the inside of the tenon joints for wooden clarinets, but the G1 has them.