Selmer Bundy Resonite Alto Clarinet in Eb
Reviewed in 2026 by Jared Burchfield
Introduction: You all already knew that it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on one of these. As a lover of strange instruments, I have always been curious about the infamous alto clarinet, and its notoriously terrible reputation for having a bad tone and horrible intonation only made me that much more curious. After years of listening to ridiculous and sometimes downright immature statements of the alto clarinet’s supposed horrors, I was finally given the opportunity recently to borrow a very nice example of a Bundy alto clarinet that was recently overhauled, and I could not refuse the chance to finally spend some time playing one of these instruments. While I had it, I also thought I would take the opportunity to answer some questions about the alto clarinet and attempt clear up some of the many misconceptions about it. My comments throughout will be both a review of this specific alto clarinet, as well as some general comments on the alto clarinet and a hopeful debunking of some of the common myths about these instruments.
General Information: The Bundy alto clarinet (bearing the model number 1425 according to the Selmer Catalogs on saxophone.org) was manufactured as a part of Selmer USA’s Bundy line of student model clarinets. Made of injection molded resonite much like other Bundy clarinets, this instrument was intended for use in school bands. The pictured instrument was no exception as the case was marked with the name of what I can assume is the high school band program it once belonged to. Also like many other Bundy products, the Bundy alto clarinet serial numbers are not well documented and as such it is hard to tell exactly when this instrument was made. Based on the logos on the instrument and the case design though, I would guess that this instrument was likely made in the late 1960s to early 1970s.
Playability and Tuning: The first thing I have always heard about the alto clarinet is that they are stuffy and that they don’t really project all that well. Neither of those things are true for this instrument. When I played this instrument for the first time, I was shocked to find that it was responsive with a clear full tone that projected easily. I tried a couple of different reed strengths on the included Woodwind Educator B5 mouthpiece and the results were surprisingly good and response was excellent. Truly, there weren’t any abnormally stuffy notes or registers on the instrument, and it was certainly no worse then a comparable bass clarinet. It should be noted that I was using alto saxophone reeds on the instrument as I don’t actually have alto clarinet reeds. And after playing this instrument with my Rigotti Blue Box Jazz reeds, I don’t think I will be buying any specific alto clarinet reeds as the alto saxophone reeds fit well and play just fine in my opinion. The tone of the instrument is interesting and while some say that they sound awful, I think that it is a pretty cool and unique tone. The clarion register sounds a lot like a somewhat harsh clarinet, while the lower chalameau sounds more like a bass clarinet. The throat tone area in between sounds kind of weak and can be a little bit nasally, but if you mess with it a little bit you can make it work and get some cool almost haunting tones in that register. The overall tone is kind of bright across all registers, and can get a little honky if you push it too much but with some practice you can manipulate the tone without much issue.
The other thing I have always heard about alto clarinets is that their intonation tendencies are terrible, and that they have a notorious habit of being very hard to play in tune. This part of the myth about alto clarinet seems to hold more true then the other claims I have heard, as there are some unusual tendencies on this instrument in addition to the ones that are common on clarinets of all sizes. Some notable standouts include a hilariously flat thumb F as well as very a very flat low Eb, low E and low F, very sharp throat tones and a tendency for the whole clarion to trend pretty sharp. That being said though, there are a couple of comments I would like to make. First of all, some of these tendencies are remarkably similar to my Bundy bass clarinet which is a far more common and often used instrument, as well as several of my Bb clarinets by both Bundy and other brands which share similar tendencies as well. I guess I don’t really see what makes the alto clarinet so much objectively worse then other clarinets as far as intonation. I mean, I kind of just approach it like any other instrument, finding tendencies and adjusting to compensate for them. I really don’t have major problems getting this thing to tune decently, and I have even played it in a clarinet ensemble and it was fine. Sure, I had to adjust for some of the odd tendencies, but you really should be doing that on every wind instrument anyway. What is so different about the alto clarinet?
Construction and Build Quality: As is the case with most old Bundy products, this alto clarinet is solid and well built with a specific purpose in mind. The body is made of the same hefty resonite plastic used on the Bundy Bb and bass clarinets, so they don’t crack or warp in changing environmental conditions like wooden horns which makes them great for their intended purpose as school band horns. I have heard reports of alto clarinets being marched in decades past and in a few isolated situations today, and though I am not entirely sure why one would decide to march with an alto clarinet, I suppose a Bundy would be great durable option for such a niche task. Historically, I understand that it may have been done to cover the dedicated alto clarinet part in many marches and traditional concert band literature, but I am not sure what part it would be playing today. Maybe a solo or clarinet feature? That being said I am not opposed to the idea at all, but I just wonder what it would be playing. Anyway, like other Bundy products I have reviewed, the nickel plating on this instrument is in excellent condition only having large amounts of wear in a couple of commonly touched places. I would guess this instrument has either been well cared for, lovingly restored or was hardly played. Maybe it is a combination of all three? I don’t know, but all I can say is that this instrument is in beautiful shape for its age and for being a student model alto clarinet that was once owned by a school band program. Keywork placement is good with the action feeling a lot like a somewhat larger Bb clarinet. If I am being honest, the keywork is pretty comfortable and I don’t have any issues reaching anything, even with my smaller hands. The action of the long B/E key on the left hand pinky is a little strange which makes jumping the break kind of odd, but I attribute that to the setup of the instrument rather then any fault of the instrument itself. Though the keywork metal is a little soft and can be bent easily, it still feels solidly constructed and seems to stays in adjustment well. For some odd reason, this instrument just feels great in my hands. Everything is exactly where you would expect it to be, and and the instrument ergonomically very comfortable to play.
Case: The case pictured above is the original factory Selmer Bundy case, and it shares many elements with the bass clarinets cases from Bundy. I always liked the blue sparkly exteriors and the red interiors on these cases, and in general I feel that old cases have a lot more character compared to modern ones. The body and bell are held in place securely and do not move around when the case is in motion, and there is plenty of storage for accessories. The case thankfully does not have the annoying latches used on some of the clarinet cases, and instead uses a conventional latch in the middle of the case with two locking latches on either side, all of which still function as intended and hold the case closed. My only complaint about this case is the same as I have made about other Bundy cases, and that is that there are no molded out spots for the mouthpiece or neck. Instead, they are thrown loosely in the open storage area next to the body inside the case much like the bass clarinet and saxophone cases from Bundy. This seems like a odd and silly design choice to me, as the neck and mouthpiece could be easily damaged bouncing around freely in that storage area, and I still don’t really get why this was done. There is more than enough space to make a spot to hold the neck and mouthpiece in place. Other than that, I think the case is fine and has held up well for its age, and thankfully doesn’t smell too badly.
Conclusion: This Selmer Bundy alto clarinet is a solid old instrument that has been taken care of and overhauled by someone who knows these instruments, and honestly it is not even half as bad as I was expecting. Sure, there are a few weird tuning tendencies around the instrument, but all instruments have tendencies that the player must learn to work around. Auxiliary instruments in general seem to have more odd tendencies, but there was nothing on this alto clarinet that I couldn’t work around with some awareness, adjustments and alternate fingerings. So I guess I should take a moment to answer the question you are all asking: is the alto clarinet really as bad as they say? Well, to be entirely honest given my experience on this particular alto clarinet, no not at all. I mean, the tuning tendencies are odd, but they are no worse then similar bass clarinets I have played. And the tone of the instrument while brighter and maybe a little more harsh then other members of the generally dark clarinet family, is not at all bad and is actually quite unique in my opinion. And to those who say alto clarinets are stuffy and hard to play, this instrument was neither of those things. This horn was very responsive and just about every note on it was full and clear, and stuffy was about the furthest word from my mind while playing it. Yes, the instrument is unconventional and takes a good player (someone better than me), practice and familiarity of its tendencies in order to get the best results, but the instrument is certainly not “only useful as kindling wood” as one of my band directors once said, thinking he was very funny as he did so.
That of course begs another question: Why then does the alto clarinet have such a bad reputation? I have several theories on why this might be, all of which are purely my own opinion and are not based on any factual research. The first one is that most of the people making comments like the one I just mentioned have probably never heard an alto clarinet played well, and have no idea of the potential that the instrument has. A notable recording that comes to mind is “Walking by Flashlight” by the Maria Schneider Orchestra first showed to me by my college saxophone instructor, Alan Wyatt. Seriously, go and listen to that if you haven’t heard it before. It will change how you view the alto clarinet. Secondly, I think that a working instrument and good equipment helps a lot, as it often does in most situations. If your only experience with an alto clarinet is a bunch of middle and high school students honking away on poorly maintained instruments with stock mouthpieces and size 2 reeds, I am sure the tone and intonation are not pleasant, especially on an instrument with an already bright tone and strange tendencies to begin with. The skill of the player also plays a huge role in this as well, and truly I think this is the biggest factor. Any instrument sounds bad if the person playing it doesn’t take the time to learn and adjust for the tendencies on the instrument. It takes a lot of time, practice and experimentation to develop an understanding of how to achieve a good sound on any instrument, and that is even more true on auxiliary instruments. And finally, I think that the jokes just get passed down over the years and a few people who have a dislike or distaste for the instrument (valid or not) spread these horror stories, jokes, and snarky comments around to everyone they meet, many of whom have probably never played or even heard of the alto clarinet. The result of this is a reputation of blanket statements based on a few bad experiences and unfounded claims in specific circumstances, which I think is very unfair to both the instrument itself and the few people who recognize the potential of this instrument. To conclude, the alto clarinet is really a very misunderstood instrument, and playing one in good condition with a decent setup has really helped me to realize that you should try an instrument and get to know it before you just go around believing the claims of other people, many of whom have probably never played one or heard one played well in the first place. The truth in my opinion is that in the right hands (someone much better and more experienced then myself) a well adjusted alto clarinet has just as much potential as any other instrument to make excellent music.