Yamaha YCL-221II

About the Yamaha YCL-221II

The YCL-221II uses the standard Boehm system with 20 keys and 7 covered tone holes, reaching down to low Eb without extending to low C like the larger professional models. Its two-piece matte ABS-resin body splits apart for storage in a genuinely compact case, a practical detail for students who have to carry it through school hallways and onto buses rather than transport it by car. Introduced as a redesign of the earlier YCL-220, it borrows construction details straight from Yamaha's professional bass clarinets: a reworked neck angle, repositioned register-key tonehole placement aimed at evening out pitch across registers, and rubber rings fitted around the cork at each joint to cut down on air leaks and sticking keys. A rounded bridge-key connector between the body sections means the two halves can be assembled without needing to carefully press any keys out of the way first - a small detail that matters when the instrument is handled daily by inexperienced students. It ships with a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece and a carrying case.

Where to buy

• Reverb Yamaha YCL-221II Standard Bb Bass Clarinet with Low Eb 2010s - Black 2.731 EUR Best price View details

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/91155280-yamaha-ycl-221ii-standard-bb-bass-clarinet-with-low-eb-2010s-black

Sound character of the Yamaha YCL-221II

Reviewers and dealers alike describe a rich, warm tone that was considered a genuine step forward for a student-grade bass clarinet at its introduction, with clean response reported consistently across registers - the low range in particular benefiting from the redesigned neck angle and register-tonehole placement that even out what tends to be the weakest part of a budget bass clarinet's range.

What owners of the Yamaha YCL-221II say

Customer reviews average around 4.2 out of 5, with recurring praise for value, clean tone and smooth key action - language that echoes what the 2006 redesign specifically targeted. A smaller critical voice in the same review pool pushes back, describing the instrument as playing sharp with less response than expected and pointing to a perceived loss of rigidity from the rubber-ring joint system compared to traditional cork. Taken as a whole, the instrument has built a reputation as the default recommendation for a beginning bass clarinetist in American school music programs, a status that rests mainly on intonation consistency rather than any single standout feature.

Playability & handling of the Yamaha YCL-221II

Customer reviews run mostly positive, praising clean tone across all registers, smooth key action and excellent response for the price - exactly the qualities the register-key redesign was meant to deliver. A more critical minority voice in the same review pool describes the instrument playing sharp and feeling less responsive than expected, and a few owners mention needing minor mechanical adjustments out of the box, which isn't unusual for a mass-produced student instrument. One reviewer specifically felt the rubber-ring joint system trades away some of the rigidity a traditional cork fitting provides, even if it does cut down on leaks. Taken together, it's widely regarded as the standard recommendation for beginning bass clarinetists in American school programs, largely because the register-to-register intonation holds up noticeably better than generic student-grade alternatives.

Recommended accessories & strings for the Yamaha YCL-221II

The included Yamaha 4C mouthpiece is a solid, well-matched starting point for a beginner rather than a placeholder to replace immediately, though players typically move to a more advanced mouthpiece as their embouchure and tone development progress. Beyond the usual swab and cork grease for the joint connections, an instrument stand is worth considering simply because of the bass clarinet's size and weight compared to a standard Bb clarinet - it's not an instrument that's comfortable to rest across a lap between passages.

Technical data for the Yamaha YCL-221II

Price history for the Yamaha YCL-221II

Cheapest seen: 2.731 EUR  ·  Most expensive seen: 2.731 EUR

The history of the Yamaha YCL-221II

The YCL-221II arrived as a direct redesign of the earlier YCL-220, with changes aimed squarely at fixing intonation weaknesses typical of student-grade bass clarinets. Yamaha reworked the neck angle to match its professional bass clarinet line, repositioned the register-key tonehole to smooth out pitch across the full range, and added rubber rings around the cork at each joint to reduce air leaks and key binding - borrowing solutions straight from its pro-level instruments rather than treating the student model as a separate, lesser design exercise.

About Yamaha as a manufacturer

Yamaha traces back to Torakusu Yamaha, a traveling medical-equipment repairman in 1880s Japan who was asked to fix a reed organ at a primary school in Hamamatsu and taught himself Western instrument construction from that single machine. He built his first reed organ in 1887, and in 1897 the business was formally established as Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd., producing around 250 organs a year before expanding into pianos, harmonicas and eventually the full range of instruments the company, later renamed Yamaha Corporation in his honor, is known for today.