Designed to provide top professional performance features by Tom Ridenour, the C clarinet will exceed all that you hoped a C clarinet could ever be--and do so without your piggy bank fearing for its life.
 
The experience of playing the Lyrique C clarinet dispels all the past myths about clarinets pitched in C. The tone is never thin or strident and the scale never "wacky". Rather, the Lyrique C is characterized by a warm, sweet tone that is closer to the human voice than perhaps any other wind instrument. Even the high notes retain a beautifully round, sweet quality at all dynamic levels.
 
The Lyrique also has perhaps the most even, efficient blowing resistance of any clarinet, giving the player the feeling that the clarinet has all but vanished and one is simply singing the music without any instrumental medium.
 
The scale of the Lyrique C is not only acceptable, but actually superior to the vast majority of professional Bb clarinets and careful, detailed custom tuning by Lyrique designer, Tom Ridenour,raises the bar yet higher. It is not hyperbole to say the Lyrique C tunes astoundingly well. The only down side is that it's effortless, agile performance will spoil you to the point you won't want to return to playing the Bb or the A.
 
Like the Bb and A, the Lyrique C clarinet uses a standard Bb clarinet mouthpiece, making switching from one to the other in performance easy and seamless.
 
The Lyrique 570 C clarinet is the instrument of a thousand uses; play music directly off keyboard, play oboe or flute parts, add the music of the baroque and classical period to your next recital, never have to transpose those opera and oratorio parts again, or play those Reicha Quintets "loco". The possible practical useage of the Lyrique C is virtually endless! Once you discover how much fun and musically satisfying the Lyrique is to play you'll actually look for occasions you can display its agile response, seamless legato, voice-like sweetness and effortless, elegant phrasing.
 
The Lyrique C clarinet has proven itself in some of the most demanding musical settings, including the Jacksonville Symphony, the Santa Fe Opera, the Toronto Chamber Orchestra, the Wales National Opera and numerous other professional organizations.
 
Here's what Wales National Opera principal clarinetist, Les Craven, had to say about it in his review in CASS magazine:
"Tom Ridenour is one of the world’s leading instrument designers, having worked in design for one of the most famous clarinet manufacturers. He is also a very fine clarinetist and author of the best pedagogical book I have read. With credentials as good as this it is not surprising he has designed a truly superb, relatively inexpensive hard rubber C clarinet. [The sound] surpasses the sound of my wooden C clarinet. It is considerably more stable and better in tune. It is so good I will use it professionally and be proud of the sound it produces."
Les Craven
Principle Clarinet
Wales National Opera

The Lyrique C, model RCP-570c is designed to use the standard Bb mouthpiece and comes standard in silver plating, in line separate-post-mounted trill keys, double reinforced crow's foot, two barrels and adjustable thumb rest. The Ridenour Lyrique C clarinet, including hard shell case and swab, is $1,195.00