Is the clarinet silver or nickel? The silver plating and nickel plating of clarinet mainly refer to the difference of metal plating on the bond, which is not much related to the timbre. Nickel plating is durable and has no other advantages. But it is recommended to buy nickel plating, because silver plating is not easy to take care of, easy oxidation will become black, nickel plating is relatively easy to take care of, this or according to personal preferences to decide which clarinet texture replacement, clarinet or choose the best quality.