Klarinet Archive - Posting 000692.txt from 1996/04

From: Steve Prescott <mipresc@-----.EDU>
Subj: LP
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:57:58 -0400

Mark wrote (in part):
>
>I do need some help/advice with an old Buffet clarinet that I've had for
>years. Just recently I repadded it and have found that it has promise
>though the upper joint had previously been pinned a couple of times.
>
>The serial number appears to be 27571, but the numbers are worn (the 4th
>digit in particular). The letters "LP" are engraved/stamped under "made in
>France" opposite the serial no. next to the bell tenon. The register key
>curves around and opens on the front of the upper joint. It is a Boehm
>system clarinet.
>
>I would appreciate any advice about this model.
>
>Thank you very much.
>
>Mark Westlund

Your clarinet was made in the 1940's. The LP stands for low pitch. When
pitch was standarized (again) in 1939, often refered to as the New
International Pitch, instrument makers started stamping LP or HP (high
pitch) on the instrument so players would know if the instrument they were
to play was at the new standard pitch or the Philharmonic Society's pitch
of 1885. The New International Pitch (new standard pitch) closely adheres
to the decisions made in Vienna in 1885 (apart from the substitution of A
440 in place of A 435). This is sort of it in a nutshell. For more
information, consult Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Clark could probably tell you more about your Buffet.

Steve.

Steve Prescott
Instrument Rep.Tech./ Clarinetist
Indiana State University
mipresc@-----.edu