Klarinet Archive - Posting 000430.txt from 1997/08

From: DGross1226@-----.com
Subj: Re: inexpensive contra bass clarinet
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 02:01:22 -0400

In a message dated 97-08-11 13:30:48 EDT, you write:

<< I'm looking to purchase an inexpensive contra-bass clarinet >>

Charlie,

An old friend of mine had a favorite quote: "Quality is like oats. If you
want first-class oats, you gotta pay for them. Once they've gone through the
horse, they're a lot cheaper!"

Having said that, I had the extreme good fortune of purchasing not one, but
two fully restored ("frame-up" for you car buffs) contrabass clarinets from
Charles Fail Music in Marietta, Georgia last December. The first horn was a
straight Leblanc Model 342 contrabass to low Eb. Shortly after I took
delivery, Russell Fail who is Charles' son called and said they'd found a
hairpin Leblanc Model 340 and because I really wanted that low C horn, I had
them restore it, too.

The straight horn was about $1,800 with all keys removed and polished, all
new white kid pads, all linkages adjusted, tested and shipped with shims
under all the keys from Atlanta to California with absolutely no damage. The
looped contra was $2,000! I sold the straight horn within a month. It also
helps to live in the greater Los Angeles area.

Charles Fail Music has its own Web site at: http://www.charlesfail.com/

I also got lots of leads from others on the Klarinet list but, unfortunately,
didn't save the original posts. Because of the nature of the beast, I'd be
real careful buying an contrabass horn on price alone. Repairs can eat you
alive and whatever you might save on the initial cost can be eaten up real
quickly if the horn "needs work."

If you need more information, please e-mail me directly. I've played a lot
of contra and have done just about everything possible (including watching it
fall off its peg and put a 10-degree bend in the middle while breaking off
two posts and bending several keys) to my horns at one time or another.

Don Gross
La Canada, California

p.s. Also, check out Grant Green's contrabass instrument Web site at:
http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/index.html