Klarinet Archive - Posting 000060.txt from 1997/12

From: Jennifer Rose McKenna <jrm0013@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Leblanc Concerto 1189 A Clarinet
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 11:06:00 -0500

Well, i don't have a clarinet to sell to you Gene. but i do want to
applaud you. It just goes to show that music stays with you your entire
life. You are setting an example, and we all appreciaste that, thankyou!

jennifer mckenna
jrm0013@-----.edu
university of north texas
clarinet concentration/music ed major

On Mon, 1 Dec 1997, Gene Nibbelin wrote:

> Greetings from a current clarinetist retread and former retired banker -
>
> Although I've been on the list for several months, this is my first
> posting. After a 46 year layoff from the clarinet, I resumed playing and
> practicing (2 to 4 hours a day, with very few missed days) about 2 years
> ago. I feel that I have progressed, in many ways, past the level at which
> I was playing in the early '50s, when I decided not to further pursue a
> professional classical clarinetist career.
>
> If any of you other struggling retreads out there are interested in the
> course of study that I have followed to regain my "chops", I would be glad
> to pass along the info at a later date. It's not complicated.
>
> The reason for this posting is that I am attempting to try out and possibly
> purchase a new or nearly new Leblanc Concerto 1189 A horn. My original
> idea was to try out both Buffet and Leblanc Bb and A sticks and pick the
> pair that best fulfilled my wishes for instruments that plays easily and
> that you don't have to "fight" from register to register. My present A is
> a circa 1930 French Selmer that is apparently tuned at 444, and even with
> an extended barrel and pullling out other joints, is very difficult to play
> any where near in tune even in our small community orchestra, which, of
> course has it's own intonation problems. And my Selmer is not helping any.
>
> I've been told by a large music retailer that there is a 10 to 12 month
> wait on back order for the Concerto A from the French Leblanc factory. (I
> recall reading a recent posting concerning a similar wait for an Eb soprano
> clarinet from Leblanc or it might have been Buffet.) Has anyone else
> encountered this back-order
> problem?
>
> Does anyone out there have a 2 to 3 year old Leblanc Concerto A that they
> wish to sell (after I've tried it out, of course). Or a pair of similar
> aged Leblancs that I could compare with a pair of Buffets.
> If there are any retailers with this horn on the line, please don't be
> bashful - let me hear from you.
>
> As an alternative to the Leblancs, I am going to try a pair of Howarths of
> London and compare them with the Buffets. I will be very happy to hear any
> comments concerning the Howarths vs Buffets vs Leblancs.
>
> I was very impressed by the comments in earlier discussions concerning
> Leblancs vs Buffets, but the Howarths were not included. Any help on this
> out there?
>
> Contact me through klarinet listserv or my email:
> gnibbelin@-----.com
>
> Address:
> Gene Nibbelin
> 2001 N E 2nd Terrace
> Cape Coral, FL 33909
> 941/772-7836
>