Klarinet Archive - Posting 000069.txt from 1998/02

From: "Benjamin A. Maas" <bmaas@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Noble Clarinets, Bob Gilbert, Mitchell Lurie & Connie Josias
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 14:29:15 -0500

><< i would be very surprised to find any of the serious clarinet players
>playing on Noblets....they're a rip off..>>
>

>I would suggest you call Bob Gilbert at Robert D. Gilbert Musical
Instruments
>in Los Angeles who sells and services the clarinets of many of the
>professional clarinetists in Los Angeles. Two years ago when the Pomona
>Unified School District sold six Noblet C clarinets through Whitaker Music
in
>Long Beach, California, Bob and his business partner, Mitchell Lurie,
bought
>the entire lot AFTER Professor Lurie had personally played every one of
them.
>They sold almost before Bob and Professor Lurie got them back to the store.
I
>purchased one from Ron Whitaker before they were sold to Gilbert, and I
>believe Jacqueline Eastwood also bought one.

>p.s. Ben (Maas), did you ever get a chance to try those Noble C horns when
you
>were working for Bob? Your Impressions?
>

Don:

Your story is mostly right (but not completely) I didn't work for Bob (but
my girlfriend of the time did....). I thought that Bob got them directly
from the district. Anyways... as I digress... Deborah bought the first, I
bought the second (put them on hold before he was even allowed to sell them)
They were one serial number apart and good enough to be played in any
professional setting. We tried them out within a couple of days after he
first got them.

David Howard (bass clarinet of the LA Phil) bought one, and the rest went
quickly. I don't remember who got the other three, but there were some
pretty big players in there. They were consistent, even intonation, big
sound (not to "C" like). My only problem with the horn is the overtones to
high G are great, but above that, it is quite difficult to play. This is
not too big of a problem, except for in Ginastera.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Clarinetist and Digital Recording Engineer
Student, University of Southern California
Executive Director, Digital Renaissance Consort
bmaas@-----.net
bmaas@-----.edu