Klarinet Archive - Posting 000936.txt from 1998/12

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Clarinet Problem
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 04:19:17 -0500

Glad to see that the person who posted this question decided not to buy a
Buffet clarinet with no serial number. I came in on this thread late, but if
you know where to find this horn, it might be useful to take a good look at
the places where the serial number ought to be and see whether there's any
evidence (a slight depression in the wood or a place that's a different degree
of shininess than the rest of the finish) that the number has been sanded off.
If so, please alert the cops. This dealer may sell other stolen merch as
well, or may be the victim of a fence s/he could identify. If you can put a
thief.out of business, you make the world a better place. Also, even without
the serial number in its usual place, it's possible that the rightful owner
could still identify the instrument from, for instance, a business card
slipped behind the case lining, or one of the metal bands or long rods that's
been removed, etched inside or underneath with the serial number and then
replaced.

There's another possibility, too: The clarinet could be a marriage, made up
from parts of more than one instrument (not necessarily all Buffets and not
necessarily all the same vintage) that got damaged. The person who cobbled
the horn together from the undamaged bits may have removed serial numbers to
disguise that the parts don't belong together. I wrote a long post about that
awhile back and won't repeat it, but to summarize, I never buy anything I
suspect might be a mixture of spare parts. It's likely to play out of tune
and have various mechanical problems.

I think you made the right decision.
Lelia

-------------------------------------------------------------------------