Klarinet Archive - Posting 000595.txt from 1999/06

From: Mark Bradley <markb@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Kohlert clarinets
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 15:49:10 -0400

We were doing end of the year cleaning at my school, and my band
director mentioned that he had an alto clarinet and a bass clarinet that
his father bought at a tag sale.
The alto was in playable condition, besides being quite old it also
hasn't been used in a few years. I played it a little while, it will
take a little getting used to because they were open holes, not
plateau. Comparing it to a LeBlanc alto i thought it was nicer, in
fact. Today I took it entirely apart, we'll be cleaning out the tone
holes, keys, and will replace a few pads and corks (I kept sticking
myself on the needle springs, but the resulting jaw harp sound is worth
it, haha). The only real flaw in the instrument is that there was a
crack in the upper joint around what looks similar to an S.K. mechanism
although it seemed a litle different from what you usually see on altos
and basses. It was filled in though, it is not pretty but it does the
job. Oh and it only goes to low E.

The bass clarinet is not nearly as good. All of the keys *appear* to be
there, on or off the instrument, but there are several screws missing.
It only goes to low E also. While looking at it, pads and corks (and a
few keys) were falling into my lap so it would need a lot of work. It
seems to be rather old. The wood is very light in color (although dried
out) and looks like rosewood, a lot like barrels of cocobolo that I have
seen (and will hopefully buy soon!) Also, this I found rather curious,
connecting to the resonance hole which is operated by I think the third
RH finger key (?)--i think this is on every bass clarinet, there is a
lever which extends up the instrument and mirrors the usual bridge a few
centimeters over. This rod continues up the side of the upper joint and
connects somewhere in the register vent mechanism. What is the purpose
of this? The instrument is unplayable so i can't really try it myself.

Both clarinets are made by Kohlert. The alto clarinet says:
Kohlert & Co. Winnenden
Made in Germany

The bass says:
V. Kohlerts
Sons
Graslitz
Chechoslovakia
Bb, LP, and a neat little star

The serial number for the alto is 21333, the bass is 261765, if they
have been stolen we would not mind returning it, his father paid $50
total for both.

Now, other than the questions contained above, I am wondering a few
things. Can someone tell me about Kohlert? Generally did they make
good instruments (the alto certainly seems nice)? Also, what is the
value of the alto (once we put it back together) and maybe the bass,
although this seems almost a lost cause.

My teacher said he'd trade the alto for an old plastic soprano Signet I
have and would give the bass for $25, I want to make sure I wouldn't be
ripping him off or him me.

In any case today was my first time playing an alto clarinet, it was
very interesting and the open holes were a challenge. Not to mention it
was really fun taking the keys apart, the alto had some interesting
mechanisms I haven't seen before.

Also, we may be putting a *little* bore oil for the alto, all the pads
and keys are off and it seems like a better time than later. I have
forgotten the procedure since I never do this on any of my other
clarinets. We'd also like to oil the keys and screws, he has a little
vial of key oil with a dropper cap, is this okay? We read in a repair
book something about a hypodermic needle, but the pictures showed it
being applied with the keys on the instrument.

Thanks for any help or information.
Mark

--
Mark A. Bradley
Chazy, New York

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