Klarinet Archive - Posting 000718.txt from 2000/05

From: CEField@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Pruefer vis Buffet
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 06:49:47 -0400

Since I live in Rhode Island, I am a little bit familiar with Pruefer
clarinets. They were manufactured here until 1964 or so. That date sticks in
my mind because my parents had my student Pruefer clarinet repaired at the
factory around the time that I was entering high school. I recall that the
company went out of business shortly after my instrument was repaired.

Pruefer clarinets were made of hard rubber or wood as well as plastic. My
student model was a nearly indestructible hard rubber clarinet. I have also
played on a friend's wood "Professional" (so marked on the instrument) model,
and I could get a really nice tone out of it. At least one model that I am
aware of (the "Silver Throat") was a hard rubber clarinet with a plastic
bell. I currently have an "Artist" wood model Pruefer clarinet that needs to
be brought back to the land of the living; this looks like a nice instrument,
too.

Legend has it that the G. Pruefer company started out making fishing lures. I
don't recall the reason but a switch was made to clarinets; I think it was
partly due to the nearby location of Davol Rubber Co. My understanding is
that Davol extruded the rubber over the metal tubes that Pruefer supplied.
Pruefer then finished the clarinets. By the way, you can tell a hard rubber
clarinet because of the metal "sleeve" inside the bore. I believe that the
name "Silver Throat" refers to this metal sleeve inside the upper joint of
that particular model clarinet.

The last remaining Pruefer technician/repairman lives in Cranston, RI. He is
in his 90s and, last I heard, he is still repairing clarinets. He is arguably
the BEST clarinet repairer in RI.

Cindy

Cynthia E. Field, Ph.D.
Wakefield, RI

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