Klarinet Archive - Posting 000534.txt from 2000/08

From: "Ed & Carol Maurey" <edsshop@-----.ca>
Subj: [kl] O'Brien Mayonaise Jars
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 07:55:33 -0400

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When I was a teenager in Indianapolis in the early 60's I spent a good =
deal of time in O'Brien's MP factory. In those days the business was a =
one man affair as I think it always had been. Lowell O'Brien did =
everything. His father, Harry, had started it in the 20's. Lowell was =
always very nice to me. =20

Harry built the World's first artificial embousure machine. He was a =
fine clarinetist and a real experimenter. I believe I have a picture of =
it.

Lowell told me that his Dad had started out making hard rubber MP's, but =
had become frustrated with the quality of the hard rubber available to =
them. Perhaps, it was the Japanese invasion of Malaya that had caused =
this problem. He decided to use crystal glass as the Italian makers had =
been doing for many years. As a machinist and tool maker I can =
appreciate his considerable tooling and setup problems. Making =
precision glass molds is no simple matter. Glass furnaces are are not =
pizza ovens.

All you guys buying Babbit and Zinner hard rubber blanks, doing facing, =
tone chamber work and then scratching your names on the back are simply =
not in Harry and Lowell's league. They made absolutely everything in =
that little shop!

Lowell told me that as far as he was concerned crystal glass was simply =
a more stable material than hard rubber and didn't effect the playing or =
sound one way or another. When I would periodically chip the tip of my =
O'Brien MP he would always give me $2 [1960 dollars] for it. He would =
then toss it back his oven. Lowell explained that it was very high =
grade crystal glass...totally different from windows or MAYONAISE JARS. =
Lowell was very, very proud of his product. In those days many =
prominent clarinetists all over the world played on his MP's. There =
were lots of black and white glossies on his shop wall. You could easily =
see that these players all had his MP's on their horns. Gino Cioffi and =
Pete Fountain are two names that stick in my mind. Of course, my =
teacher Rosemary Lang, was a long time user.

For many years he made Selmer's Crystal MP's. He simply inscribed =
"Selmer" on their backs.

When Lowell died in the 70's his son took over. I honestly think his =
kid just didn't have it. The MP's he made played like duds for me. I =
seriously doubt Mayonaise Jars were involved. I don't think he was a =
good facer...like me.

Ed Maurey

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