Klarinet Archive - Posting 000012.txt from 2002/11

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Strange clarinet
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 09:10:11 -0500

James Hobby wrote,
>What puzzled me is that there's absolutely no marking
>anywhere on the instrument. No indicia of manufacturer,
>no serial number. Nothing! It looks like some type of
>composition material. The side trill keys have the "boxy"
>look similiar to the old (1960ish) Leblanc student models.
>The sides of several of the keys look like they have smears
>of glue or something on them. I did what I could to make
>the instrument playable (or reasonably playable) and gave
>them the name of a good clarinet repairman -- who may
>never speak to me again. <g>

>Not counting for the abuse the instrument appears to have taken,
>has anyone ever seen one made like this, with no markings?
>(None on the case, either, BTW.) It has me stumped.

Yes, I see unmarked instruments often, at flea markets. Sometimes they're
marriages of parts from different instruments. Maybe it's got the barrel
from a clarinet that was marked only on the bell, and the bell from a
clarinet that was marked on the barrel, for instance. Maybe somebody
replaced the tenon rings in the course of some other butchery to make the
replacement parts fit with the rest.

Or . . . I wonder if your student has a Chinese clarinet. They have no
serial numbers or permanent markings, and they come out of China by way of
India, Pakistan and Russia (this from a flea market dealer I know well enough
for her to tell me the truth). The brand name and export stickers are paper,
easily (and usually!) removed. Sometimes stores stick house brand labels
onto the case and clarinet. Most of the Chinese clarinets I see are not
Boehm system (they're horrible, imitation simple system instruments, almost
toys, probably unplayable, with red pads and red thread on the tenons), but
the Chinese do export better (but still bad) Boehm system clarinets that look
much the way you describe.

I assume this clarinet has corks and real clarinet pads or you would have
said something about them, but your mention of glue on the sides of the keys
makes me wonder whether someone has replaced the original pads and corks that
were dead giveaways to the parentage of the earliest generation of Chinese
Boehm system clarinets. If the repairman replaces any corks or pads, ask if
he sees any residue of red color inside a pad cup or on a tenon. The first
generation of Chinese student Boehm system clarinets had red plastic pads and
red thread on the tenons, like the junky "antique" models of today. Red pads
have become such notorious indicators of the lowest of low quality that it
would make sense for the company or an exporter to get rid of old stock by
concealing the origin. Similarly, the next wave of Chinese clarinets had
corks, but *white* plastic pads that weren't real clarinet pads and didn't
seal adequately. The keywork on the Chinese clarinets I've seen is
exceptionally flimsy, BTW, although the metal on the Boehm system models
seems considerably better than on the simple system "antique" models.

Hope this helps,
Lelia

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