Klarinet Archive - Posting 000686.txt from 2002/11

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Ebay (was:Odd brands.)
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 23:58:34 -0500

Re eBay:

If I read ONE more description of an ANTIQUE ROSEWOOD clarinet played by my grandfather in the "XYZ" Symphony Orchestra, I will probably scream. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

On the other hand, I have found eBay to be very valuable. I have bought several "junk" instruments which I have stripped down and used for parts. One of these salvaged parts saved a repair job I was doing - I needed a post for a bass clarinet which would receive a two hinge rods, at a 90 degree angle from each other. If I hadn't had that salvage part I could have looked for weeks to find something that worked.

I have also bought two very nice clarinets on eBay. One is a Bundy Alto clarinet which I got for $67. Where else can you pick up an alto clarinet for that price? The case is a little beat up, it needed two pads, and the register key mechanism was out of whack. Took me 20 minutes to put it in playing condition. It's not the worlds greatest, but now I have an instrument on which to test alto clarinet mouthpieces.

The other purchase was my C clarinet, which I wrote about several months ago. A DREAM purchase! It's about 30 years old, but literally a spanking brand new clarinet, unused, unsullied. I paid about one third the price I would have paid for a Buffet E-11 or a Noblet. (I did have to replace several pads that had just dried out and disintegrated, probably a few more will go as I play it in).

I have also seen some train wrecks. There was a bass clarinet that I actually bid on, and which subsequently showed up in my workshop, that was almost a write-off. The posts, rods, and pivot screws had extensive rust, some of which was so bad I had to saw through the post to get the key off. None of the damage showed in any of the several pictures that accompanied the auction. (There was a happy ending, BTW)

So, you must be very careful of what you buy, but there are also fantastic opportunities as well.

Advice - if you buy any clarint on eBay - and no matter what the description says - expect to take it to the repair shop. Mentally figure in about half the cost of an overhaul, then decide if you want to bid. Also, ask the person shipping it to wrap and box it carefully. Jiggling about in a loose carton or case can cause keys to bend enough that the pads, if they did seat in the first place, to no longer cover.

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetXpress.com
Clarinet repairs and restorations

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