Klarinet Archive - Posting 000944.txt from 2003/02

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Impingo Wood Supply for Clarinets
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:09:27 -0500

Patricia Smith wrote (on Saturday, Feb. 22),
>So, Lelia, when are you going to open your clarinet
>museum? Seriously, approximately how many do you
>have! :-O Sounds like an extensive collection! It's
>educational reading all the stuff you've taught
>yourself to do!

Unfortunately, I'm one of those Jill-of-all-trades types. I'd be
better-educated if I learned to do fewer things but do them *well*. Right
now, I own 18 clarinets (real collectors would laugh...), but not many are
collectible. The majority are merely peculiar, or illustrate clarinet
history despite their lack of resale value, or mean something to me for
some other reason. (For instance, I kept an atrocious wooden Conn Director
because it was the first clarinet I ever owned--my father bought it for me
new in 1957--and I kept a hard rubber "Carl Fischer" stencil clarinet from
the 1950s, even though it plays like a pig, because the construction
interests me.)

The five that I play and like are: a 1931 wooden Buffet clarinet in A; a
1937 wooden Buffet in Bb (they make a good pair and are my favorites for
classical music); a wooden Selmer Bb "Signet Special" (I like that one for
jazz); a plastic Bundy from the mid-1980s (I think everybody should own a
plastic instrument for outdoors, and this one plays much better than I
expected); and a wooden 1979 Selmer (Paris) Eb alto. The Buffet in A was
not one of my rescue jobs. Last year, when I got tired of waiting for a
decent clarinet in A to turn up at a flea market, I bought the Buffet in
clean, playable condition, from Jim Lande. It makes a good pair with my
Buffet Bb. Some cosmetic damage doesn't affect the sound. I also bought
the Selmer alto in excellent condition, from the original owner, though
I've since replaced the pads. My other three players did come from flea
markets and yard sales, but they were in decent though dirty condition and
didn't need extensive work. All I did was clean them up and replace the
pads, the corks and a few of the springs. I'm also playing a metal
"American Standard High Grade" Eb soprano clarinet, probably from the
1930s, that I overhauled. It's student-quality and I plan to replace it
with one of the old wooden eefers that I haven't got around to restoring
yet. Since I can't pay serious money for a new or restored vintage bass or
contrabass when I'm only an amateur, those are still on my wish list. In
the bottom-feeder markets where I usually shop, so far I've only seen bass
clarinets in ruined condition, and I've never seen a contrabass.

Sorry I didn't answer earlier, but last weekend was a zoo and I'm just now
getting around to reading that Saturday's e-mail. (Shadow Cat's still
contemplating whether or not it would be beneath her feline dignity to
converse politely with a bunny-rabbit, since technically she ought to
regard a bunny as prey, even though she has to admit that she and the bunny
share some opinions in common....) We've had about three feet of snow
already this winter, and last weekend, warm weather and a heavy downpour of
rain caused a sudden, major melt. We anticipated that the basement would
flood and had ways to deal with it. No harm done, but our usual weekend
activities got drowned. I shouldn't complain, since all we had to cope
with was water and we were prepared for it. Down closer to the Potomac
River, sewage came up in some people's basements. Mother Nature's been a
mean old bitch this winter. It's snowing like crazy right now and supposed
to warm up again on Sunday....
:-(

Lelia Loban
lelialoban@-----.net
New address!

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