Klarinet Archive - Posting 000523.txt from 2004/01

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Old Buffet clarinet info
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:49:36 -0500

Dee D. Flint wrote,
>The wrap around is also mechanically weaker in my
>opinion. If there are any broken keys on an older
>instrument, this seems to be the broken one.

Yes. At flea markets, I've seen a number of old clarinets with broken
wrap-arounds. Beware, because some dealers disguise that damage by
removing the (presumably broken) wrap-around key altogether. I guess they
hope that people who don't know much about old clarinets will assume that
little hole is supposed to be sitting there naked.

Another red flag to look for in clarinets of that vintage is a badly
cracked barrel, or a replacement barrel (often it doesn't even fit) from a
different instrument. I don't know why that's a special problem in the
same clarinets that have the wraparound key, but the majority of flea
market clarinets of that vintage seem to have bad barrels. By "badly
cracked," I mean that the tenon bands have come off (sometimes they're
completely missing, though the router cut shows that there were bands
originally) and the barrel is cracked all the way through, all the way
down, and sprung wide open. I've seen gaps as wide as 1/16" inch. A
barrel that badly sprung probably can't be repaired, because the shape of
the bore is too distorted. Replacing the barrel isn't a trivial expense.
That's something to scrutinize in those eBay clarinets, because all the
dealer has to do to conceal a barrel crack for the photo is to turn the
barrel over. Make sure the tenon bands show in the photo, because any
concealed crack can't be disastrously wide if the bands still fit. With
any wooden clarinet, I'd also e-mail the dealer and specifically ask
whether there are any cracks.

Lelia Loban
E-mail: lelialoban@-----.net
Web site (original music scores as audio or print-out):
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban

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