Klarinet Archive - Posting 000487.txt from 2004/10

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] It seems I can't get away from clarinets
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2004 20:22:56 -0400

With the sale of my last two clarinets, my home was free of all
clarinets for the first time in over 60 years. (Basset horns
don't count.) And then my wife called from a seminar that she
was giving on genealogy and asked me to pickup and take to her
home one of the translators who needed a ride.

So I picked her up and we were making small talk on the way to
her place when she told me that her husband had passed away a
year ago and he was a musician. I asked what he played. And you
already know the answer.

Bottom line is that he had two clarinets that she asked me to
look at and I the first thing I told her was that I would need to
take them to a reliable repair person to determine how much work
they needed. Apparently he had stopped playing about 2 years
before he died and the clarinets sat there. Actually in the case
of one of the instruments, it's worse than that because it was an
old horn that he gave up to buy a new buffet around 1980, so it
hasn't been played in a long time.

So what I have is one B-flat clarinet made by a company whose
name I cannot recognize and my reaction is that it might be work
nothing on a good day. But I'm not really qualified to make
those judgements so I'll have it looked at.

Allright then, question 1: what is a GOUESNOT clarinet made in
France, goodness knows when. The difficult to read serial number
may read 35ADB but I can't be sure. My opinion is that the
instrument is worthless. It has a Buffet mouthpiece of uncertain
vintage.

However, there is a second instrument that he got to replace the
GOUESNOT, a lovely Buffet, serial number 274158, and this thing
may have some value for the widow. It has a Vandoren mouthpiece
that may be satisfactory. I'll have to sterilize it and try to
make noise.

So now I come to question 2: what does a used Buffet of this
vintage sell for, presuming that it is in good playing condition
(and I would not even consider selling it for the widow if it
does not work perfectly)?

Meanwhile I'll have it examined and then play it (maybe both of
them though I think the GOUESNOT is in terrible and probably
unplayable condition).

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

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