Klarinet Archive - Posting 000099.txt from 2005/04

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Vito 7214; info on Selmer student mpc?
Date: Wed, 06 Apr 2005 20:24:07 -0400

Last weekend, I bought a Vito model 7214 clarinet (a current USA model,
made of wood-grained Resonite plastic, sold for beginners) that came with a
Selmer mouthpiece I can't figure out. I can hear why people are so
enthusiastic about the Vito for beginners, btw. It's a free-blowing
clarinet, with comfortable keys and generally good intonation, and seems
very well-made, though the chalumeau Bb is so sharp that I have to put down
my 4th finger to lower the pitch. Oddly, the corresponding clarion F plays
in tune. I'm used to beginner clarinets having wide 12ths. Never ran into
this particular problem before, where the chalumeau note is much sharper
than the same fingering in clarion. Does anyone know how long the model
7214 has been on the market?

Can anyone tell me anything about this model of mouthpiece? It's hard
rubber and I believe it's modern, though possibly a bit older than the
clarinet. An unusually large Selmer logo is at the bottom, just above the
tenon, on the opposite side from the table. There's no country of origin
marked, so I take it this is a Selmer USA mouthpiece. There's no model
name or indication of the facing. The only other marking besides the logo
is engraved and looks like a sideways L in sans serif font (or the top and
left side of the outline of a square), placed near the lower right-hand
side of the table, if I look at the mouthpiece with the reed-side toward
me. I've never seen that half-square marking and I'm curious what it
means. I can't find anything like it in the Selmer catalogue that was
being given out at ClarinetFest 2004.

The mouthpiece cap is lost and the only ligature in the case is a no-name,
standard, 2-screw type. It's possible that the mouthpiece originally may
have belonged with a different clarinet the same dealer had for sale, a
Selmer Bundy in wrecked condition. (Among other things, the tenon and top
of the upper section were broken right off, jaggedly, down as far as the
top trill key tone hole.) That clarinet had no mouthpiece in the case,
which looked to me like 1970s-1980s vintage. The dealer said both
instruments came from the same family. Both instruments and both cases
were in very clean condition, with no significant wear or neglect except
for whatever catastrophe broke the Bundy. Maybe the parents bought the kid
the Vito to replace the wrecked Bundy and simply transferred the mouthpiece
from the one to the other. Of course, it's also possible that the dealer
was BS-ing and that the two clarinets have nothing to do with each other,
or that the dealer or a customer switched the mouthpiece from one case to
the other. Is a US Selmer mouthpiece now available as a standard throw-in
with Vito clarinets since Selmer's parent company bought Leblanc?

The mouthpiece is adequate. The tip is more open than I prefer. Although
there are a couple of little pinholes in the rails and another in the table
that look to me like minor manufacturing defects, these aren't bad enough
to cause chirps. This mouthpiece is too shrill for my taste but plays
reasonably in tune on the Vito, although I prefer the tone I get from the
Vito with a Hite Premier I already owned. Any info much appreciated.

TIA!
Lelia Loban

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