Klarinet Archive - Posting 000174.txt from 2006/04

From: "George Huba" <ghuba@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] info on "McIntire" clarinet
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 21:29:59 -0400

Nancy, Bill:

I have had several McIntyre clarinets restored in the past year from
different "production runs" and have several sitting around in unrestored
condition. Overall, the build quality on the instruments appears to be what
might be characterized as an "intermediate student" horn. The mechanics are
interesting. McIntyre clarinets were manufactured in both grenadilla and
plastic. This design is probably the clarinet world equivalent to the old
saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.

About 6-9 of these instruments have surfaced for auction on the big site in
the past year. In unrestored condition they seem to sell for about $50--$300
US depending upon condition and materials. It costs more to restore them
well than to purchase them.

While these are "fun" to experiment with, none of the ones I have would be
characterized as something approaching a professional-level clarinet.
Nonetheless, these are the production clarinets that were made from a rather
"odd" patented design which apparently bankrupted the McIntyre brothers as
they tried to self-finance production.

I would be interested in knowing if anyone on this list actually ever played
one of these "seriously." The used ones I have seen appear to originate from
sources that would tend to indicate that these were primarily given to young
students, perhaps of those affiliated with the music store of the McIntyre
brothers in Connecticut.

As an amateur who experiments with odd clarinet designs, this one is one of
the weirdest ones, and frankly, I would guess that even attempting to play
around with one these would be pretty frustrating for an accomplished
performer. The Stubbins solution to throat Bb problems did not require any
relearning of fingerings, the Mazzeo solution required some retraining, and
the McIntyre solution requires massive retraining. It is easy to see why
this system is a historical oddity.

[Bill, please save it. It may be weird and not playable in any serious
settings, but it is an interesting back alley in the evolution of the
clarinet that perhaps illustrates what happens when you try too hard to
improve a design that is not that far from perfected.]

George

-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy [mailto:punkinn@-----.com]
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 4:33 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] info on "McIntire" clarinet

Dear Mr. Foss:

Google found this for me:
http://www.uark.edu/ua/nc/ClarinetCollections/McIntyre/McIntyreInfo.htm

Looks rather interesting!

Nancy Revelle
Arroyo Grande, CA

On 4/17/06, Bill Foss <billfoss47@-----.net> wrote:
> Can anybody give me any information on a "McIntire" fingering system Bb
> clarinet ?
>
> I just got one given to me. It appears to be a high quality piece of
> workmanship and the tone quality is excellent, but the fingering system
(no
> A or G# keys) feels rather strange.
>
> I am just wondering if it is worth saving.
>
> Bill Foss
> US Army Retired
> USC Aiken, Clarinet Professor
> Director of Bands, Aiken Prep
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org