Klarinet Archive - Posting 000042.txt from 2007/11

From: "Geoff & Sherryl-Lee Secomb" <gsecomb@-----.au>
Subj: Re: [kl] pro horn suggestions
Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:20:43 -0500

The L300 is a nice horn. I owned the first L300 Bb sold in Australia, and a
year later matched it with a beautiful A. It was one of the worst decisions
I ever made to sell those things, but I needed the cash!

I'd buy the Leblanc myself if I hadn't recently purchased a rather nice
Yamaha from Jim L.

Consider the Leblanc.

Geoff.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Jacobowitz" <fbjacobo@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:17 AM
Subject: Re: [kl] pro horn suggestions

> Alicia,
> I do some repair work myself (so I know what can be done with old horns)
> and I have a few older pro horns to sell if you're interested. I have an
> older full-boehm Buffet (not an R-13) for which I am asking $800 and a
> very nice Leblanc L300 for $900
>
> Fred
>
> Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
> Ebony and Ivory Duo
> On Nov 4, 2007, at 4:01 PM, Alicia Byer wrote:
>
>> Hi Fred,
>>
>> I've thought about this but the instrument really isn't much to speak
>> of.. the keys and posts aren't very good quality, and the plating seems
>> to flake off in parts, although I really like the bore, and that's why
>> I've been hanging onto it for so long. You've convinced me to at least
>> get it appraised by a technician though, and see what they think, since
>> I'd rather not spend tons of money if they think an overhaul would do
>> wonders or something. I would prefer to get a used instrument anyway, if
>> I'm going to buy one, it just seems more difficult to find a range of
>> used models in good condition, but I'll keep looking.
>>
>> I'd like to try out some Selmers, so I'll keep looking and try to keep my
>> "New Clarinet!" impulse in check. ;)
>>
>> thanks everybody,
>> Alicia
>>
>> Fred Jacobowitz wrote:
>>> Alicia,
>>> I can't believe that a decently made instrument which is 'falling
>>> apart' cannot be completely restored by a good technician. If you don't
>>> NEED a better instrument, there is not reason not to send it to someone
>>> on the level of, for example, Backun in NYC and a few hundred dollars
>>> later, to have a completely restored instrument which looks and plays
>>> beautifully. And look at the thousand-dollar-plus savings!
>>> These older instruments were made to last a lifetime. In fact, many
>>> use materials every bit as good as those of professional instruments
>>> today! The keys didn't have the problem my Greenline Buffet has of
>>> too-thin plating wearing off on the rings! Another thing: back then,
>>> there wasn't alot of difference between the pro horns and the student
>>> horns. For example, the old Evette & Schaeffer (sp?) was actually a pro
>>> horn which, for some piddling reason (often a cosmetic flaw in the wood)
>>> wasn't sold as a top-of-the-line horn. Many manufacturers only made one
>>> level of instrument. If they needed a few student horns, they simply
>>> stamped them differently.
>>> I just hate to give up on older-but-excellent-quality items for the
>>> lure of **NEW** in our materialistic society.
>>>
>>> Fred Jacobowitz
>>>
>>> Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
>>> Ebony and Ivory Duo
>>> On Nov 1, 2007, at 5:11 AM, Alicia Byer wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi everybody,
>>>>
>>>> I'm sure you get these kinds of questions all the time, so if this post
>>>> is incredibly out of line, or incredibly boring, feel free to ignore
>>>> it...
>>>>
>>>> I'm in the market for a new professional clarinet, and I'm wondering
>>>> what to get! I just graduated with my BA in composition, and played
>>>> clarinet throughout college, but never upgraded from my intermediate
>>>> instrument that I used in high school, since I wasn't a performance
>>>> major. Now, I've come into a little bit of cash and I want to finally
>>>> move up to a real instrument. I've tried the Buffet R13 and one or two
>>>> other Buffets (I can't remember which) and a couple of the Leblancs
>>>> (Concerto and Opus I think?) at a music store that I worked at, and I
>>>> really favored the Leblancs at the time because they seemed easier to
>>>> play and less stuffy. I mostly play experimental/new music and improv,
>>>> so I need something extremely responsive and even, but still flexible,
>>>> and I prefer a dark, covered, centered tone. I'm not a fan of lots of
>>>> "ring". I looked at the Concerto and the Backun Leblancs, the Cadenza
>>>> seems like a good deal. The Buffet RC Prestige seems ideal but probably
>>>> a little out of my price range. Does anybody have any other
>>>> suggestions? The instrument I'm playing on now is quite pitiful and
>>>> falling apart, it's a French intermediate instrument from the 1940s, so
>>>> I probably couldn't jump to an instrument that required a lot of
>>>> wrestling to get a good tone. I use Richard Hawkins mouthpieces and
>>>> 4/4.5 Vandoren v12s with my more closed mouthpiece, and a 3 1/2 with my
>>>> more open one. I also use a terrible $2 ligature that I dug out of a
>>>> bin. So! Thanks for reading all this, and let me know if you have any
>>>> suggestions.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>> Alicia
>>>>
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