Klarinet Archive - Posting 000125.txt from 2008/03

From: Thomas Carroll <Thomas.Carroll@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: eBay item
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:55:41 -0400

It might be a nice instrument to add to a collection, but playing on
originals is dicey at best because the pitch problems,warped bores,
badly faced/refaced mouthpieces make them more trouble than they're
worth. Looking at this particular horn, it looks to be in great
overall condition. The barrel looks too short for a Bb clarinet,
though, it's possible it was taken from a C clarinet or adapted to
make the instrument play at a higher pitch than originally intended.

I'm in the same boat as you, I do most of my playing on early horns
these days and while finding people to make replicas is easy, finding
instruments to play in the in-between period is hard. If you are
interested in buying some replicas, I have some that I'd be willing to
part with, but they'd be a bit more expensive than $600. If you want
to order replicas, I highly recommend Peter van der Poel (in the
Netherlands), Andreas Schoeni (in Switzerland), and Joel Robinson (in
NYC). There's also an early clarinet group on Yahoo that you could
browse for more info on getting instruments (and some arguments about
the merits of playing on originals).

One last caveat. If you plan on buying original horns and playing on
them, make sure you break them in slowly to make sure they don't crack
after the first session. One of my friends had an original 19th
century oboe crack through the crown after two rehearsals because she
didn't break it in slowly.

Good luck!

~Thomas

On Mar 15, 2008, at 5:44 PM, Nancy Buckman wrote:

> Collective wisdom:
>
> I have been watching a clarinet on eBay and am wondering if it is a
> good buy--
> <An Exceptional BOXWOOD & IVORY Clarinet by EULER Item number:
> 190205108366 >.
> Could someone take a look and email me back with an answer? The
> auction ends in
> four hours, but I would like to have an opinion anyway, even if the
> auction
> closes. This particular instrument looks wonderful and seem
> inexpensive to me, but
> I don't really have any basis for establishing a price. I am trying
> to decide what
> sort of early instrument to buy to take to an early music festival
> this summer. I
> have looked at chalumeaux and early clarinets, and don't really know
> where to start
> when it comes to choosing my first one. Thanks.
>
> Nancy
>
> Nancy Buckman
> Orchestra AACC
> Opera AACC
> Baltimore Flute Choir
> Early Music Society of Northern MD
> eefer@-----.com
>
>
>
>
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