Klarinet Archive - Posting 000188.txt from 2009/01

From: kurtheisig@-----.net
Subj: RE: [kl] Bass Clarinet-Bundy-what did RAlph Morgan say?
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:03:35 -0500

Bill,

Ralph told me it was an inexplicable reaction to "Don" ____'s surreptitious acquisition of the formula. He could understand the change of bore. He told me it was one of the most inexplicable things this brilliant management team did. He said it was quite out of character. He felt there were lots of illogical and foolish things done later once it was all corporate decisions, but this was still when it was closely held and decisions were made by musically oriented people for musical reasons. Ralph had HUGE respect for the management team of the '50's and perhaps early '60's. He would glowingly talk about brilliant moves and company direction and wisdom. That ONE early decision to go to an inferior formula, in 1957, absolutely baffled him.

Kurt

-----Original Message-----
>From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
>Sent: Jan 9, 2009 10:30 PM
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>Subject: RE: [kl] Bass Clarinet-Bundy-what did RAlph Morgan say?
>
>At 10:37 PM 1/9/2009, Kurt Heisig wrote:
>>Hey Bill thanks for the info.
>>
>>Do you know any more on the Barbier? We have had a couple through.
>>Were they the early Bundy wood?
>>
>>What happened in 1957 according to Ralph, is that a certain
>>character that was a competitor insinuated his employee into the
>>plastic company that made the Bundy clarinet. Once he found out the
>>formula for the plastic, he quit and went back to his clarinet
>>making company, that company started using the"Selmer" plastic.
>>Ralph told me he was astounded at the reaction Selmer had. (Was it
>>Groliman?) The Selmer execs went to the new bore-BUT they also
>>changed to an inferior plastic so as not to be making from the same
>>plastic as _____.
>
>Selmer (USA) sold several brands of mostly imported clarinets before
>the Bundy we all know (and love(?)), including an imported G. M.
>Bundy model. The Barbier I was working on was almost a dead ringer
>for an early Bundy. The heritage was clear. It had a wood body but
>composition bell and barrel. My own wood Bundy is wood throughout -
>the fancy model!
>
>There certainly was a change in the plastic formulation, from a
>fairly brittle, heavy, and dense material to more of a common
>thermoplastic somewhere along the line. It does seem like a strange
>reaction, but economics may have played a role, too.
>
>
>
>Bill Hausmann
>
>If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!
>
>
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>

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