Klarinet Archive - Posting 000389.txt from 2009/02

From: K S <krsmav@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Clarinet Setup - Long
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:29:47 -0500

Kalmen Opperman told me that on the famous "pre-war" Buffets (and
perhaps up to the time the R-13 was introduced), all keys were made by
hand. They were cut from blanks of German silver (an alloy of copper,
nickel and zinc, containing no silver) and then shaped with a file.
No bending or forging was involved. All the keys for each clarinet
were made by an individual workman, who had his own style. The keys
were individually fitted to the instrument and were not
interchangeable. Each workman stamped his mark, usually a single
initial, on the underside of one key. The location varied and was
sometimes inside a pad cup.

I have noticed slight differences of personal styles primarily in the
shape of the left little finger keys for low E and F#. The upper ends
of those keys are rounded off and droop down toward the body,
sometimes more and sometimes less.

Ken Shaw

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