Klarinet Archive - Posting 000338.txt from 2000/09

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Buffet vs. Selmer Bass Clarinets and Hans Moenig
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 11:20:33 -0400

Good story. I hope it represents the real Moenig. But one technical
error. I did not take a bass to him but a soprano clarinet. I checked
my original posting to make sure that I had not given incorrect info and
I did not. The term I used was "full Boehm Selmer," Moenig refused to
work on it, and I still have the instrument.

Clarial@-----.com wrote:
>
> Daniel Leeson makes some interesting remarks about Hans Moenig's refusal to
> work on his Selmer bass in 1956. In 1983, I took may Selmer bass to Moenig
> and he fundamentally transformed the instrument into a great horn. Moenig
> was a pretty crusty figure (at 12 noon, he told me to go away for an hour so
> he could eat his lunch in peace), but it was amazing watching this "old
> world" craftsman at work. Subsequently, Moenig worked his magic on my Buffet
> clarinets. He charged somewhere between $8 and $15 per hour. I don't doubt
> Daniel Leeson's experience. Perhaps in in 27 years, Moenig mellowed. If so,
> maybe there's some hope for (some of) the rest of us.
>
> Albert Hunt
>
> << Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 19:33:41 -0700
> To: "klarinet@-----.org>
> From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
> Subject: buffet and selmer bass clarinets
> Message-ID: <39BAF305.8068C7B1@-----.net>
>
> The reaction of Brannen woodwinds with respect to refusing to do repairs
> on Selmer bass clarinets is shocking indeed. But this attitude reflects
> exactly the same position of the famous Philadephia repairperson, Hans
> Moenig, who also refused to to any work on any Selmer instrument. I was
> in the Army in Fort Dix, NJ in 1956, playing on a full Boehm Selmer, and
> had some problems with it. I took it to him and he refused to look at
> it. He was not only discouraging, he was insulting. I was humiliated
> and young enough to think that he might have had valid reason for his
> attitude. I had not, at that stage, developed teeth. Today, I would
> have sunk those teeth into his throat for that insult.
>
> I never went back to him after that. He may have done brilliant work
> but I would have no knowledge of this. All I remember was his smug
> attitude about repairing my instrument. I had little money at the time
> and had taken a 1 hour bus ride to see him. I could ill afford even the
> bus fare but went anyway. In return for this, he treated my instrument
> as if it were made of shit. And I remembered always how he treated it
> and me.
>
> I don't know where people come up with this kind of attitude; that is,
> were they born ignorant or do they feel that such an attitude will give
> them a good reputation.
>
> --
> ***************************
> ** Dan Leeson **
> ** leeson0@-----.net **
> ***************************
> >>
>
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--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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