The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2006-06-04 19:24
Hi, I'm Mike, and I'm an oboist. I played clarinet from the age of 9 through 12; I quit almost exactly 32 years ago, and have only very rarely played since, though I've been playing oboe off and on. I recently visited my parents and found my old clarinet, which my parents purchased used in 1972 for $40.00. D. Noblet, Paris, serial number 9287. It's wood, and has a rather prominent crack in the upper joint from which air can be felt leaking when the joint is isolated and pressure applied! Such a crack would make an oboe absolutely unplayable, so I was quite surprised to still get out some reasonably pleasant sounds. There is also a crack in the bell.
Is it worth it to get this clarinet repaired? I don't expect a definitive answer from here, as I'm sure someone needs to look at the instrument to give such an answer, but I'd like a general idea of the thinking on restoring old clarinets.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: Fred
Date: 2006-06-04 21:48
There's a variety of ways to think about this. From an economical sense, I personally would not do it. There are too many Noblets around in nice condition that sell for too little money. They are nice intermediate level clarinets . . . but there isn't much market for nice intermediate level clarinets. So for less than the problematic repair would probably cost, you could buy one already overhauled.
On the other hand, if it is meaningful to you and the money won't be missed, by all means give it a try.
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