 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-07-23 14:12
I've recently acquired a wooden Bettoney A lower joint from the same seller I bought my recent Selmer set from (as well as a spare Series 9 bell for the A), and the workmanship on this is fantastic - the keywork being Buffet-like in design, but with the extreme ends of the RH F#/C# and E/B touches bent downwards like the LH lever touches. The Buffet-like logo has some script writing in the oval (in between H.Bettoney and Boston) which I can't quite decipher - is it C G Co or C B Co?
The middle socket is fully lined and has a double socket arrangement which telescopes into the top joint middle tenon (like a wooden flute or piccolo headjoint). Would the mid tenon on the top joint have been metal lined on the inside to make a perfect seal?
I'm assuming this joint is from the first half of the 20th Century going by the thumbrest which is mounted vertically (with a screw above and below), the single pillar mounted LH E/B and F#/C# levers and also the flat spring under the RH F#/C# touch. The serial number is G845
I also have a spare Q-series Selmer CT A top joint (minus the LH2 ring key which I could make from scratch unless I find something that fits), and wonder if it's worth making a hybrid A clarinet from these parts. That would mean either cutting out the telescoping part of the socket on the Bettoney, or enlarging the bore at the mid tenon on the CT joint. The bores appear to be the same size as they don't meet with a step from what I can see.
I can't see any harm in fabricating a single A clarinet from redundant parts, provided the end result works well and plays in tune.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-07-23 15:32
Hi Chris - I'll bet[toney] there aren't many of Harry's older wood cls out here! I happen to have one which I'll dig out for a question/answer conference. Its labelled USN[avy, I believe], a 17/6 Bb, nothing special. Will post its ser # for comparison-dating. Also have a Bet mp, which some seem to feel is an old Ched or other. "nuff for now, I like your idea of recovering-rebuilding a playable A, will be interested if you can tune it acceptably. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Bill
Date: 2008-07-24 11:04
It's CBCo.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-07-24 12:00
I get it - Cundy-Bettoney.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-07-24 13:31
Of Course, thot you would know. With Cundy included may help date it. {Who was he?} They made many metal cls, the best AFAIK being the Silva Bet. Jim Lande has documented much of that business, and lists with dates etc are in our archives. Perhaps his/their woods may be mentioned. H B wrote/published a number of articles in the early Woodwind Magazine, I have copies of some, including his comments on the translation of Altenberg's [sp?] book of about 1895-1920. At the moment, I can't find my ser#, but believe mine dates from about 1930, and has, for the thumbrest, 2 horizontal holes for a ?more modern? TR. The keywork is much "Buffet" as were P-M, Pruefer and Pedler cls I've seen. Have fun, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Bill
Date: 2008-07-24 14:38
I had a wooden Bettoney clarinet. This was quite a number of years ago and I don't remember a lot (though I think I took a set of photos).
The bell had the CBCo on it. The maker's stamp on the top joint had almost all but faded away, but you could just see an oval, and dotted line around it. The barrel with it was a very old Buffet (more metal on the top ring).
The clarinet had the smallest bore (at the bottom of the top joint, measured by "pinky" technology) of any clarinet I have ever had. Wrap-around register key.
Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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