The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Elkwoman46
Date: 2011-10-24 23:53
I just was wondering if a clarinet that is obviously vintage and wooden that has no information whatsoever, was that common back then?
If that is true, are there places to find out more about the un labeled, no serial number, kind? And who made them or when, if it was common?
Are there details about the clarinet that distinguish any of these makers?
Are these types usually handmade by someone?
Were a lot of people making them in their own workshop in any specific eras decades ago?
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-10-25 03:01
Unmarked instruments are exceedingly common and usually exceedingly unremarkable too. Since there aren't any markings its generally impossible to determine who made them. Most seem to have been made in the first half of the 20th century when there were far more operating woodwind factories than there are today.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-10-27 16:14
With any unmarked clarinet, look very carefully to make sure the contours of the metal parts, esepcially the keys and the tenon rings, match each other. In other words, make sure all the parts belong to the same clarinet. That's because some unmarked old clarinets are "marriages" of parts from different instruments.
Some manufacturers put several logos on every clarinet, as Buffet does. But many manufacturers put a company logo only on the barrel, or only on the bell, or only on the upper stack. Student clarinets often get damaged. Sometimes a repair tech or a school band teacher will make one clarinet out of the usable parts from two or more damaged clarinets.
Sometimes those "marriages" play well, but usually they're out of tune with themselves (or the sections may not even fit together) because the exact placement of the joints relative to the keys varies. The diameter inside the bore affects intonation and tone quality, too. For instance, if the upper section comes from a clarinet with a much narrower or much wider bore than the rest of the clarinet, you're going to be playing in the key of Off.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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