 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: ctjazz88
Date: 2012-09-10 13:53
Hi folks,
I have rescued an unmarked wooden clarinet from the pile of "to throw out" clarinets from work (I'm a woodwind peri teacher) and was wondering if anyone could help me identify its maker?
It is a wooden Bb clarinet serial number N142936 stamped 'made in England' on the lower joint. No ring on the bell at the bottom (carved like an imperial bell i.e with grooves but the tenon ring is not in the same style as an imperial) Not many unusual features other than a flatter/fatter C#/G# key shaped like a leaf rather than the more modern slimmer style. Each spatula key on the lower joint is also stamped with a progressive number i.e one has 36 the next has 37 and SB in capitals.
Any ideas would be really helpful! I think it may just be an early unstamped Imperial clarinet but it's odd that the tenon rings are in a different style.
Thanks :-)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-09-10 14:01
Definitely a B&H - for some reason a lot of them went unstamped in the '50s which is when this one is from (between 1955 and 1960). If the keys are nickel plated, it's an Edgware - if they're silver plated, it's an Emperor.
I used to borrow one exactly like this that belonged to a schoolfriend's dad and everything in the case apart from the clarinet itself was marked B&H - the card reed holders, the ligature and cap, the grease pot and also the B&H care manual.
It was kept in excellent condition and the wood was very dense and highly polished. The case was the typical hard case covered in black rexine with rounded ends and a dark burgundy interior.
As for the numbers in the keys, they're just that - key numbers. The keys are nickel silver and not mazak, so you've got no worries about finding replacements if they break - they can be silver soldered back together on these clarinets.
The early Regents and B&H "77" clarinets had the dreaded mazak keys which are identified by a line of raised numbers on the undersides or are dark grey (like lead) where the plating has worn through or on the ends of key barrels. Mazak is a zinc alloy with a low melting point that was used for die-cast models (think Matchbox and Dinky cars) and used to keep the production cost down in clarinets as keywork making is one of the more costly aspects.
In the UK, B&H clarinets rarely ever had metal bell rings fitted, just the decorative turning in the bell rim which was commonplace - the bell ring was mostly found on export models such as the early Edgwares and also the Series 2-20 and Marlborough. Stencil instruments such as the Besson "55" (bakelite body) and "75" (wooden body) clarinets also sported the metal bell ring, but the Besson Westminster and Rudall-Carte Star-line didn't (which were Edgwares).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2012-09-10 14:19)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-09-12 12:50
Attachment: b&hbells 001.JPG (679k)
Attached is a photo of three B&H bells.
The one on the left is the standard Edgware bell without the bell ring (this is from a Besson Westminster which is an Edgware), the centre is the Besson "77"/B&H Series 2-20/Marlborough/export Edware style and the right is the Regent/Series 1-10 plastic bell. Some wooden Edgware bells also had the same profile as the plastic bell with the thin rim with beading around it and the Emperor and Imperial 926 had the same profile as the left bell but with different socket rings.
The 1010 bell had a similar profile to the bell on the left, but it was radiused on the inside flare instead of having a squared inside edge and the Bb and A bells were different lengths - the 1010 A bell was the same length as standard B&H bells but the Bb bell was considerably shorter.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-09-16 20:03
Attachment: bessonwestminster 001.JPG (707k)
The clarinet in the attached photo is a transitional model, having the 1960s style keywork (with the long "Reginald Kell" side Eb/Bb touchpiece) but the joints are the 1950s era B&H clarinets and lacks several anchored pillars which greatly improved reliability on later instruments.
It's a B&H Edgware but stencilled as Besson Westminster.
Incidentally and rather naively, when I first saw the term 'bridge key' (in an old B&H care leaflet when I was eleven) I thought it meant the side/trill keys as they look like a suspension bridge. Well they do!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2012-09-16 23:25)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
