The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: arjazz
Date: 2013-06-07 07:20
Hi,
I recently purchased a "The Woodwind Co. New York" Clarinet from a thrift shop, and I'm curious if anyone knows anything about it, particularly its value. The serial number is 15060, the pads are in rough shape, and the wood is a disaster, the barrel appears to be cracked on the inside. Each joint is stamped "France" on the back. The (I assume) original mouthpiece is here too; I'm reading that they're known for their mouthpieces. This one is a "Steel Ebonite G7," damaged on the face and chipped at the tip. I put some photos up at : http://photos.aaronrohrbacher.com/
click on the mouthpiece image, and the whole gallery will appear.
Any info (particularly related to value) would be appreciated. If it is worth something, I may have it fixed up and sell it, but if not, it'd be a good thing to keep around for a student in need, if I can get it playable.
Thanks for any help,
Aaron Rohrbacher
Oregon Clarinet/Saxophone Player (in that order )
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-06-07 07:55
There was a discussion of this clarinet some time back and people seem to think it was made by Leblanc for New York import. If you can do the overhaul yourself and not pay someone $300 to do it, the instrument might bring $80 on ebay and/or it might turn out to be a fair instrument on its own merit. The barrel crack is an easy fix (do a search - this came up last week). "The wood is a disaster" - well it doesn't look that bad from your photos, but we can't see the bore. It may need an oil bath during overhaul. All in all, even if you paid nothing for it, I can't see you making money on it assuming someone else does the overhaul. If you like it then, by all means have it worked on, but you'll never get your money back by selling the horn after having it repaired. The case alone can bring $20 on ebay, so you can sell it and still have broken even, even if you keep the horn, presuming you paid $20 or less at the thrift store.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2013-06-07 19:19
I doubt that Buffet ever sold R13s as anything else. They had no problem selling all of them they could make. I would doubt that claim. Also, without seeing the cutout on the RH pinky key cluster, it's hard to prove the claim.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2013-06-07 19:19)
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Author: arjazz
Date: 2013-06-07 19:25
Thanks Jeff, I think I agree, I can't imagine R-13's out there without Buffet stamped all over them! My post had to be removed because I included a link to an ongoing auction on eBay (not my own), sorry about that, I didn't know. Anyway, any other info about this horn or this company in general would be greatly appreciated!
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-06-08 17:24
Yes, they were known for their mouthpieces many years back. I've never even heard of their clarinets and I was raised and schooled in NY. I seriously doubt it's worth anything at all. I can't say for sure but it probably was not even made in NY. Many compainies used to import cheap models from the major manutactures and have their names stamped on them. Sometimes, like the Evette and Evette Schaffers it would say, Sponsered by Buffet. This could have been made my any company including their own company but as I said, I never even heard of their clarinets. I graduated HS in 57 and college in 62, all in NY.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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