 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Jobsys
Date: 2007-07-08 09:11
Hi,
Does anyone out there own a C G Conn 1940's "Pan American"
If so, then I would be grateful if you could tell me how to check the wood used for the body. The instrument that I have certainly looks spectacular with a range of colored striations moving from black to golden and from top to bottom. There is no incidence of the wood splitting.
I suspect it is a survivor of one of the postwar "propeller wood" laminates experiment of Conn but the vendor claims that it is Cocobola. I have no frame of reference to dispute this.
Can you also recommend a set up that works for you as my Vandoran 5RV dosn't cut it!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-07-08 13:21
I would love to own one, a [none-too-good] piece of history. I made some minor repairs to one in a nearby town, so have a slight acquaintance. If you make a Search [as above] for Laminated Pan American [it was a student model of Conn back then] you will find several threads, in partic., posts by Dee, which will answer many of your questions. I believe it is a "large bore" cl, many Conns were, so mp matching, by trials, is prob. needed. Congrats, and Luck, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: carrielj
Date: 2007-07-08 14:38
I do own one! Mine is very beautiful, no cracking what so ever. The bell is 3 pieces of solid wood. I had the keys gold plated and it looks just stunning. I agree with Don, it is a student instrument. When I do play it I found it works well with a D. Bonade wide open mouthpiece to match it's huge bore size.
Carrie
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: george99
Date: 2007-07-08 18:39
I also own one that I recently had restored. I looked through my collection of mouthpieces that I have accumulated over the years and found that the ones that worked best are Selmer mouthpieces. Particularly one marked C star. Also a Jazz mouthpiece marked J-P worked pretty well. The mouthpiece I use with my Buffet Festival is a Ridenour and it works well but the others produce a larger volume of sound and are better suited to Jazz. The clarinet plays well in tune with any of the three mouthpieces. I'm very happy to have a large bore clarinet in my collection that looks very beautiful and a bit different.
Cheers George
902 4049291
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jobsys
Date: 2007-07-09 16:18
Many thanks for your replies which were very helpful.
I guess I'll head for the nearest intrument supplier and try their "set up" department.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-07-10 11:36
Some of those Conn Pan Americans are made from solid propeller wood, and I agree they're beauties, although as players, they're student-quality; but I was startled to see one at a flea market that was made of *plastic* colored to look like propeller wood! From a distance, the plastic "propeller wood" looked spectacular, but on close inspection, there was no doubt at all that it was plastic.
Some of the later propeller wood clarinets were made with propeller-wood *veneer*--beware of those, too, because they're interesting to add to a collection, but using the clarinet can cause the veneer to de-laminate. You can identify it when it's in good condition by looking at the tenon-ends with a magnifying glass. If it's in bad condition, you won't need the magnifying glass!
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
