The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mom
Date: 2011-03-26 05:08
My daughter, a high school senior clarinet student, has acquired a Selmer clarinet series M6000 that was found in the school band room "catacombs". It was made in France apparently in 1945, and has an extra key next to the long B. It is in pretty bad shape, but the wood still looks ok as far as we can tell. Would it be worth it to have someone bring it up to playing condition? It is not playable now. Thanks for any advice!
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Author: kilo
Date: 2011-03-26 09:36
Bearing in mind that vintage clarinets don't seem to attract the sort of veneration and appeal that old saxophones do, there are a number of players on this board and elsewhere who own and play instruments from that era. Your best bet would be to have it examined by a skilled repair person who could determine the feasibility of restoring it to playing condition and give an estimate of the cost. New professional clarinets sell for thousands of dollars and ones with extra keywork are expensive. It could be a gem — or it could be a dog, but I think it would be well worth getting an expert's opinion. Hope that helps.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-03-26 14:12
I agree with Kilo, the wood may look good but the bore could have changed and could be a real problem. For that matter, it could have been a dog to begin with, how would you know? It's always chance'y to restore an old clarinet because you don't really know what you will end up with. Good luck, ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2011-03-28 10:26
Definitely worth getting assessed by a repair shop. The extra key alone suggests it's not run-of-the mill. Let us know what they say! (and watch out for anyone trying to 'take it off your hands' for $50 )
Here's something you can do in the meantime: put it all together, measure it, and tell us how long it is...
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