 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bkruggel
Date: 2006-12-03 21:21
Hello!
I just bought my first clarinet (normally I play saxophone) on a garage sale here in Montreal, (actually, my girlfriend wanted to have the case - I haven't really been in the mood to buy an instrument, as we're just about to move in a new apartement) - well, anyway, I played it a little bit and it seems to be okay, though some parts are old and dry.
So, as I don't know anything about clarinets, I'm wondering if anybody has heard of mine, it's black with an engraving of 'Coudet Paris', 'Made in France' above, (very simple and plain, nothing more, no logo or something) and marked 677 on the back of each part...
The material is black, certainly not wood but I'm not sure if it's plastic either, don't know what other option is possible...
I'm wondering if it would be worth the money to renew the keys, as the (white leather?) is broke on some of them...
So, does anybody know something about this 'Coudet Paris 677'?
For complete disorder, we found a little note in the Box with 'ANO 1915' marked on it, but definately with another pencil than the name above it, and still, doesn't say a lot about the instrument...
I'd be happy to know a little more about this strange thing that fell into my hands...
Thanks a lot for your help,
Bjorn Kruggel
Post Edited (2006-12-03 21:26)
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Author: bob49t
Date: 2006-12-03 21:52
No first hand knowledge of Coudet but a simple word search in the BB archives brought up 3 mentions of the Coudet, which you may be able to build upon.
BobT
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Author: bkruggel
Date: 2006-12-03 22:06
Yeah, I've already seen some of these posts - and I have already spent some hours googling all the web, also looked for the sometimes mentioned 'Martin Freres' , but still, 'Martin Freres' more likely produces wooden clarinets, not in this plastic material - it's got to be some kind of plastic, or very good kept (or better: never ever exposed) ebonite...
I can't believe the manufacturer should be a firm that doesn't exist anymore since 1927... that would mean that nearly nobody ever played on my instrument - there are practically no usage signs...
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Author: Saxismyaxe
Date: 2007-01-11 01:56
The Coudet or "Cadet" line was indeed produced by the Martin Freres or "Martin Brothers", a smaller French Maker out of Paris. I have only seen this model in African Blackwood or Grenadilla, not synthetic.
Are you quite certain that it isn't wood? By the way Martin Freres didn't stop production in 1927 if that is what you are implying, but survived well into the latter half of the 20th Century.
These are regarded as intermediate horns, and although I find them a tad dark and stuffy for Jazz (Which is my main repertoire. Like you I'm a Sax player who doubles on Clarinet among other instruments), they play and sound O.K., not breathtaking (pardon the pun), but nice.
Mike S/Saxismyaxe
Administrator:
Saxontheweb.net
Vintagehorn.com
Post Edited (2007-01-11 01:59)
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Author: clonestar
Date: 2012-02-16 19:25
Yes it is probably genadilla wood. I had mine checked out by a local tech. I have a Coudet, Paris, serial # 430.....talk about old! I picked mine up for $1.00 at an estate sale years ago because, from the worn staining, I could see the grain of the wood, primarily in the bell, as well as the typical little marks that you often notice on the surface of a wood clarinet that you wouldn't expect on an older plastic or composite clarinet body. It was dirty (that is, not shiny), but I could find no evidence of cracks on the inside or outside and, for a buck, I thought that it might be a worthwhile restoration project (particularly if my granddaughter continues to advance on the clarinet through high school).
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Author: clonestar
Date: 2012-02-16 19:27
Please excuse me. One day I'll learn to spell grenadilla correctly.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2012-02-16 20:34
Coudet was a model name used by Martin Freres. It was one step up from their entry-level instrument, the LaMonte. Adverts in vintage magazines show that the Coudet model was offered at least through 1959.
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Author: bkruggel
Date: 2012-03-05 17:19
Oh wow, I never thought this thread would be bumped 6 years later! :-)
Anyway, in the end I didn't really have the time to play it much (and it wasn't a particularly great pleasure either, due to a few bent bars and the dried pads).
In fact, now that clonestar said 'staining' I recognize that it must be wood. My staining is perfect, but in the end the whole instrument is too heavy to be made out of plastic or galvanized rubber. So if the whole staining is intact, then it probably wasn't ever really used...
I guess I should check around if someone here could have a look at it. The clarinet still is better adapted to the urban environment of thin walls than the saxophone.
Thanks everyone!
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Author: clonestar
Date: 2012-05-02 04:31
That particular model was introduced in 1955 and sold for $175.00; roughly a month's wages, give or take, for the average working man at that time. It was an intermediate model, a step below their so-called professional model. Since mine is serial # 430, I think that it's probably a pretty accurate assumption to refer to it as a first year specimen. I've actually spent some time with it lately and I'm about 1/3 of the way into trying to restore it. So far, so good. Haven't run into any defects, cracks, splits and only two or three tiny marks (indentations) on the wood. We'll see what happens.
Don
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