 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: PajeroJonas
Date: 2012-11-27 04:28
Hi all !!!
My daughter plays the clarinet and we bought her first clarinet the other day.
She has been renting one from the music-school before.
It's a Buescher Aristocrat, Brillhart Special moutpiece.
And has been at a clarinet workshop for fixing.
I know nothing about clarinets but the bell is plastic.
It has a script logo.
The 2 parts with buttons looks a bit like wood but on the other hand plastic can be made to look like wood. It has a engraved Buescher logo.
s/n 109618
And that confuses me. I've searched on the net and all I've seen is the list with serials that says it's made in 1922.
I found a warranty note in the case thats printed in -79.
We payed $360 for it. Cheapest used clarinet we could find, in Sweden where we live. Most Clarinets cost from $600 and up.
Was it a good buy?
My daughter loves it which makes it good buy, but you know what I mean.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-11-27 06:44
Buescher clarinets of this era ('60s-'80s) share their serial numbers with Selmer USA clarinets (Bundy, Signet, etc.) as they're made by Selmer USA.
If you look up Buescher Aristocrat serial numbers, chances are they'll be for saxes and not clarinets so that will give you a very false reading.
Depending on your region, you can pay any price for anything relatively speaking - $360 is over and above what the cost of a used Buescher Aristocrat would be if you're in the US (have a look on eBay.com to see how much or little they fetch), but it's probably a reasonable price considering you mention most will cost over $600 in Sweden.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: donald
Date: 2012-11-27 09:56
I played a Buescher Aristocrat as my first clarinet, and actually used it for my Grade 8 exam (the highest "grade" in the English exam system, pieces on the syllabus include the Mozart Clarinet Concerto). They are not professional clarinets, but pretty good student instruments- virtually indestructable, if it has good pads and she looks after it well, nothing will go wrong!
Reading that your daughter "loves it" is good news- and reminds me of my youth! A year or so back i actually bought a Buescher Aristrocrat identical to my childhood instrument and used it as my "car clarinet" for two summers (i always have a clarinet in the car when camping/surfing so i can stop and play in the forest etc whenever i feel like it). I sold this to the son of a colleague of mine, who has taken it with him across Europe and played it in various jam sessions etc. He sent me photographs of it being playing up a mountain and halfway up a tree, so its life of being played in the outdoors continues!
I hope your daughter continues to love and enjoy this instrument. Eventually she will want/need a better one and will move on- but for now this should be just fine (assuming the pads/keys are in good condition).
dn
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-11-27 11:57
Here's something unusual about the Buescher Aristocrats that have key sections made of wood: That plastic bell is normal for them. Usually it's bad news when sections of a clarinet are made from different materials because it means the sections originally came from different clarinets. A clarinet with that kind of "marriage" sometimes can't be made to play in tune. But Buescher did make Aristocrats with wooden key sections, plastic bells and often plastic barrels as well.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2012-11-27 14:30
The Buescher Aristocrat was a good student instrument. The design was based on the Selmer 1400, which was cutting edge technology in its day. It's a rugged and reliable instrument, and about as close to bulletproof as you can get. In good conditions and with proper maintenance it should last forever. The 1979 date is most probably correct.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-11-27 15:30
I used to borrow a plastic Buescher Aristocrat from time to time when I started playing clarinet - it was identical to a Selmer Bundy in every respect apart from the logo and the socket rings which had four raised rounded bands on them.
The same instrument was also stencilled as the B&H "78" and Cavendish among others.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: PajeroJonas
Date: 2012-11-27 16:21
Thanks all !
I'm a curious guy and like to know as much as possible about things I have no experience of.
Most important is that my daughter enjoys playing it.
Here's 2 pics close ups of parts with logo on them, I think it looks good, but then again I know nothing about clarinets :
http://forumbilder.se/images/9f272012614324ac0.jpg
http://forumbilder.se/images/4227201261658c2c7.jpg
Feels nice to get very friendly answers on my newbie questions.
So Thanks again !!!!!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-11-27 21:32
That's definitely from the '70s going by the case. If it plays well and your daughter enjoys playing it, then that's $300 well spent.
It's definitely wooden bodied (apart from the bell) and is the same instrument as a wooden Bundy - the Signet and Soloist clarinets had pointed pad cups, but these are domed like Bundys. The keywork is very utilitarian on these which kept the cost down.
They're based on Selmer (Paris) Series 9 clarinets (production of the Series 9 ran from the early '60s to the late '70s) and they fill the gap in the lineup of Selmer instruments as Selmer USA produced student and intermediate level clarinets whereas Selmer Paris only produced pro level instruments.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: PajeroJonas
Date: 2012-12-01 21:38
Attachment: IMAG0836.jpg (1132k)
Here she is at her first concert, playing Jingle Bells at a local christmas concert.
She did great ! (as any father would say) but she really did play well.
She's the one wearing a white head-band or whatever it's called in english
Thanks again all, it's much appreciated !!!!!
// Jonas
Post Edited (2012-12-01 21:45)
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Author: hans
Date: 2012-12-05 22:10
It's good to see what an enthusiastic supporter her father is :-)
Hans
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