 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mmatisoff
Date: 2018-07-22 21:56
I own a Leblanc Opus (not Opus II). I have been searching the internet for information on this clarinet. Is there a difference between the Opus and Opus II (other than the Opus extra Ab key)?
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2018-07-22 22:40
You have the better Opus which was designed by Tom Ridenour and was by far the best Leblanc ever made. The main difference between the Opus and the Opus II is the bore dimensions.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-07-22 23:24
Clarineteer wrote:
> The main difference
> between the Opus and the Opus II is the bore dimensions.
Any source on that claim?
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-07-22 23:36
Apart from the logo changes, the key work was redesigned and had adjustment screws. There are also early Opuses labeled "II" with the old key work design.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-07-23 13:27
Clarineteer,
OK, if Ridenour said the nominal bore design was changed, that has to be believed, although he left the company a few years before the Opus II was introduced.
However, the actual bore dimension, the one on real instruments, shows such variation that I am certain that the models cannot be told apart by measuring the bore. In fact, there is such variation in bore dimension on polycylindrical Leblanc clarinets that I question if any model can be identified by measuring the bore.
There are many possible reasons for this variation: Reamers that once had the correct nominal dimension have to be sharpened and then get a different actual dimension. The wood is not form stable during or after production. The work with reaming is manual.
This means chance is a factor and that there are good and bad Opus Is and good and bad Opus IIs. I haven't experienced a pattern where the odds of getting a good one are different for the two models, but I might be wrong.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2018-07-24 01:13
I've worked on both the original Opus and the Opus II (likewise with the original Concerto and Concerto II) clarinets and I much prefer the original keywork as it hasn't got all thise adjusting screws which are usually loose and not providing any benefits anyway.
And I've seen good and bad of both - more good original Opus clarinets (is the plural of Opus 'Opera' in this context?) than bad and more bad Opus IIs than good.
One original Opus I worked on had poor key fitting, especially the RH ring keys which had the inside front edges filed out and left razor sharp as they were fouling on the front edges of the RH tonehole chimneys. Filed right through the plating leaving the copper flash and base metal exposed. Also other areas where clearances had to be made by filing left those areas without any plating. Not such a problem on an entry level clarinet, but not acceptable on a high end one.
Key fitting was done at a very late stage in the production of Leblanc clarinets (as it is with many other companies) so the finished keys (already plated, padded and corked) only came together with the finished joints (pillared, sprung and tenon corks fitted) at the finishing stage and then fitted, pads adjusted to seat and then regulated, so these problems only arose at such a late stage and weren't dealt with properly. Had the keys been mounted to individual instruments at a much earlier stage, the fitting and adjusting would've been done before plating.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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