 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: TerryA
Date: 2015-10-17 15:59
Hi All,
I'm hoping someone can help me identify an Artley clarinet we have recently purchased. The only marking we can find on it is a serial number 3819010 and nothing else.
We have managed to find a few pages that list the year of manufacture based on the serial number that indicate that this unit was manufactured in 1988.
Everything else we find online talks about 17S, 18S, 23S and Prelude as the 4 models that Artley made, but we can find nothing on the unit to say what model it actually is.
The main thing we are trying to get official confirmation on is whether it is wood or plastic construction.
The seller claimed it was wood, but once we received it and examined it we are certain it is plastic. While there is a wood grain texture on the outside, there is no wood grain visible inside the bore or anywhere else, it is all perfectly smooth other than the tool marks. The serial number is melted into the body, and I have even managed to melt a small dimple into it by just touching it with a hot soldering iron.
The previous owner insists that it is wood, because she was told so by her teacher, but she has never even heard of bore oil, and has never oiled it.
We have applied a small drop of bore oil inside the bore but it does not absorb into the body at all, it just runs off, unlike a wooden one we tested similarly, and the oil was slowly absorbed into the wood.
As I said, we are certain it is plastic, but we need to find something official from Artley to identify the unit.
With other Clarinets, we have been able to get specifics from manufacturers websites by using the serial number, but Artley seems to have a distinct lack in this area.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2015-10-17 17:17
If the bore looks like plastic (no wood grain), it is plastic. I repair a lot of Artleys. Usually all the logos are worn off. They are OK student instruments. I'm assuming you have a basic student model.
Steve Ocone
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Author: TerryA
Date: 2015-10-18 02:38
Hi Guys,
Thank you both for you responses.
You have vindicated my feelings.
I had hoped that Artley would have a listing to be able to identify the exact unit by its serial number as some other brands do, but it appears they did not keep thorough records like that, or if they did, they do not make them available to the public.
I will be taking the instrument in question to a few different music stores tomorrow and see if I can find one willing to sign a statement for us. We still intend to keep the plastic unit for our youngest to play, so will need to pick up some 1.5 reeds while I am there, and hopefully the purchase will make them more inclined to help with the statement.
The corks on the instrument need to be replaced before it is really playable, etc, but otherwise it is in reasonable condition. Any idea what it would be worth, now that we know that it is plastic?
As I said we still intend to keep it, but this has become a 'principal of the matter' situation.
It was sold as wood when it isn't, we paid more that we would have for plastic, and the seller is now saying "Its unfair for you to say the clarinet is all plastic, it is definitely not all plastic ...... It's obviously some sort of Greenline wood".
I know the Greenline process has been used for things like African Blackwood, etc, where the wood is scarce, but I can not find any information to indicate that Artley have ever done any Greenline units. Is it possible a 1988 Artley was made with Greenline material?
Would Greenline melt the way this does?
Is an Instrument made from Greenline material considered to be a Wooden Instrument? I would have thought it would be considered a Composite at best.
Sorry for so many new questions, I hope I'm not asking to much of you all.
Thanks in advance.
Terry
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-10-18 08:57
From what I gather going on Artley's literature from the '80s, the plastic Artleys were all the same basic clarinet regardless of model number (eg. 17S and 28S) - the only significant difference that set the various (but otherwise identical) models apart were the different cases and mouthpieces supplied with them which is pretty bonkers if you think those are the most likely things to be changed, whereas the basic clarinet itself remains the same irrespective of the different model numbers.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2015-10-18 13:15
Greenline was never used by Artley, period.
The 17S is a plastic-bodied instrument with a rather well-done woodgrain finish--it's fooled my local pawnbroker into thinking that the 17S in his shop was wooden. This model, in need of minor repairs, turns up all the time here in the States in the $30-$50 range. The last flea market I went to had three of them, and I'm sure offering $20 would have bought one.
Conn-Selmer exists to build, import, and sell new instruments. With the exception of Vincent Bach "Stradivarius" brass, they aren't much interested in the pedigree of things they've already built once the warranties expire. This situation is likely a matter of pure economics: imagine the flood of enquiries they surely receive regarding the hundreds of thousands of extant student instruments that were sold under their brand names. Addressing them all would incur significant expense to Conn-Selmer and add nothing to their bottom line--especially considering the many student instruments that do not have an upgrade path to a professional instrument sold by Conn-Selmer. There isn't much of a customer relationship here to be maintained.
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Author: TerryA
Date: 2015-10-22 04:48
Thank you all for the responses.
I have found a local music store with a woodwind repair specialist and have sent it off to him. He is going to do a letter stating model, material etc.
Once we get that we should have a decent case to prove to the seller once and for all.
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Author: doonebug
Date: 2016-12-11 04:50
I know I'm late to the party, but if I'm late -- so can someone else be, and I would like to add some pertinent information here to Artleys.
A couple Artley posts that I came across stated that the instrument had a wood grain and was hard rubber. Hard rubber is known as EBONITE and it is "officially" a wood since it comes from a tree.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-12-11 05:04
"Hard rubber is known as EBONITE and it is "officially" a wood since it comes from a tree."
You've lost me there - I don't know what to make of any of that.
With that logic, you could say Vodka is 'officially' carbohydrates since it comes from potatoes.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2016-12-11 10:24)
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Author: ClarinetG8r
Date: 2020-08-28 00:27
Not sure if you ever found your model number. But if you do/did, can you provide me with the resource? I have the same issue. Was told it was wood, and it does have a somewhat grain look to it. I just want to be sure so that if I sell it after I do the minor repairs, I'm selling it with the right description. Thank you!
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