 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mike
Date: 2002-02-14 15:25
Has anyone played these/know of them? what clarinet could they could be compared to? I am asking this to gauge how much hey are worth. As good as an R13?
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2002-02-14 16:49
Having restored half a dozen Edgwares, and currently playing a slightly upscale version called a "Stratford", let me give you the lowdown on these things:
Made from around 1947 to around 1960 as best I can tell, afterwards became the "Series 2-20".
Were wood without tenon caps until early-mid 50's, then were wood clarinets with tenon caps, except for 1954-55 when they were made of hard rubber (but otherwise identical).
Fairly large-bore, but not quite as large as the Symphony 1010's.
Nickel-plated cast keywork --- one of the two worst features of the clarinets --- the keys are very stiff (good) but brittle (bad), and the plating is simply awful --- most Edgwares will have worn and rough plating, or it's gone entirely.
Second bad characteristic: The ergonomics of the keys stink. There are a few modifications I make to every Edgware: I narrrow the throat "A" key and bend it to the right to eliminate interference with the ring below it; I shorten the register key to eliminate inadvertent opening of it when operating the thumb ring, I grind down the pad cup under the throat "A" key to allow the "A" to open further, and I narrow both sliver keys to eliminate unintentional opening by the adjacent finger.
The good points: The wood used was very high quality -- very pretty, and I almost never see cracks. Although intonation is not completely up to snuff, it's not as bad as some people think, and the tone quality (IMHO) is very nice and a welcome change from the small and somewhat strident sound I hear in some R13s.
These should best be considered intermediate-level clarinets, I think, not really student instruments. As received from the factory they're rather unpleasant to play, but with the modifications I described they become very nice clarinets, again in my humble opinion. But they are certainly not to be compared with professional instruments such as R-13s for use in the world of classical music.
What are they worth on the market? Very little. There's lots of them out there, and they don't say "Buffet" on them.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-02-14 18:41
David -
Great rundown. The only thing I can add is that the trademark says "The Edgeware." The fancy diction leads eBay sellers who don't know what they're talking about to imagine (or imagine you'll imagine) that "The Edgeware" = "top of the line." However, they usually sell for less than American/French stepup instruments and can be decent buys, provided they get the Spiegelthal treatment or the equivalent.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2002-02-15 14:04
Dee and Ken,
Sorry to nitpick, but it's "Edgware", not "Edgeware" ---- a common mistake, it certainly seems to be missing that "e", doesn't it?
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