 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bart
Date: 2003-06-16 19:51
I've just received a clarinet I 'won' on eBay, and am wondering if anyone knows more about this one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2534556900&category=10182&rd=1
I bought it in addition to my Noblet, which I picked up again not too long ago after a gap of about 2 years. I had been living in flatshare here in London, and the Noblet sadly saw the light of day only a couple of times. Now that I've got my own place, there's no more need to keep quiet, and so I'm trying to get into the habit again.
On the instrument - it plays surprisingly well, the sound is good, I like the key action and it's responsive. I highly suspect that the name 'Sonata' is a bit misleading though.
Anyone any thoughts?
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-06-16 20:59
A Sonata for £77.00? Good grief, what a bargain. Congratulations!
Regards,
John
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2003-06-16 21:00
The Ebay clarinet is not a Leblanc Sonata. Looks like the ones coming from India.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-06-16 21:34
Now that I've looked at the item, I'm not certain just what you have there. If it's one of the Indian pieces, that's unusual, as I've not seen an Indian Boehm. But I have not seen everything.
Anyway, if it is really a Leblanc Sonata, you stole it. If it is not, well, who knows.
Regards,
John
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Author: Todd W.
Date: 2003-06-17 00:08
Bart --
It is definitely not a Leblanc Sonata -- the logos are wrong and the case is wrong.
Todd W.
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2003-06-17 01:56
Yeah- it's a plastic clarinet probably not worth your time if you already have a Noblet. The logo says Sonata- but it means the brand most likely. I think it is chinese since it does not seem to have the red plastic pads, and is not an albert system like the traditional Indian clarinets. Not to scold an elder or anything- lol, but Richard, I hope you pay closer attention next time before disgracing the LeBlanc name.
Bradley
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Author: Bart
Date: 2003-06-17 08:16
For £77 you can't go all too wrong, I thought. It is likely to be a fairly cheap imitation (if it were a serious market participant Leblanc would surely object and insist on stopping the 'squandering' of their name).
That said, now that I have the thing I'm not unhappy with it at all. My tone is not yet back where it was two years ago, but the sound of this plastic clunker compares well to the Noblet - the Noblet sounding a trifle warmer and friendlier, especially in the low chalumeau register. I'm playing it with a Vandoren B45 + Neuranter #2 reeds.
The plastic 'Sonata' speaks very easily well up into the altissimo register - and it wouldn't make a bad first clarinet at all for that matter. It also has the benefit of being lighter in weight, and its thumb rest is just higher up than that of the Noblet - both make for easier holding.
It may not give me decades of playing joy (no idea how the springs etc. will hold over time), but at least the parents of the drop-out-clarinet kid got something out of the bargain :-)
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Author: Richard
Date: 2003-06-17 17:22
Bart
The UK distributor for your Sonata is (or at least was) Norman’s Instrument Co. Burton in Staffordshire. The Sonata is/was manufactured in China and retailed for about £375. Norman’s web site is: http://www.normans.co.uk
There you can find contact info needed to research your clarinet further.
Bradley
I apologize, no disrespect was intended
Richard
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