The Clarinet BBoard

To refurbish or not to refurbish

Author: ewdotson  Date:   2003-10-11 21:32 Hi all, After darned near a decade's hiatus (That is, since high school, I've recently decided to take the clarinet back up. Unfortunately, upon digging out Ol' Faithful, I was forcibily reminded of why I'd had to borrow a friend's extra clarinet back in the last few weeks of my playing. My clarinet simply isn't in very good shape. It's an old Normandy "Special" that wasn't in very good shape when my mother picked it out for me, and wasn't helped by the trials and tribulations of being owned by a youngster. There don't appear to be any cracks, but it's in desperate need of repadding (a couple of pads had flat out fallen out), recorking (masking tape is probably NOT the optimum solution for preventing one's instrument's bell from falling off, has a trill key that sticks badly (I remember always having to use the alternate eb fingering back in the days) and needs a good solid cleaning in the worst way. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but it's simply unplayable in its current state. So, I took it to a local repair shop today and talked to the guy there. It'd be a flat $175 for the refurbishing, and $300 if I were to want the keys replated. (Which isn't actually necessary, I fully admit, but I admit having an instrument that looks nice would be a nice bonus, and as is, the keys are WELL worn.) The question, in my mind, is simply whether or not it's worth that kind of money for a used Normandy. The guy at the music shop tried to sell me a song and dance about how it's a $1200 instrument, but I know gosh darn good and well that I could get a nice refurbished E11 off of ebay for well under $400, for example. And if I'm patient, I seem to recall someone on this board saying they'd gotten an LL on ebay for well under $400. Anywho, anyone have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions on whether or not it's worth it to refurbish my Normandy. (And yes, I realize that ultimately, it's a fairly subjective judgement call, but what can you do? Thanks a bunch, Ernest Dotson

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Re: To refurbish or not to refurbish

Author: contragirl  Date:   2003-10-11 22:44 Hey, it may be a good idea to buy a nice E11 on ebay or something along those lines. I actually sold my friend's E11 which was in great shape for around $500. A lot of people don't trust ebay buys, but if you know what you're doing and the seller knows what they are talking about, you could really get a great deal. I think you already know that. I know Dave S buys a bunch of clarinets on ebay and overhauls them, so he may have something for you. Doing your own repadding can be difficult, I have learned. Cuz I didn't know anything about balancing and such, my repad was basically useless. So learn before you try! lol Good luck!! Contragirl

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Re: To refurbish or not to refurbish

Author: ron b  Date:   2003-10-12 03:10 I'm too late to add to the good advice you've already gotten, Ernest. So, I'd just like to also add a hearty Welcome Back! You're among friendly folk here - rn b -

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