 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-22 11:28
I have been clarinetless for about 18 months now after I had to sell my Yam,CS-V due to financial probs,I am looking for a new instrument but have a budget of only £550 or so,I have the chance to buy one of Hansons intermediate instruments which I have heard great things about or I have tracked down a couple of old Selmer Series 9's which I could get on approval from a well known woodwind shop here in the UK.
Is the Series 9 worth looking at?will it be a sensible proposition for someone looking for a good quality instrument for local orchestra/concert band work?
Would I have problems in future if repairs were needed to the keywork etc as fair as spares goes.
The better of the 2 instruments for sale is £500,both have nickel plated keys and are in the shop as commission sales hence there is no warranty offered.
Any advice asap would be much appreciated.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-07-22 12:01
Hi Selphie,
Welcome to the board.
I have two Series 9s, a 9* which has the Buffet-type bore and a 9 with all the extra keys but not a Low Eb. Both are wonderful clarinets and perfect for what I do (wind ensemble, jazz, small group work). The 9* was my #1 clarinet for many years but a LeBlanc Dynamic 2 or a Buffet Academy have slight edges now. But I do like Selmer instruments very much.
To my knowledge, there should be plenty of instruments available for spare parts should they be needed. Have you played the clarinets against a tuner so see if there are any problems in that area?
How are the pads? The price seems a tad steep but if the instruments are in good shape, probably not out of the question.
I believe that there are many Series 9 players in this BB.
HRL
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-22 12:49
The instrument has had a complete overhaul so pads should not be a problem,anyway I've bitten the bullet and the shop are sending it to me on 7 days approval to road test.I will let you all know how it goes.
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-07-22 22:04
Some say the Selmer 9 series were made in its (Selmer's) halcyon days. I would agree, having owned a Series 9*, which was a sublime instrument.
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Author: davor
Date: 2004-07-23 07:12
Hi,
Selmer 9s are wonderfull instruments, but could have tuning problems, and wood problems. Allthough they were made in 60 s, when there was still enough wood, the factories did not have good technology to prevent cracking. Check if your instruments have crack or repaired crack. None of the cracked instruments is worth 550 GBP. Those instruments should be played in gradually, especially if they were not played for a while, and after you buy it properly oiled. My suggestion is, if you have a choice, to buy a simple 17/6 keyed instrument with no additionl keys, which a lot of old selmers had then. Good luck!
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-23 07:24
Is this right? Is there are particular problem with cracking in the Series 9's?
If so this may influence my decision to keep the clarinet or not,I have owned wooden clarinets before, an E-13 and a Yamaha CS-V and I was careful to avoid situations which could stress the wood and cause cracking and thankfully I never had any problems,will a 30 something year old Series 9 be more crack prone than one of these newer intruments?
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Author: jbutler ★2017
Date: 2004-07-23 12:09
It is my belief that if it hasn't cracked by now, it will not. Probabiltiy for a clarinet to crack has been discussed before. I'm sure a search will bring forth quite a lot of threads.
jbutler
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Author: davor
Date: 2004-07-23 13:18
jbutler wrote:
> It is my belief that if it hasn't cracked by now, it will not.
> Probabiltiy for a clarinet to crack has been discussed before.
> I'm sure a search will bring forth quite a lot of threads.
>
> jbutler
I am sorry to dissapoint you. I bought a wonderfull selmer 9 few years ago on e-bay. It has gone through a complete overhaull with oil bath.
Unfortunatelly, after 6 months of use it has cracked on 3 places at the upper joint. Clarinet was glued, and it seems the cracks are OK now. This is from my own experience! I think that bigger part in cracking or non-cracking at old instruments is for how long it has not been played. If it has not cracked by now it probably will not, might be true for instruments which are constantly being played.
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-23 13:41
Well the clarinet arrived this lunchtime and it certainly is beautiful,it is in wonderful condition,much better than I had hoped and came with 2 barrels,what is probably the original lig,and cap a Selmer HS mp and a Selmer case,also in good condition,even the two keys were with it.It doesn't seem to have had much use as the key plating is also in excellent condition.Just the inside of the barrels seems a little dry,the rest of the bore looks very good.
There is one thing puzzling me however I checked the Selmer serial number lists and the number on this instrument doesn't seem to fit in with it being a Series 9 the Clarinet is marked series 9 on the upper joint and both barrels but there is no serial number on the upper joint,only on the lower and that starts with an A.Can anyone enlighten me here?
I only played it for 10 mins or so as obviously it needs playing in gradually especially if I intend to keep it.it did play well however even with my poor lips that have been out of action for a long time,I played using the long barrel and against a tuner and everything was more than acceptable,the HS mouthpiece did feel more closed than I am used to tho.
Post Edited (2004-07-23 13:47)
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Author: jbutler ★2017
Date: 2004-07-23 15:14
Davor,
You did not disappoint me. Obviously you had a bad experience. However I still stand by my statement. I believe that the Series 9 that Selphie is trying out, properly hydrated, not overplayed, or exposed to extreme humidity and temperature differences, will not likely crack after 30+ years. Sure, there is always a remote chance, but I've been in the repair business for almost thirty years and assure you that I've seen a lot of vintage clarinets. To my knoweldge I have not had a single clarinet crack after a "complete overhaul", vintage or otherwise, that was not already cracked or repaired. (That is not to say that there haven't been any clarinets that I've worked on that have cracked, rather ones that I have completely overhauled.) I believe that certain wood, due to stress, are more prone to develop cracks than others. As stated before, there is a lot of information on this BB on this topic. It has been hashed and rehashed.
jbutler
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-07-23 17:37
Many eons ago I had the great pleasure of playing on a fine Bb series 9 which was super...easy to play and very nice sound. Some of the series 9 can be very bad however,....so caveat emptor.
David Dow
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Author: davor
Date: 2004-07-23 22:29
Hi Selphie,
There is no reliable serial numbers list considering selmer clarinets on the web. That is because with introducing one model, they did not stop producing previous model. So there are Selmer 9s which could be younger than selmer 10 S! My friend has a 10S with serial starting with Z, and I had 9 with serial Z9090.
However, lack of serial no. on the upper joint indicates that top joint has been replaced, probably because of the crack. Nothing serious!
The bigger problem is that now you do not know whether upper joint and lower match, because serial on the lower indicates different model from 9.
Anyway, if you like the instrument, and it plays in tune it should not be a problem.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-07-23 22:48
Hi Selphie,
Your comment:
"Well the clarinet arrived this lunchtime and it certainly is beautiful,it is in wonderful condition,much better than I had hoped and came with 2 barrels,what is probably the original lig,and cap a Selmer HS mp and a Selmer case,also in good condition,even the two keys were with it.It doesn't seem to have had much use as the key plating is also in excellent condition ...." seems to tell the tale. You liked the intial impressions.
Agreed with about the lack of #s on the upper section; probably a replacement section. My 9* has a couple of big cracks in the upper section that were correctly fixed and the clarient plays extremely well. Both of my 9s have a T prefix with numbers.
Check the pitch with a tuner and work the instrument hard during the trial period.
HRL
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-25 10:44
I have discovered a printed label tucked into the lining of the case,it reads as follows;
Vincent Bach International
Model 9 Bb
Serial Number A65**
Dec 1980
Tested by (hand written signiature)
I know that Bach are the UK distributers for Selmer so I'm guessing that this label is original to the manufacture of the clarinet or was written if or when the clarinet went back to Bach for a new joint......Any ideas?
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-27 10:23
I've returned the clarinet.after weighing the pro's and con's.I've found out about a 1985 R-13 that I can purchase for a little over £700 and will come on approval and with a 12 month warranty on the workmanship and the repad work it will undergo.I think this sounds like worth a look.
Post Edited (2004-07-27 11:04)
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-07-27 22:12
Davor said
"but could have tuning problems, and wood problems"
Name me any of the four "top brands" that have not produced a clarinet that's been associated with these problems?
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Author: davor
Date: 2004-07-28 07:37
diz wrote:
> Davor said
>
> "but could have tuning problems, and wood problems"
>
> Name me any of the four "top brands" that have not produced a
> clarinet that's been associated with these problems?
I don t think replying to your post would be of any help to Selphie. I would not vaste time on that.
Selphie,
Beware that R-13 is pitched to 440, official tuning in UK is 442, I think.
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Author: Selphie
Date: 2004-07-28 09:19
Davor said
Beware that R-13 is pitched to 440, official tuning in UK is 442, I think.
The R-13 is pretty much the industry standard here in the UK just as it is in the US,this is an instrument made for the UK market that has been in the UK all it's life,I think the pitch will be ok The thousands of R-13 owners here seem to be more than happy on the whole.
Post Edited (2004-07-28 09:34)
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