 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Melsmom
Date: 2004-09-12 22:59
Does anyone know anything about clarinets made by FE Olds? I am renting/buying a Normandy 4k Leblanc to the tune of 1500 when all is said and done. I think I am being ripped off. Another music store said that the Olds was way better and carried a 10 year warranty and was a lot cheaper.
Any advice?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-09-13 17:32
Clarinets made by FE Olds are right up there with beer made by Pabst. There is no such thing. Both are stencil products, made by another company and labeled for the company marketing the products. Pabst used to make its own beer, but Olds (AFAIK) has never made woodwinds.
Normandy is a decent Clarinet, but it is more a step-up instrument for advanced students. For $1500 or little more, one could buy a real professional-quality Clarinet.
Regards,
John
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jim lande
Date: 2004-09-14 23:57
Olds did make clarinets back in the 1950s. Anyway, according to an old catalog, they had a factory. Of course, Pabst made beer back then, too.
I have seen one or two metal clarinets on eBay with the F.E. olds name on them. Since I have seen so few, I suspect that those could have been stencils. Stenciling is not new.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-09-15 01:26
Hi, Jim:
There's an old Olds Clarinet on our favorite auction site which carries this in its description: "The bell is marked Ambassador made exclusively for F.E. Olds and Son." That's a wooden Clarinet. There is also one which appears to be plastic, and its dexcription includes: "The clarinet is marked Ambassador F.E. Olds and Son." Anyway, if the plastic thing was actually made by Olds, I'm surprised.
Not that my surprises are unique. I just reviewed some web pages on Olds, and in view of my having mentioned that I didn't believe Olds ever made woodwinds, one truly caught me by surprise. There was a report that during World War II, the US Government somehow convinced Olds to produce saxophones. These are now extraordinarily rare, as a large number of them were lost in the sinking of a supply ship in the Merditerranean.
That same web reference suggests Olds Clarinets made today are inferior imported things.
For several years I have owned a Clarinet which appears to be made of genuine plastic, etched with sans serif block letters on the bell, "OLDS." It is without doubt one of the worst Clarinets I have ever held in my hands. This feeling is greatly reinforced when any attempt is made to play it.
Regards,
John
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-09-15 14:52
The Olds clarinets from the 1950s and 60s were mediocre, and were almost surely stencils. There top model, the Opera, however, was a Buffet R-13 stencil and is worth buying if you find one.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
