 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Don
Date: 2000-01-27 16:11
Hello,
I have recently seen several Conn Pan American "propeller" clarinets. They are beautifully-figured medium brown veneer-over-plastic (I think) from the late '40's (again, I think).
I am looking for *any* information on these instruments: comments on construction, quality, value, history, availability/rarity, desireability, etc.
Thank you!
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Author: Brent
Date: 2000-01-27 17:14
All of these that i have seen are Pan American brand (division of Conn earlier this century). I have one of these which i purchased on ebay for $135. My interest was primarily cosmetic--it's a very attractive instrument. The wood is solid, not veneer, but it appears to be a laminate--that is, start with a 2" thick hunk of plywood and cut it into billets, then machine into the clarinet body.
The wood can delaminate and that will cause what appears to be a crack in the body of the instrument. Mine has one such in the lower joint. It has been reglued and i added a ring to help hold it together.
It is a student quality instrument, and not a great one at that. It is horribly out of tune, especially in the altissimo range. It is not particularly easy to play (my hands are used to the 10G and the keys just don't lay right for me) and also does not blow as freely as a good professional instrument.
Brent
Don wrote:
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Hello,
I have recently seen several Conn Pan American "propeller" clarinets. They are beautifully-figured medium brown veneer-over-plastic (I think) from the late '40's (again, I think).
I am looking for *any* information on these instruments: comments on construction, quality, value, history, availability/rarity, desireability, etc.
Thank you!
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Reply To Message
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-01-27 17:22
I had the pleasure of seeing and briefly playing [with minor adjustment] one being used for high school band, about 20 miles away. It looked beautiful and the laminated [?] wood body was still very good, and having worked with the student's grandfather [it was his], I counselled them to take great care in its use, and to NOT ever sell it cheaply! Dee knows more of this model's ancestry than I, and will fill you in. I believe it does date from the '40's, maybe a bit earlier. I dont know of a patent on it, but will look for the manufacturing of the body! Conn was patent-active back then. Will post if I find more. Don
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Author: jim lande@ erols.com
Date: 2000-01-29 03:31
I bought one on ebay, but it turns out not to be the
plywood model, but rather is solid wood. Someone on
this list called it the violin finish stained birch. At least two of the recent postings were this model, rather
than the propeller.
there is an artical somewhere on sneezy. Key points: the
first propeller models were guaranteed not to crack and
then every single one cracked. The later models were much improved and much shunned.
I don't know if it is student quality or a step up, but
it definately is not two steps up. I have not restored
it and will probably post mine on ebay.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-01-29 04:06
jim lande@ erols.com wrote:
-------------------------------
I bought one on ebay, but it turns out not to be the
plywood model, but rather is solid wood. Someone on
this list called it the violin finish stained birch. At least two of the recent postings were this model, rather
than the propeller.
there is an artical somewhere on sneezy. Key points: the
first propeller models were guaranteed not to crack and
then every single one cracked. The later models were much improved and much shunned.
I don't know if it is student quality or a step up, but
it definately is not two steps up. I have not restored
it and will probably post mine on ebay.
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I thought I had read somewhere that the "propeller wood" model was something different than the laminated wood ones. The information that I have seen on the latter indicates that the lamination process had a flaw in it and a large percentage of these "delaminated" so it looked like a crack.
The laminated ones end up having the appearance of a spectacular grain pattern as a result of the changing angles of cutting across the laminations in the bell for example.
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