 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: cj
Date: 2000-03-11 00:23
Would anyone have any background info on this metal
clarinet? It is brass and has a copper bell and
silver keys. Inscribed on the bell is American
Gloritone P.- M. USA
I got this as a gift that was found at an estate sale.
I have played Bflat, Alto, Bass, and Contrabass clarinets
and own a Peddler cherrywood Bflat. Any info would be
appreciated. Thank you! cj
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-11 03:28
From the numbers of this model that appear on the auction sites, my guess is that it is a student model. Probably not worth much monetarily but it is fun to fix them up to have a playable piece of clarinet history.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-03-11 05:42
Sounds like this one would look really cleaned up and shined. I've never seen one with a copper bell before. I do have one (Holton) that is gold laquered like a sax with silver keys that looks good. Is yours raw brass and copper or does it have a coat of clear laquer? If its complete, I'd fix it up as they are fun to have and play.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-03-11 14:46
I see a lot of metal clarinets at flea markets, antiques shows and stores, but the only Gloritones I've seen for sale were silver-plated from one end to the other. In fact, I've never actually seen any two-tone metal clarinet in any metals other than silver, silver plate and gold plate. You may have something unusual there, well worth collecting, although the playing quality probably won't be the best. The Gloritones were sold as student instruments.
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Author: Doug P.
Date: 2000-03-11 14:51
The P.M. stands for the maker: Penzel-Mueller of New York. They were a respected instrument maker. The metal clarinet you have is just a student instrument made primarily for marching use. Use the search feature of this site to find more about Penzel-Mueller.
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Author: cj
Date: 2000-03-11 15:15
This clarinet does appear to have a laquer finish. The bell is especially shiny. Everything is intact other than needing
new cork, pads, and a cleaning. The keys move very smoothly as compared to my Pedler. It is an attractive clarinet with the three colors of metal. I'm excited to hear how it sounds.
Thank you so much for the information.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-11 15:16
Lelia,
Are you sure they were silver plated? This would be unusual for student instruments of the time period that metal clarinets were common. There are other (cheaper) metals such as nickel alloys that would have been a lot more likely.
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Author: cj
Date: 2000-03-11 15:26
Dee,
It is absolutely possible that the keys are nickel. I truly
do not have any idea. I will be taking this instrument into the music store to
get it prepared for playing, and wanted to have some
information on it before I took it in. I have it sitting
next to my computer and tried to describe the metal "color"
for posting on the board here. Sorry for any confusion. cj
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-03-12 05:01
In some ways these old metal student models can be good for ear training. They usually play flat in upper clarion and alt. range so if you do arpeggios in different keys you have to "lip" it up to proper pitch. Try it with a tuner then without. My old band director had us do this after school to get us playing in tune as a group. It worked,as the judges wrote on the critiques that we had the best sounding woodwinds in attendance even though most of them were old metal school horns (this was early 60s). Good luck and have fun with your "lightning rod".
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2000-03-13 01:18
I have the same model. Mine was in bad shape and I had to srip the remaining lacquer. The keys may be nickel plated. Mine are worn down to the base metal (which doesn't look too classy.) However, it does play, but not as well as some of the other metal clarients that I have. (i.e. the Buffet, the Silva Bet or the Silver King.) but it does play as well as other student metal clarinets -- and my bundy, as well.
From following eBay, my impression is that the majority of sutdent models were silver plated. However, the plating was not as thick as on the pro models.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-03-13 03:43
Try some of the German "Happich Simichrom" polish. I have a couple old clarinets that are worn down to the base metal. I polished the keys while I ahd them stripped and they looked much better. The base metal is still there naturaly, but not nearly as noticable.
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Author: James
Date: 2000-03-14 15:03
When I was in college, Richard Pickar of the Houston Symphony was our clarinet teacher. He got a pile of metal clarinets and made us learn how to put in pads and springs. Then he told the band director (Ralph Mills, also a clarinetist) that we would play them on the marching field. Pickar assured Dr. Mills that he could expect them to be played in tune with good sounds. Talk about learning about tuning and pitch and listening. Baptism by fire.
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