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Author: JJ
Date: 2000-03-23 16:19
I want to know which one is better. Those are about same age-20~25 years old. L7 was old stock. It is mint. 10G is used but in great condition. I want some advice before I try. Thanks.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-23 16:22
These are both very fine professional level instruments. You will simply need to try them out to see what suits *you* better. One person will prefer the Leblanc and another will prefer the Selmer.
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Author: William
Date: 2000-03-23 16:34
Sight unseen, I would probably pick the Selmer 10G because I know that it was manufactured as a copy of A. Gigliotti's "Moegenized" Buffett R 13s. But more important is how each horn plays, not it's age. My preference is the LeBlanc Concerto or Opus (if you can deal with the extra L-hand Eb and the cost). They are basically the same instrument, accoustically. The new Buffetts (Greenline, Vintage, Festival and Prestige) are all fine clarinets, but again, the important factor is how the horn plays for you. All peoples tastes and performance needs vary. FYI--I recently played two Selmer Signitures: one was great and the other, not so great. Try them both (L7 & 10G, or the others that I mentioned) and pick the one that plays the best. Happy hunting.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-03-23 17:06
JJ wrote:
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I want to know which one is better. Those are about same age-20~25 years old. L7 was old stock. It is mint. 10G is used but in great condition. I want some advice before I try. Thanks.
JJ -
I have played Leblanc L7s that were very good, but many of them were badly out of tune. Be sure to take a tuner along and listen carefully to the octave intervals.
I love the feel of the keywork on the Leblanc "jump key" models. It's more precise and falls under my particular hands and fingers better than other instruments. This is of course a matter of individual preference.
According to Ralph Morgan, the Selmer 10G has had three incarnations.
The original run was modeled on Anthony Gigliotti's hand-made instrument. It was a good model with fine sound, but had no hand finishing, so the intonation was not precise.
The second run was about a thousand semi-finished instruments that were hand finished under Morgan's direction and were a close approach to Gigliotti's instrument, with near perfect intonation. If you call Morgan (he's on Sneezy under mouthpiece makers), he will give you the range of serial numbers.
Subsequent 10Gs had some changes specified by Morgan to leave room for intonation corrections -- a cross between the semi-finished and finished versions. However, Selmer shut down Morgan's finishing operation, leaving the current model not as good as the original run, but capable of being adjusted by a skilled repair shop.
Now, Ralph Morgan is a great story-teller. He's always the hero of the story, and it's sometimes hard to tell what's history and what's embellishment. Still, he knows exact serial numbers, which carrys a ring of truth.
In the end, the choice must be yours -- how each instrument plays for you, and how it sounds in a group. It helps to bring along a friend with good ears -- ideally, your teacher.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: JJ
Date: 2000-03-23 17:20
I just got the info of 10G serial number. It is Z140x.
Can anyone tell me how old is this?
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Author: Paul Lester
Date: 2000-03-23 18:37
JJ;
I have a 10G with a Z35xx and it was manufactured about 1976. If you hear from R. Morgan, let me know if the Zs are from the good batch.
Cheers,
Paul
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Author: ted
Date: 2000-03-23 19:33
I have a "good" L7. It is well in-tune and allows me to produce a good sound. As the other folks suggest, try them both, and see which works best for you.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-03-23 20:48
According to the chart right here on Sneezy (in the equipment section, 76-77 are the years for the Z series.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-03-24 04:57
I do not know Leblanc L7, but I once owned a 10G.
It is really nice. G means Anthony Gigliotti of ex-principal of Philadelphia Symphony.He had been a Buffet owner(of course Moennig tuned one) and designed 10G based on his experience of playing that horn. I remember its barrel was very much in tune with the horn and it came with 2RV(5RV predesesser). Now it may come with Gigliotti mouthpiece. Vandoren B40(not B45) was also good for 10G.
You can read good articles in Klarinet Archive.
However,10G sounds very bright. In short it has French sounds. Thicker reeds may not good for it. 2-1/2 or 3 reeds will be the optimal,I think. American players may like darker sound. But this is my prejudice.FYI.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-24 14:53
I also have a very good L 7, picked out by a better cl'ist than I. It is fully adequate for my playing. I did invert the thumb-rest for a more comfortable right hand fingering of the low E/B. Don
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Author: mark weinstein
Date: 2000-03-25 14:55
Where does the LL stand in the line of Leblanc clarinets in comparison to the L7 and the many other Leblanc moidels ... is the L7 still being made or does it represent a model from the '60's or '70's ? Thanks. mw
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-25 18:29
Mark - The LL [for Leon Leblanc] Model 1176 has been made for many years as I recall. It prob. was the top model earlier and a recent ['97?] catalog shows it as a 14.80 mm [.582"] "nominal" bore in a 17/6 [keys/rings] version. The Pete F's are 15.0 mm Bore!! If I can find some older info in my "archives", it may tell a very little more about bore configuration [poly-cyl., conical sections etc]. Likely Dee can help, but asking Tom Ridenour would be the best I'm sure. I tend to believe it would be quite similar to the L7, which prob. came later [maybe by 20 years!]as their top model. followed by the Concerto etc series [14.61 mm bores]. LeB made many models to compete with Buffet and Selmer successfully. In my experience, those I've played have all been good with individual differences. Don
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Author: ted
Date: 2000-03-26 01:38
Both the LL and L7 were in Leblanc's line-up at least as far back as 1974. In 1974 the LL retailed for $625 and the L7 for $725. The L7 was discontinued in 1978 ad replaced by the L27 and then the LX ad LX2000.
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Author: Drew
Date: 2000-03-31 00:08
I believe the successor model to the L7 was the L70.
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