 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: roxwrites
Date: 2008-03-16 19:36
I'm posting here in the hopes of finding some info on an instrument I found at a thrift store. It's nothing I've run across before (I've mostly played Buffet R-13s) but I absolutely love this thing. It's just mysterious!
It's clearly marked "Eric Pettersen - Stockholm" on all parts, and has a silver band at the top of the upper joint with Mr. Pettersen's signature on it.
The serial number is 867.
The clarinet has many interesting and different features, including rollers, silver-plated keys, beautiful lines, and a warm, rich tone.
It also came with leather pads, which I've had replaced, as they leaked like mad. No damage or cracks; it's clearly been lovingly cared for, and I love playing it.
Haven't been able to find a single trace of this manufacturer on the internet, so I'm hoping with all this specialist knowledge here, someone can help me out! I'll play it regardless of its provenance, but I'd like to at least find out a year it was made, something about the company, etc.
The case gives no clue -- it's actually quite a shabby little case, and I think it's a replacement.
Any assistance would be much appreciated. I'm just diving back into playing after about a 20-year break, and rediscovering how much I love it.
-- Roxanne
Writing as Rachel Caine: http://www.rachelcaine.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mankan
Date: 2008-03-16 20:53
Maybe a little help from Sweden
The name of the clarinet-manufacturer is Eric Petterson. I´ve not played any of his instruments but what I´ve heard, theyre really good. They rarely appear at our E-bay (blocket) and are sold at a medium price, maybe 1000 dollar.
Ackording to wikipedia Eric Petterson was a clarinetist and manufacturer of clarinets with the trademark EP. He had a music-store at Linnégatan in Stockholm in the 1950:s. In 1974, the aged Eric Petterson handed it over to the french company Robert Malerne.
Thats all I know.
Magnus Börjesson
Örebro
Sweden
mankan
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: roxwrites
Date: 2008-03-16 21:13
Thank you SO MUCH! That is very, very helpful -- I really do love the instrument, and I'll take extra care with it. That helps me narrow down the time of manufacture, which it wonderful news.
I truly appreciate it!
-- Roxanne
Writing as Rachel Caine: http://www.rachelcaine.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Alphie
Date: 2008-03-18 22:57
Eric Pettersson used to play in my orchestra in the 1930th- 1950th. His clarinets are according to himself more or less exact copies of the Klosé/Buffet instruments from the end of the 19th century with the difference that he put rollers for C5/Eb5, raised the tone hole for c#/g# for better stability and intonation for F6, a few stop screws for some rods that tend to turn and an F#/G# trill key on request. He also made a mouthpiece to go with it by the name of “Conbrio” that is according to himself “a middle way between the French and the German form.”
All instruments were hand made to most parts and made in a small workshop in Stockholm with much love and care. Take good care of it.
Alphie
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: modernicus
Date: 2014-12-29 19:20
Sorry to dredge an old thread but I just bought one of these at auction and am waiting for it to arrive. Unfortunately it doesn't look to be in great shape but hopefully restorable. Mine isn't as fancy as they get apparently, just standard Boehm17/6 configuration but gorgeous wood and silver plated keys. Probably sort of old as I could see a shared A/G# post in a picture. I'll clean it up a bit and post some pics when it arrives. I recognized it as something interesting immediately as the RH pinky keys had an unusual shape- I was glad to find the info here about it!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: seabreeze
Date: 2014-12-29 20:38
It's always great when people rediscover a more or less unsung clarinet maker of distinction. This one is especially interesting because he shows how deep the desire has been to incorporate elements of the French and German instruments into a single clarinet model.
Do you know if the Petterson instrument you bought has one of his original "Conbrio" mouthpieces? If it does please try to show some photos of it here (along with the clarinet) and let us know how it plays. Does it , for example, require narrow reeds like Vandoren White Master? There is still a lot of interest in putting features of the Boehm and Oehler mouthpieces into a single hybrid, and it should be instructive to see how this designer/maker went about that task.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: modernicus
Date: 2014-12-29 22:28
Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Conbrio mouthpiece with it (if it ever did). Apparently there is an Arlie Richardson Accu-Rated with it, which sounds like it may be a rare and good mouthpiece in its own right. Possibly this one was never intended to be played with a Conbrio...
Post Edited (2014-12-29 23:47)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: seabreeze
Date: 2014-12-30 00:49
The Richardson Accu-Rated pieces play bright and edgy, and rather loud, for my tastes.
It would still be interesting to see some photos of the Pettersen clarinet.
Post Edited (2016-08-15 02:45)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: modernicus
Date: 2015-04-27 03:20
I got mine and have played it some after doing some work. Mine Isn't as cool as this - plain vanilla 17/6 Boehm with no extras. Higher serial number. It has a big bore and is sharp playing as heck if you let it! It's responsive and flexible with a free-blowing quality as one might expect, though. Very fun to play. Key fitting is superb. What length of barrel does yours have? I thought perhaps mine has been shortened to 64mm. Also, the original bell is gone.
Post Edited (2015-04-27 03:27)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: modernicus
Date: 2015-07-29 06:22
Some sad realizations with my Eric Petterson- I think it was like roxwrites', but somebody drilled off the raised C#/G# tone hole to make a more "normal" countersunk tone hole. The tuning is so sharp on this note, it is absurd and wildly off from the rest of the instrument. I also realized that while most of the keys have excellent fitment, the topmost RH pinky keys have some substantial uncharacteristic radial play on the rod screw. Yep, I you guessed it. I think there is a high probability the roller keys were replaced with more "normal" Boehm keys. So, somewhere along the line, it seems some very foolish person may have attempted to "normalize" this unusual clarinet for some mysterious reason. Roxwrites, if you have the inclination, could you provide me with some height measurements of the raised C#/G# tone hole? Maybe someday I can put this thing back the way it was meant to be...
Post Edited (2015-07-29 06:23)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Niclas.e.gustafsson
Date: 2017-12-01 23:49
I have one too. With regular boehm keywork im sorry to say. Nice tone but awful intonation. It plays really high and uneven. 20 cents too sharp or more compared to 442hz.
I tried to sell it for $50 bucks, but no one wanted to buy it. Now maybe i think i should keep it and try to restore it and have it intonated.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: modernicus
Date: 2019-12-03 04:30
Thread dredge redux...Have played the E.P. quite a bit since- I still have no idea how much mine has been messed with, but it occurs to me mine probably wasn't one of the ones with roller keys/raised tone hole because it lacks the metal band around the top of the lower joint. I think I just let my imagination run away from me. Let me just say the tone and response are something special, but yeah, the tuning is not like anything else I've played. If I play my lowest pitch mouthpiece (vintage Langenus) with a softer reed, I can come within reason if I pull out the barrel considerably and use tuning rings. I lowered C#/G# key opening height drastically- now it's in tune with the rest of the instrument, but vents against the pad heavily- maybe a bevelled cork pad could help? There is one other note that sounds weird and crazy out of tune that I'm trying to figure out, as well. This one may be more of a mechanical or pad sealing problem.
Anyway, I can't fathom how this would be a "Klose-Buffet" copy. I have been doing some measuring, and the bore on the top joint is a huge 15.3mm! I measured my 1886 Buffet Crampon and my 1860s or so genuine Auguste Buffet jeune (yes, a clarinet by the Boehm clarinet co-inventor!) and the bores were well under 15mm. Even the late 1940s Buffet I have has a <15mm bore. The EP also flares a lot less, the bore at the bottom of the bottom joint is much smaller than other Boehm clarinets with smaller upper bores. So, the upper bore seems huge, like a large bore Boosey and Hawkes, but has a less drastic flare, something like halfway to a German system or perhaps reform Boehm clarinet? That sort of fits with the description of his mouthpiece concept. I've been reading about German system and Reform Boehm clarinets on here and it sounds like it has similar tuning tendencies (left hand Clarion notes go really sharp as you go up if you don't make conscious effort to compensate). Being a fool and glutton for punishment, I've purchased another Eric Petterson in plain 17/6 form that looks to be in drastically better condition, with original barrel and bell, and hopefully an original mouthpiece, too (fingers crossed). If not, I was thinking of trying a mouthpiece oriented towards a reform Boehm or German clarinet on these to see what kind of results I could get. Any suggestions? I have a hard time believing that he just made something carelessly unworkable for decades and I would love to be able to have this great tone and unique response with a bit better tuning, yet, than I have been able to achieve so far.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mikael
Date: 2022-11-30 21:46
There's very little information available online about this clarinet, so I'll add what little I know from owning one. Perhaps someone interested will actually read this thread ten years from now! ;-)
My Eric Pettersson clarinet is marked #600 which makes it a relatively early one. It was made sometime in the 1950's according to my woodwind tech, who has fixed up a fair number of these things (I live in Sweden). It has the roller keys, but not the engraved silver ring on the top tenon, so I think that detail was added to later builds to make it look fancier. Mine also has the original "con brio" mouthpiece, which I find to be most excellent!
The clarinet had slightly worn keywork but had not cracked, and I had it restored with new pads/cork/springs to make it playable.
When it arrived from the tech it quickly became my favorite clarinet. It's hard to say why one clarinet feels better than another, but this one is just a joy to play. It's very easy to play, even way up into altissimo (where I usually struggle a bit...), and I just feel more relaxed and free to express myself on this one than on any other clarinet I've tried.
When it comes to the tuning issue, I can report that it intonates just fine throughout the entire range with the original mouthpiece and barrel, BUT it's worth noting I play it with a 1.5 fibracell reed! Such a super soft reed would make a more "normal" clarinet unplayably flat in the upper clarino unless you find an extra short barrel for it, but on this one it's pretty much spot on. Maybe Eric Pettersson played soft reeds?
After having my tech fix it up with top quality pads I paid the equivalent of 800 dollars/euro in total for it. You can get a very good new clarinet for that price, but it won't have this much MOJO!
All I can say is, the Eric Pettersson #600 will not be on the market again until after my funeral. (Then it will probably sell for 10 bucks on a flea market to someone who wants to use it as a wall decoration or turn it into a table lamp, because almost no-one knows what a "clarinet" is these days.)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
