 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: saxplayr
Date: 2008-07-28 16:52
I am a sax player that has decided to learn clarinet. I have been given a clarinet but can"t find ANY info on it ANYWHERE. It appears to be ebony,
it"s old, made in Paris France, part # S 6009 N 1039 and says "DORE" it came in a "BOOSEY & HAWKES" hard shell case. Its trimed in silver and is in excelent condition. I've checked "B&H" serial number list but can not find anything. Any info would greatly be appreciated.
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Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-07-28 19:22
It won't be ebony. Clarinets are made of grenadilla (a.k.a. mpingo, a.k.a. African blackwood) not ebony. The two species of tree are only very distantly related.
B&H clarinets were made in England, which this obviously wasn't.
Are you sure "Dore" is the whole name? Is it possible that the name has partly worn away?
The name may refer to the maker in Paris, or may be the name of the company that imported and sold it.
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-07-28 19:32
Can you add pictures as attachments for us to see?
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
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Author: clariknight
Date: 2008-07-28 19:34
Norbert- I'm not sure if i have heard of an Ebony clarinet, but not all clarinets are made of grenadilla. Leblanc made a line of rosewood opus's once, and I have heard of other types of wood being used as well (though I cannot recall the types). I remember once hearing of ebony clarinets I think, but I cannot be sure if it was ebony that I heard or the plastic compound, ebonite. Either way, I would not be surprised if they had made a clarinet of ebony, as it is a fairly resonate wood, and I figure that's where they got the name ebonite from, although, again, I cannot be 100% sure.
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Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-07-28 19:53
clariknight....
OK, I rephrase.
It is vanishingly unlikely that this clarinet is made of ebony, since every clarinet that anyone has ever heard of that is made of very dark coloured wood, is made of grenadilla.
Sure, clarinets have been made of other woods, but these other woods don't look anything like ebony.
Ebonite is not a "plastic compound". It is very hard form of rubber. Yes, it is named after ebony. So what? German silver is named after silver, but there ain't no silver in it. Ebonite and ebony look very similar because they can both be polished to a shiny finish, which is why ebonite gets mistaken for plastic.
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Author: clariknight
Date: 2008-07-28 20:52
Norbert- It is true that every dark clarinet anyone has heard of in recent history has been made of grenadilla, but look at the evidence here. It is old, and no one's ever heard of it.
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