 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John85
Date: 2008-12-29 22:55
I am looking for information concerning clarinets made by Fritz Wurlitzer...does anyone have information about this maker? I believe he's an earlier generation than Herbert Wurlitzer, but I'm not sure. Also, is there anyone who can tell me something about the quality of his (or his workshop's) work? (I'm speaking only of German Oehler clarinets, not reform-Boehm).
Also, would anyone know about the reputation of Clemens Wurlitzer? (I believe he is more recent, possibly still making instruments).
Many thanks for any info.
Post Edited (2008-12-30 05:03)
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Author: Lam
Date: 2008-12-30 02:25
Hi John,
Fritz Wurlitzer(1888-1984) is father and also teacher of Herbert Wurlitzer(1921-1989), he made his workshop in Erlbach of East Germany. And H.Wulitzer moved to Neustadt de Aisch in West Germany later.
His production is of outstanding quality(he teaches the famous H.Wurlitzer), but mostly the clarinet was built 30-50 years ago. He build german system clarinet (from student model to Voll-Oehler Model), Bohem(reformed) and also the Schmidt-Kolbe System.
For Clemens Wurlitzer, I read in some German clarinet forum that his production has very good reputation, and many distinguished and orchestral players in Germany(eastern part) used them. . A 2nd hand soloist pair cost around 5000 Euro.
Some history again. Clemens Wurlitzer (1883-1964) learned to build the clarinet from his father, and used his own name for the brand name from 1910. After Clemens died, his son Heinz Wurlizer took up his job and later his grandson, Gerd Wurlitzer is now the master of the workshop in Wernitzgrun.
I don't have the luck to play on either of the instruments. So my knowledge about them is up to here. Hope you will find more information.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-12-30 03:37
I tried a set of '50s Fritz Wurlitzers and the workmanship was exquisite on these, as was the tone. But these had been rebuilt and various keywork and tuning modifications were made, but they still played beautifully.
Clemens Wurlitzer clarinets are not of the same quality as the Fritz or Herbert Wurlitzer, there was a full Oehler Cl.Wurlitzer in Lewington's shop in London for ages (I think it was priced around £600-700) and the general build quality didn't come near a 'proper' Wurlitzer (obviously reflected in the price, plus the fact Oehler systems aren't exactly in much demand in the UK). But it was a full Oehler so no real reason to start there and then move to an H.Wurlitzer set when you've got a lot of money burning a hole in your pocket.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Lam
Date: 2008-12-30 04:41
Hi Chris,
Just out of curiosity, do you still remembered what sort of tuning modifications were made on the F.Wurlitzer set that you tried ? and are they tuned at lower pitch (eg.440Hz) compared with the modern H.Wurlitzer? and is the quality and workmanship similar to H.Wurlitzer clarinet?
By the way, I seek for some advise from you about my R.Keilwerth clarinet on the thread below . Please let me know if you could give me some advise on it.
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=232026&t=232026
Many thanks for the information !
Post Edited (2008-12-30 04:46)
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Author: John85
Date: 2008-12-30 05:01
Thanks to you both for the info; it was very helpful.
The reason I asked was that I'm trying desperately to find an Oehler (or even a six-ring model) with a low-E bell vent, and I had seen both Clemens and Fritz second-hand models for sale on a few websites. I cannot afford new, so I am trying to narrow down my search...
Does anyone happen to know anything about Arno Wurlitzer?
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Author: Lam
Date: 2008-12-30 05:31
Hi John,
How about this one :
http://shop.hueyng.de/gebrauchtein-kommission/a-klarinette-hhueyng-6523-2-jahre-alt-kaum.html
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-12-30 06:44
The Fritz Wurlitzers were around 442-443Hz, each section (incl. barrels and bells) was marked 'A' and 'B'. Certain toneholes and vents had been opened/filled in to correct the tuning here and there, so probably done in order to make them easier to play down to 440Hz. The keywork mods were lengthening the LH cluster (E/B, F#/C#, LH Ab/Eb, LH Bb/F keys and also the C#/G# extension touch), though they were far too long for my fingers so I would have had to shorten them back to where they were originally.
A couple of years back I happened to get lucky buying a brand new Yamaha 657-24 Oehler (minus the low F and E vents - the 657 is fully loaded) off eBay for a fraction of the cost which is a great instrument.
This list of German/Oehler makers is the most comprehensive I've found:
http://www.cs.ru.nl/~bolke/DuitseKlar/oehlerlistOld.html
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: John85
Date: 2009-01-03 17:59
Thanks Lam, I was looking at that exact site earlier...they seem to have some interesting used clarinets, but of course I don't know if they'd be willing to ship or give a trial period to where either one of us lives...
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Author: tacet
Date: 2009-01-03 20:51
>> Does anyone happen to know anything about Arno Wurlitzer?
Arno Wurlitzer (1890-1961) was Fritz Wurlitzers brother. When Germany was divided, Fritz went to the west, while Arno stayed in Erlbach (GDR). He continued to make clarinets in a relatively small shop until 1989. All in all, about 2900 instruments were made.
Instruments of this brand I saw were not so sophisticated with regards to fine details of the keywork (when compared, e.g., with a current H. Wurlitzer), but intonation and sound were fine.
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Author: Lam
Date: 2009-01-04 12:52
Hi John,
I think they(huyng) are willing to ship to US, but not so sure if they would give a trial period or not.
And here is another site which has used German clarinet to sell too, http://www.holzblaeser.com
Click to "Produckt" then "Klarinette" then "Klarinette Gelegenheiten"
Please ask them if they could send you to try.
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