 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Grandpa
Date: 2010-02-05 15:35
Several years ago I bought a clarinet for $10 at a garage sale. I recently retired and since the granddaughter wants to play clarinet, I decided to try and repair it since I have lots of time on my hands. So I bought A Guide To Repairing Woodwinds by Ronald Saska and had at it. Since I am spending so much time on it, I was wondering if anyone could give me any information about it, when it was made, is it a stencil of something else, maybe check in The New Langwill Index: a Dictionary of Musical Wind-Instrument Makers and Inventors by W.R. Waterhouse. It’s a Bb soprano clarinet made of wood and has the following markings: Silvertone, Cat # 2524, Serial # 45013
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-02-05 16:25
Generally speaking, "Silvertone" was a house brand for Sears, Roebuck and Co. in the 1960s and '70s. They may have offered earlier models under that name, but I don't know for sure. I had a Silvertone guitar when I was a kid growing up. Nothing to write home about, but as I recall, they weren't absolute garbage, either. If they are true to the general philosophy Sears was using at the time, it should be a fair beginner-to-intermediate grade instrument, if it has survived the ensuing years without serious damage.
Someone may have used the name later on, too, but I don't know for sure.
One good thing is that it has not appeared on this list of clarinets of questionable quality, or "Clarinet-Shaped Objects (CSOs):
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=20&i=357&t=357
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2010-02-05 16:29)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-02-05 17:47
That's funny because I just saw an ad at the bottom of these posts that advertised a Sears Silvertone clarinet on E Bay of $99, along with a few other items. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2010-02-05 21:34
I think there is going to be some confusion about this because AFAIK "Silvertone" was a Montgomery Ward brand, "Silver tone" was the Sears brand. Maybe corporate lawyers had more things to worry about back in the day than similar names. Certainly some of the Sears horns were quite decent Paris made, "Dupints" etc. One supplier of "Silver Tone" instruments to Sears was E K Blessing BI Co of Elkhart.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2010-02-06 13:14
Yes, there was Silvertone and Silver Tone.....one Sears and the other "Monkey Ward" but I can never keep them straight. I think Bruno made one of them.
Lafayette Paris was a similar horn. Decent horns but a bit "clunky".
Bob Draznik
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2010-02-06 22:10
Correction - for "Dupints" read "Duponts"......Lafayette is another confusing name as it was used by Bruno for some of their imports but also by Couesnon who had a place on the Rue Lafayette. I remember that the Couesnons were advertised as "Lafayette by Couesnon" back in the 60s (or thereabouts?)..maybe these were the same horns as the Brunos? Bob D is right about them being "clunky" - pretty heavy-duty keywork.
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Author: Grandpa
Date: 2010-02-15 19:32
I did find this somewhere, probably on the Clarinet BBoard: "Actually I've heard a few jazz players remark about the Silvertone's suitability to jazz (yes, Sears). Except that I thought they were referring to the wooden models and not the hard rubber ones. I may be mistaken on that count however. They knew their intonation wasn't spot on but they loved the sound."
By the way I did re-pad, and adjust cork bumpers to have cups open one-third the diameter of the holes. I gave the Granddaughter the Silvertone Saturday and she took right to making interesting noises, but she did get her father to promise clarinet lessons.
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