 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Kontra
Date: 2010-03-07 14:00
Ive been looking to buy a Metal Clarinet lately... With the hundreds of brands and makers out there, its hard to know which to buy. Ive seen a Champlain, and a Weyman Silver on Silver. The Champlain would need a repad but the Weyman is ready to go. Anyone have any idea if these are good brands or just one of the cheaper models? Or is there a brand you'd recommend?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-03-07 14:24
The two you mention are among the cheaper brands. Please contact me offline for some other ideas.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2010-03-07 17:06
And view this site: http://silver-clarinet.com/ which led me to purchase a Selmer Paris with a tunable barrel silver clarinet that I've very happy with. I also have Buescher TruTone (albert keyed) clarinet that I hope to get back from the repair shop soon. You can buy a $5 metal clarinet, which is worth... well $5 and certainly not playable.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2010-03-07 17:10)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: madvax
Date: 2010-03-07 17:27
If you are looking for a metal clarinet that plays well, there are several I would recommend.
In an intermediate model...
H.N White - Cleveland Model
Bettoney - Columbia or Boston Wonder
Leblanc - Noblet
Professional Models...
Bettoney - Silva-Bet Model
H.N. White - Silver King
Selmer
There are other good metal clarinets out there, but these are my favorite.
My favorite is the Silva Bet models. If you're looking for a brighter jazz sound, the Silver King is great. If you're looking for a darker sound, the Selmer is terrific.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-03-08 12:20
I have a Silva-Bet that I bought cheaply at a yard sale -- lucked into it without knowing a thing about it, until I asked about it here. I bought it with the intention of using it as a disposable victim of my first attempt to learn how to re-pad , but, surprise! It's a good clarinet. Glad my fumbling beginner efforts didn't wreck it.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-03-08 13:42
Are you looking to play it or to make a lamp? Seriously, many people have made nice lamps out of them. I have one but it's not metal, it's hard rubber that my brother in law made for me. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-03-08 18:57
While it's true that a lot of the metal clarinets were low-end student models, several good metal models are collectible today and it bugs me to see these turned into lamps. I hope I never see a Silva-Bet lamp.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: super20dan
Date: 2010-03-09 01:13
i have the nodlet which is decent and the selmer which is amazing for a metal clarinet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-03-09 01:30
I have a silver-plated Cleveland (King) which sounds to my ears every bit as good as the Buffet R-13s of my orchestra stand-mates (I had the two gentlemen play them side-by-side at rehearsal once). It's also very well-made. I've restored a couple of metal Penzel-Mueller "Artist Models" which were very good. The one metal Noblet I overhauled was a disappointment, though.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2010-03-09 02:09
David, et al.
I also have an H.N. White - Cleveland, and I agree with you 100% about its qualities.
Those who covet a Silva-Bet, but can't find one or don't want to pay the price should try to find one of these horns.
I got mine when I saw it hanging up on the wall of a instrument tech--it looked like it was caked with mud, it was so tarnished and dirty. (My eye went to the the "thick" bottom of the bell and the gold wash inside.)
After checking that all the keys were there, etc., I asked him to refurbish it for me. Three hundred dollars later, I have an instrument that is pretty, fun to play, sounds every bit as well as my 1963 R-13, and is very well in tune.
Never played one, but I can't imagine how a Silva-Bet could be much better.
B.
Post Edited (2010-03-09 02:11)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: dansil
Date: 2010-03-10 12:03
I received a gorgeous Selmer "Raymond" clarinet yesterday after having the winning bid on "the auction". Refurbished and "reupholstered" with black kangaroo leather pads it looks quite "steampunk" and to my surprise, having expected it to sound brash, it has a lovely sweet sound. I played around with various mouthpieces till I found one with which intonation was spot on and now I have an outdoor, all-weather, go-anywhere clarinet!
I'm not certain about the "pedigree" of this instrument but I'm aware it was for Selmer by Leblanc made some between 1928 and 1935. If anyone can provide more information about this particular model I would be very grateful.
Danny
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris J
Date: 2010-03-10 13:32
A very good website is a French one:
http://www.clarinette-metal.fr/galerie_de_photos.htm
About 3/4 down the page there is a Selmer section (the two photos of the matched Bb and A are mine)
Google translation of that paragraph is:
Selmer clarinets markets its first metal in 1927, the model undergoes some changes during his career and only a few thousand copies will be produced. In its advertising period, Selmer said he had taken for his metal clarinet the same manufacturing dimensions for its models ebony. They are instruments of high quality, well suited to classical music and could be fitted (optional) for the excellent barrel adjustable screw Selmer. Selmer proposed model of metal clarinet in Bb and in A, Boehm-system, full Boehm and Albert. Along with these high-end models, produced in France Selmer clarinets metal''middle range''as the brand Geo.M.Bundy and François Barbier and models''low end''branded Raymond.
There again, the website mentioned by Gandalfe (www.silver-clarinet.com) says they were made by Leblanc, and suggests the better ones have a gold wash bell.
Chris
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jim lande
Date: 2010-03-11 04:06
Personal favorites are the Penzel Muller Clari-Met model, which usually is double walled and usually is pretty expensive. I like the Silva bets and Conn Model 424. (It just says Conn on the bell, always breaks in the middle and has an adjustible barrel. Some have bells that unscrew. Honest. The Conns with model names on the bells are student models.)
A lot of other folks made pro metal clarinets including Buescher, H.N. White, (Silver King model -- one of the most common) Selmer, Treibert, (double walled), and of course the Haynes solid silver double walled models. (very collectible and expensive.) And Conn made some pro quality double walled models.
The Cleveland was sold as an intermediat quality model -- priced midway between the student models and the silver king. (later called Micro sonic and then SilverSonic.)
The Raymond was, according to an early Selmer catalog "made for Selmer" and was sold as a student model. But several people swear by them. Bettoney sold a Columbia model as an intermediate quality but the only I have have experience with played very poorly. On the other hand, Bettoney sold no-model-name metal clarinets to the military marked U.S. and with serial numbers starting with an "A". I have heard this are nearly as good as the Silva Bets.
Make sure that you have someone line up who is willing to work on the instrument. Some techs are prejudiced against them.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: dansil
Date: 2010-03-11 11:27
Thanks Chris and Jim
I played the Raymond with my Klezmer/Baltic/Scandinavian group this evening and it was voted the nicest and most in-tune instrument they've heard me play (apart from my mandola!). They also thought it looked cool! So if this was made as a student model the pro instruments must sound fantastic!
Danny
a family doctor in Castlemaine, rural Victoria, Australia for the past 30+ years, also a plucked string musician (mandolin, classical guitar) for far too long before discovering the clarinet - what a missed opportunity!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
