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Old Conn Alto Clarinet

Author: Stargatto
Date: 2010-06-06 17:22

Hi guys,

I've recently bought an old alto clarinet (Eb) made by CONN. The body of the instrument is made of wood and it has the usual low-Eb key and also a right-hand Ab/Eb key. The serial number of this horn, written almost clearly on the upper and lower joint, is 327. Curiously for a CONN, the instrument is marked as "Made in France".
The keywork of the instrument isn't so bad (even if the instrument misses some corks) although the double register mechanism on top joint makes a few notes hard to play (A, G#).
Even the sound is quite good, expecially the lower notes have a dark and woody tone.
The main problem is the intonation. The horn is horribly sharp, about a quarter tone, so it is impossible to play it along with other instruments. Currently I'm playing with a cheap plastic yamaha 5C mouthpiece and 2 1/2 vandoren reeds (for alto saxophone...).

After this brief description, here are some question for you:

1) Why the instrument has this bad tuning? Has the wood volume/density changed during the years?

2) what would be the age of the horn? I cannot find any info on the CONN site.

3) Should I spend money for a full overhaul of the instrument?

4) I would change the 5C with a Vandoren B40 or B44 alto clarinet mp. Would this purchase improve the tuning?

Thank you!

Carlo

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