 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: aki0426rc
Date: 2010-08-30 00:37
Can anyone tell me more about this clarinet I recently acquired? From the keys I think it is Albert and not Oehler...
heres pictures:
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4669/screenshot20100826at124.png
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/524/screenshot20100823at937.png
I've done some digging into archives on posts (some from 97' lol) about the (people) Wurlitzers and the company versions (cheaper quality, made by other company instead).. very interesting history!
Post Edited (2010-08-30 00:43)
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2010-08-30 02:28
Can you tell what the mark reads? I can't tell from your photos, but if it is an old Fritz Wurlitzer or Herbert Wurlitzer instrument, I can look into finding more information for you, particularly if you can provide serial numbers (though old Wurlitzer serial numbers are an imprecise science, especially Fritz's made in the former East Germany, or Germany before the Cold War partition).
Feel free to contact me through email, this Board, or through the http://wurlitzerclarinetsamerica.com site. We have a great deal of reliable information about Wurlitzer clarinets on our pages. (There are several posts on this board that are not so reliable, historically or otherwise, regarding the members of the Wurlitzer family and their instruments--best to go to the source).
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2010-08-30 02:31)
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2010-08-30 03:11
One more thing: if the clarinet is not marked "Fritz Wurlitzer, Erlbach" or "H. Wurlitzer, Neustadt" the instrument in question is not one of the famous Wurlitzer clarinets, made by the master instrument makers resposible for the those played in the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and elsewhere.
There are, for instance, clarinets out there made by a Wurlitzer company in the USA around the turn of the last century--these are entirely unlike the instruments made by Fritz and Herbert Wurlitzer. I'm not sure where one would look to find information on those--we at Wurlitzer Clarinets America work for the family in Neustadt, headed by Ruth Wurlitzer, the widow of Herbert (who was the son Fritz--the craftsman responsible for perfecting the Reform-Boehm).
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The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: aki0426rc
Date: 2010-09-01 20:38
Too bad ! Its not a Fritz or Herbert :(
Actually on the Horn it says:
*
1173
Chicago
WURLITZER
Cincinnati
*
and on the joints:
Lafayette
PARIS
Also has LP marks on it, so it is low pitch at least...
I got this for around 70 usd on ebay... gonna need a bit overhaul
There is a crack on the top of the lower joint, but not too bad, and the keys and some of the pads need some polishing and replacement etc.. (there was a pack of new replacement pads not used along with the clarinet)
barrel and horn wood pieces are in very good condition
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Author: aki0426rc
Date: 2010-09-01 20:51
oops, i mean on the Bell*
btw, how much estimate cost to overhaul ? I am around boston symphony area, and only place I'm familiar with there is the local Rayburns...
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Author: Kalakos
Date: 2010-09-03 21:05
I had a C (high pitch) Wurlitzer, Simple System, with the same markings you mention: Cincinatti etc.
It was one of the most well made clarinets I ever owned. The wood (ebony) was so dense and fine you almost could not see the grain. The key work was beautiful, and it was simply a beautifully made instrument. I sold it to a friend who still says it's one of the best clarinets he ever saw or played.
So, there's a good chance yours is a really nice instrument.
John
Kalakos
Kalakos Music
http://www.TAdelphia.com
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Author: aki0426rc
Date: 2010-09-04 09:12
Thanks for he replys!
Guess what happened when I tried to bring it in to a (pretty established around boston) clarinet guy to check it for overhauling....
He tried to tell me that my clarinet was worthless and that the case was the only good deal I got out of it!!
For two hours long - talked about how much it will need repair for cracks (which I couldnt see some even through the leak lights) and that the wood is bad.
Good thing I did my homework! Whenever I tried to bring up the bell (which is beautiful! and the grain is solid and flowy and color is a darkish brown/purple, but feels light) He said it was "oh just grenadilla on most clarinets" and seemed to avoid talking about it...
He said maybe 25$ worth for the entire clarinet, and that he offered to trade it in (in addition to paying 180$) for a new overhauled german albert he had (he actually drove 15 minutes away to get it to show me). That clarinet is nice, but the bore is smaller and VERY heavy to hold...and I think the tone sounds worse than my old cracked clarinet... plus the bell is really thin and even heavier than mine.. and a bright orange cocobolo I'm not fond of..
Anyway, I don't think I will be trading anything in with him...even though I am no expert on these clarinets, I know even the bell itself is worth more than the 25$ and theres not even anything broken with it!
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Author: aki0426rc
Date: 2010-09-06 22:05
here are some clearer pictures
Bell:
front
http://i52.tinypic.com/u0kyo.jpg
underside
http://i53.tinypic.com/316kysn.jpg
part of bottom joint (can see pad need to be replaced badly >.<):
http://i55.tinypic.com/s3dlj7.jpg
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2010-09-09 00:31
What you have there is a typical eBay hybrid. It is an Albert system. The name Lafayette was used by Bruno on imported instruments in the early years of the C20. Couesnon also used the name Lafayette when they were located on rue Lafayette in Paris in 1937 or so. They continued to use the name at least into the 1960s . Impossible to say without thorough examination, and probably not even then, whether this horn is an anonymous horn made for Bruno or a Couesnon, but I'd opine that it is likely a Bruno from 1900 - 1920 or so. The bell doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of the horn - probably the original cracked and someone had a spare bell in the drawer. Of course it may be a Couesnon from that era supplied to Bruno anyway........could be a nice horn
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