 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: josmithson
Date: 2010-09-25 05:35
Hello,
The older Selmer 100 that I just purchased has a barrel and bell that are the same color (dark brown with wood grain) and the rest of the clarinet body is (black with just a little wood grain). They seem to be the correct parts because they match up just fine and have the Selmer mark.
It seems to be a great clarinet but my question is do you think this is something to be concerned about or that I need to fix? I actually prefer the lighter color with the wood grain showing through because it is very beautiful. It just looks slightly odd having the barrel & bell a different color from the rest of the clarinet.
Also is a Selmer 100 the same as a Selmer Signet 100?
I appreciate any comments. I am new and just wanted to upgrade to a better (intermediate) clarinet.
Thanks!
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Author: Ian White
Date: 2010-09-25 08:50
The colour & grain of wood does vary a lot & frequently instruments, especially at the lower end of the market, are assembled form pieces of wood that don't match well. If they do all belong to a Selmer 100 there's nothing to worry about.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-09-25 09:39
No two pieces of wood will be identical - it's a fact of life that we have to live with.
The best that can be done is to match joints for similar colour or grain characteristics so the instrument looks more uniform, but this is only done on high end products. On entry level instruments this is low on the list of priorities - getting the instruments finished and out for sale is the main priority and cosmetic anomalies coming in very low, many instruments can have defects that have been filled (and pro instruments aren't without their defects either).
On entry to mid range instruments (and also on pro models) the joints can also be stained or painted to make them look uniform, but once wear sets in due to handling, the differences can be seen.
Some clarinets from the late 1800s to mid 1900s often had rosewood or cocus bells that were black lacquered and the grenadilla joints highly polished (or also lacquered), so we should at least be grateful the instruments nowadays are made of the same type of wood, but not from the same billet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2010-09-25 11:39
As i rember we have had several discussions here about Selmer Signets, 100s, specials & soloists so i'd try a search on this board. There seemed to be some confusion about any difference between a 'selmer 100' and a 'selmer signet 100'. It may help to measure the bore to determineif there is a difference. With regard to your particular horn, i've never seen signets that had significant colour differences between the parts. In addition to what Chris said above about matching at the factory, you may also have parts from two different clarinets.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-09-25 12:20
Bells and barrels aren't usually assigned to instruments until very late - probably just before they get cased up do they have the bell and barrel allocated to them, but it isn't normally part of the instrument during the manufacturing process.
On instruments with only the one joint serial numbered (as is evident on Selmer USA instruments), the top and bottom joints themselves probably only ever get paired after the finishing process and not during.
So you may have four different sections that only come together to become a whole at the time of final quality control checking and play testing before being boxed up and shipped out.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2010-09-25 14:59
I've got a couple of lovely and well made plastic Clarinets and also one Ebonite one and all the parts look exactly identical
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-09-25 15:15
Funny that - each of my various saxes have all their sections with the same finish too!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2010-09-26 01:02
looking at my two soloists (serial nos 20xxx and 60xxx) the (presumably) later 60xxx has 4 parts whose colours differ noticeably but not extremely. The (presumably) earlier 20xxx is a handsome uniform black.
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