 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-01-25 23:38
Keeping up with the models each manufacturer has produced is a tough project. Of all the manufacturers, the model history that I know least about is LeBlanc. Their horns are marketed as LeBlanc, Noblet, Normandy, and Vito . . . right? Can anyone give a quick rundown on the more important models of each made over the last say . . . 50yrs or so? I've heard of LL's, Classic's, 4's, 40's, 45's, . . . I'm afraid it's all a jumble. Is there a web site anywhere for ANY of the manufacturers that outlines the models they have made but which are no longer available?
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2001-01-26 01:03
Fred,
LeBlanc do not even publish serial number lists as most other manufacturers do. If you go to the serial number page on www.musictrader.com/ and look up LeBlanc there is a contact phone number and address. They will answer specific queries in writing if it suits them at that particular moment.
I can tell you that over the years they have manufactured a lot of different models and have given the same model different names depending on the intended destination of the instruments eg VITO France wooden clarinets have been sold in Australia as Normandy and I have seen Normandy plastic clarinets from the USA which are exactly the same as a VITO. Good Luck most have us that have tried have not had much luck.
Steve Goodson at www.saxgourmet.com in New Orleans has some interesting pages on the LeBlanc Rational saxophone including original instruction booklet etc.. He only talks about saxophones however, no class!!!
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-01-26 02:27
I guess we're dealing with a company (maybe an industry) that is still more artist than business. I noticed recently that Buffet's own serial number list hasn't been updated since 1997. I'm used to an industry that tries to satisfy its customers with service as well as product. I'm afraid that my education isn't going to come easy.
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Author: Bill Fogle
Date: 2001-01-26 18:02
The L7 was from the early 1970s until about 1978. The "Symphonie" was early (mid-1950s) but not the earliest. I think the earliest entry into the professional symphony clarinetist's line may have been called the "Classic." The LX followed the L7, as did the 2L7. The current LX2000 (?) is supposed to be a modern reincarnation of their 1960s-1970s product line. Someone on this board had a fascinating discussion of the different marketing strategies of the big three in the 1960s. Leblanc was the "light" sounding product. For me, Leblanc really had something going before the later Buffetesque (actually the "R13-esque") models. My L7 was a great clarinet. Thirty-year-old Leblancs are worth having.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-01-26 19:18
I agree with Bill F's LeBlanc chronology, I bought a Classic ['60's model?] for my grandson, good, Dee knows of the Symphonies. I bought an L7 from a pro, best cl I've ever played, my #1, bought an L70, sold it to an advancing student, she is happy so far. The LL model [may have add'l keys] has been around a long time, I dont know when it began. The Dynamic H/Pete Fountain 15.0 mm models are about '60's I believe. I have a few music-store brochures which give the current line-up, but usually are not dated!! The LeB patents I have may be compared with a clar, but dont help the dating. Ask at you inst dealer for his LeB file, Luck, Don
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