The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: cande
Date: 2012-01-31 14:04
Has anyone heard of a plastic Noblet Clarinet? I see clarinets for sale that look like plastic.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-01-31 14:07
They did have a highly polished finish to the wooden body joints and some had plastic barrels, but the only all plastic Noblet-like clarinets I know of are Vitos.
Are the ones you've seen for sale all recent and brand new ones?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2012-01-31 16:58
Some of the old wood is so tight grained it can be mistaken for plastic......
Bob Draznik
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-01-31 19:33
BobD wrote:
> Some of the old wood is so tight grained it can be mistaken for
> plastic......
>
Could also be a hard rubber Normandy Resotone that was rebadged as a Noblet which I believe was done for at least a few years.
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Author: CuriousClarinet
Date: 2012-02-01 00:42
There is someone who has a plastic clarinet in our band that is labeled a Normandy. It is a very old clarinet...and I'm not convinced it plays very well. But it is plastic for sure. There is another girl I know that has a wooden Normandy clarinet that looks about the same age as the plastic, and it makes it look obviously plastic.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2012-02-01 02:38
On the 1966 Noblet/Normandy price list, there is a Noblet 11 offered in plastic. The metal Noblet 18 is also still a current model as of 1966.
In my personal collection are two early Normandys in plastic. They are made in France, have maillechort keywork, and look identical to the early mostly-wooden Normandy Special, with angled Buffet-style trill keys. I have not yet restored one and can't comment on its playability.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2012-02-01 11:35
I do have somewhere in my stockpile of "to do up" instruments an Ebonite Noblet" as I recall very similar design to the Artist model (and definitely not a Normandy).
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-02-01 12:23
There are loads of plastic Normandys doing the rounds - they were made from very hard, high density plastic, probably bakelite or similar.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2012-02-01 13:44
Most plastic Normandys encountered are the model 14--made in the USA by Leblanc rather then by Noblet, and essentially a rebadged Vito.
The Noblet-made plastic Normandys are much less common and quite different from the Normandy 14. I have not come across a Noblet 11 and thus haven't determined whether the N11 and plastic Noblet-built Normandy are related in any way.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2012-02-01 19:59
Finally tracked down the Noblet - at the very bottom of the pile naturally -
It is clearly marked Noblet - made in France - with ser no 39xxx (c 1974).
All joints are ebonite/hard rubber except bell which is a hard black plastic ( has not developed the slight grey/green haze of the ebonite sections).
On closer inspection it is not quite the Artist level, probably next line down.
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