Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-08-21 13:36
Haynes clarinets go for very high prices, and the sky's the limit for a pair. There's an active group that collects them. A search on this board and the Klarinet list will bring up many hits.
The value and the enormous prestige of the maker doesn't mean they're great clarinets. Charlie Ponte had a Bb in his store, which was in prime condition. The fit and finish were of course impeccable, but I didn't particularly like it as a clarinet.
First, it was based on a Selmer model. For me, it had the typical Selmer glare in the sound. Second, the little finger keys were too short, and I kept missing them. Third, it had a double "thermos" tube. There was a hole at the top of the barrel that you could blow into to warm up the air. However, that would quickly infest the interior with mold.
Of course I should have bought it, if only for the collectibility, but I was even poorer then than I am now.
Charlie also had a Bb/A pair of silver H. Bettoneys. They felt good but weren't really in playable condition, and he wanted a super-premium price for them. Alexander Williams played an H. Bettoney Eb in the New York Philharmonic and there's a photo of Gaston Hamelin (principal in Boston) with one. The story is that he was fired for using it, but I don't really believe it.
Ken Shaw
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
