 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Nikki
Date: 2010-07-12 13:30
Attachment: 102_0961.JPG (1370k)
I was hoping to find out some more information about an instrument I have. I have a metal Pan American Special clarinet. It's one piece with a serial number on the back. It's a neat instrument, in pretty good shape. My mother found it years ago at a garage sale and had it fixed up for me. Unfortunately, it has been gathering dust for more than five years now. I was reading through some of the older posts regarding Pan Americans, but was hoping to find out a bit more info, possibly including the approximate manufacture year of the instrument. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2010-07-14 04:35
The "Special" seems to be the most commonly-encountered Pan American metal clarinet. It's an entry-level instrument, and one small step above the Cavalier. The "Brilliante" (one of which I own) and "Moderne" were their intermediate-level metal clarinets.
According to The Conn Loyalist web site, Pan American had a metal clarinet in their catalog until at least 1946. I haven't been able to find a serial number list for Pan Am woodwinds.
Metals can be great fun--if you like the horn, by all means play and enjoy it. The keywork is likely of soft metal and easily bent, so be careful handling the horn, especially when you install/uninstall the barrel.
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Author: Klarnetisto
Date: 2012-10-08 00:55
I own a Moderne and just had is restored. The restorer tells me that it's actually essentially the same as Conn 524N, which was a professional level metal jazz clarinet. The Moderne has identical musical qualities: bore size, undercut tone holes, 2-piece main body, telescoping barrel... It just has a less fancy cosmetic finish than the 524N (though the bell interior is still gold-plated). So while the Pan Americans were ostensibly a mid-line brand, the Moderne performs at a professional level in every way.
I find it to be an excellent clarinet: it's superbly in tune with itself, agile and even throughout. Throat Bb is excellent; in fact with the register key it really sounds no different than with the right side trill key, i.e. it sounds just as good as throat G# or A. The tone is quite brilliant, yet quite beautiful.
I found that a Vandoren 5JB is a very good mouthpiece for it.
The same collector/restorer told me that the Brilliante is a less expensive version of the Moderne, mainly in that it has a single-piece main body.
Klarnetisto
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Author: 4accord
Date: 2015-06-21 05:40
Although this is an old thread, I thought to add something for any who (like me) have found it while researching Pan-Americans. While some Brilliantes may be one-piece, mine is actually four, not including the mouthpiece: barrel, upper and lower joints, and screw-on bell. Seems the same name was used for more than one design. Some might call this a three-piece, depending whether the separable barrel is considered a piece unto itself.
Post Edited (2015-06-23 00:22)
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2015-06-22 06:21
My Brilliante shares the same configuration as yours. I was certainly surprised when I discovered quite by accident that the bell screws on and off like a light bulb.
It also has soft keywork that is prone to bending--especially the register key. Handle these with care!
I've gigged a couple of times with the Brilliante. It was great fun, easy to play in tune, and my section mates were surprised at how nice it sounded. But, it's just too fragile to use regularly.
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2015-07-19 08:35
Conn made clarinets at several different plants and it wouldn't surprise me if some were made for them by others. I trust the serial number lists for the pro instruments but I'm less certain that lists for their student models mean anything.
I have restored a Moderne and an Elkhorn (also with screw off bell). Those horns look very similar to the 524N. I love the 524N. But those student models have larger bores and slightly different chimney locations. Mine play like barking dogs. No telling if this simply reflects some being made by junior techs or in different places or just ordinary horn to horn variation. For me, the Moderne is one of the worst metal clarinets I have played. The other Pan American I restored (don't recall the model) was a pretty good student quality instrument.
Post Edited (2015-07-19 08:46)
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2015-07-19 16:37
A metal clarinet would be go well in a heavy metal band.
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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