 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rolliby
Date: 2012-11-17 02:00
My mother bought a clarinet back in 1973. The only one I can find online like it with the exact markings and case is an Eb.
The model number and registration card in the case is m# 1167, serial # 39657 (if I remember correctly) - but it was right under 40000. A serial # list indicated it was created in 1973.
How can I determine if it is Eb or Bb? I live 1 1/2 hrs outside of any city that would have an instrument business that could look at it for me. Are there any Eb Leblanc clarinets model # 1167? I don't even really have info on that either - so maybe Leblanc only made Bb in model # 1167? I don't know how to find out and have tried researching for several hours now.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, it is a Leblanc (wooden) - all original except for having to replace lost mouthpiece. Serial numbers match up.
Beth
rolliby@gmail.com
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Author: stoetz
Date: 2012-11-17 02:14
Should be fairly easy. If the instrument is in playable condition use a chromatic tuner and play a 'C' on your clarinet. If the tuner says Bb its Bb, if it says Eb then its Eb.
-stoetz
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Author: Rolliby
Date: 2012-11-17 03:10
Hmmm. Perhaps the local high school would have a chromatic tuner
Ah - there's a Jr. College nearby as well. Thanks for that! The horn is in excellent condition so there isn't an issue with that, thank goodness. Even have a box of Ven 3 reeds. I'm lucky :D
Beth
rolliby@gmail.com
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Author: ned
Date: 2012-11-17 03:25
Play the low Eb or the middle Bb(concert that is of course).........all fingers down..............and then find a piano.
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Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2012-11-17 03:46
Another approach is length. My Bb is about 24 inches long (from top of barrel to end of bell); the Eb is a good bit shorter (though I don't have have one to measure). You might call the music department at one of your schools to see if it has a chromatic tuner and to see if the music teacher has an Eb handy to measure its length.
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Author: Rolliby
Date: 2012-11-17 04:04
I've noticed other people mentioning Eb being noticeably smaller. I have average hand size and the Leblanc I have seems to match Bb descriptions so far. I'll be calling the schools in our local area on Monday checking for a chromatic tuner. I know the directors fairly well. Thanks!
Beth
rolliby@gmail.com
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Author: KTJ78
Date: 2012-11-17 04:23
This is not hard, people. Bb clarinets are about 10,000 times more common than Eb clarinets.
Also, if you have matching serial numbers it is a Bb. Eb clarinets have a bell, one single body piece, and a barrel. Bb clarinets have two body pieces - a lower and an upper joint.
KTJ
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Author: KTJ78
Date: 2012-11-17 04:41
Also, Ebs are about 18" (without the mouthpiece)
KTJ
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Author: Rolliby
Date: 2012-11-17 04:45
Thanks KTJ. I've not even seen an Eb clarinet since around 1980 or '81! I have a Bb. I found a brochure with all 3 (B, E, A) lined up together. I def have a Bb. Mine has 2 body joints.
Thanks all!
Beth
Beth
rolliby@gmail.com
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Author: Dori
Date: 2012-11-18 21:55
My Eb has 2 main body pieces so that feature alone is not a reliable way to tell the Eb and Bb clarinets apart.
The overall length is a better clue. As another poster mentioned the length is about 18 inches (mine is actually 17 inches). Of course, checking with a tuner will tell you right away what instrument you have.
Whatever it turns out to be, enjoy it!
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Author: MSK
Date: 2012-11-18 22:40
If you don't have a tuner or a piano to tune against there are also smartphone tuner apps. Size is probably easiest though.
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Author: KTJ78
Date: 2012-11-19 08:36
Or, you can just look at pictures of Eb and Bb clarinets online and compare. They really are quite, quite different looking. If she can't even tell which is which, she is not likely to be able to play the instrument with a tuner to get an accurate sound, anyway.
KTJ
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Author: Rolliby
Date: 2014-02-12 08:34
I appreciate everyone's opinion and help - except the snarky one. I USED to be a great player. Many things in life have filled up the memory banks after leaving active clarinet playing 40 YEARS ago.
Again, thank you all for your gracious help, if you were so inclined to give it without being a self-centered, sanctimonious, gloating buffoon.
Beth
Beth
rolliby@gmail.com
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Author: snilsson
Date: 2014-02-12 09:34
Here is an excellent 12-minute video clip where Jennifer McLaren, from the Philharmonia Orchestra, gives a really nice introduction to the Eb clarinet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7ngv25gI7c
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Author: donald
Date: 2014-02-12 14:49
Hey that's great luck for you! I hope you enjoy playing your Leblanc clarinet!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-12 15:05
Beth, could you post a photo of your clarinet on here? That way we can determine exactly what it is you've got.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: ned
Date: 2014-02-12 22:41
''...I USED to be a great player. ''
Not exactly what would be described as modest here in Oz. Perhaps folks in USA see these things differently.
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2014-02-13 00:39
I don't recall the model number but, when I was in college in the late 60s, the music department purchased a new Leblanc Eb (I was the one who got to play it). At that point in time, the Leblanc Eb was definitely a one piece body. Yes, some makers have made a two joint Eb, but at that time Leblanc was not one of them.
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Author: Funfly
Date: 2014-02-16 03:06
You can get a tuner app for your iphone and it's free. No excuse for not being able to check the tuning.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-02-15 22:33
Or just go here on your PC:
http://www.seventhstring.com/tuner/tuner.html
I think you have to have Java on your PC.
If you have a working mic you are in business.
This thread reminds me of a story I heard long ago, about a Candy Striper type who heard some docs and nurses discussing somebody's new baby, and nobody seemed to know whether it was a boy or girl. So she said, "Let me see the baby. I can tell the difference."
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
Post Edited (2014-02-16 03:36)
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Author: ABerry
Date: 2014-02-16 04:00
Beth,
As a comparison, the Bb will be between 23" and 24" long and the Eb will be somewhere between 17" and 18".
Allan
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