 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Craig morris
Date: 2001-03-22 08:49
Im new to this and in New Zealand, I havnt owned a Clarinet since i left school 25 years ago where i took lessons for 8 years ,
now i have just been given a clainet from a friend that was going to junk it and would like to know if its worth salvaging ,
its a Conn
on the horn it has Conn / director / usa
i have done a little research and the serial number points to being made in the mid 50's
can any help me out as to some more info about this model , in assuming that it is wooden and i would like to know if it is worth getting the tlc that it needs as the pads have all fallen apart, all the cork work is fine and all the keys are fine altho the needle points are quite rusted , i read somewhere that they would be blued ones is this correct.
the clarinet is still in its original conn case, but needs some tlc before it will be heard again .
thanks ,,, would love to play again Craig Morris
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-03-22 13:23
Try doing a search here. There's a few posts concerning both the plastic and wooden Conn Directors.
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Author: John Scorgie
Date: 2001-03-23 16:20
Craig --
Why not contact one of your countrymen who is a frequent and most welcome contributor to this website? He is both a player and a repair guy in Auckland (Aukland?). Judging from his posts, he is highly knowledgeable and experienced in clarinet repair/restoration matters and can advise you on the cost for him to restore your Conn Director vs. buy a new clarinet such as a Yamaha 20. His name is Gordon (NZ) and I believe his email is: gorpal@xtra.co.nz
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Author: Bob Curtis
Date: 2001-03-24 14:23
Craig:
The Conn Instrument Company (Elkhart, Indiana) is a very reapectable instrument manufacturing company and was extremely successful with their brass instruments after WWII. They also made very respectable woodwind instruments. I remember touring their factory back in the early 60's and it was quite an operation. As to the needles ( springs, as we call them) they can be a little tricky to install correctly due to the fact that they need to be balanced or adjusted to your fiingering and that particular instrument. I know of no other style than the "blued" ones which are in existence today. It would be much better if a professional did this for you. The seating of the pads, also. If just a sleight amount of air escapes from a pad it can cause a lot of misery. This is not to say that you can't do it yourself, but a pro would do a much better job for you. Check with Gordon in NZ to see what can be done and his advice. Of course, a good look at the instrument would be the best thing to determine if it was sorth the cost of the repair.
Good Luck.
Bob Curtis
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Author: Cass
Date: 2001-03-24 23:44
True that Conn was respected, but the Director is student intermediate quality made after the best years. They come up for sale a lot and they can be in plastic or some early ones are wood. I asked my teacher and she warned me off. She said it is impossible to play one of those in tune and the keys break. They are some kind of brittle cheap metal.
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