 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: slickam
Date: 2013-06-13 04:30
I just bought a metal Noblet and I'm trying to figure out how old it is. I haven't found any descriptions of the emblems they used that match the one on the bell.
The emblem has a D and N superimposed over each other, "Noblet" under that, and "Paris" below that. There is nothing else around it, no lyre, no border.
It has Boehm keywork and offset trill keys. The serial number is 12XX.
Does anyone have any idea how old it might be?
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Author: ned
Date: 2013-06-13 05:12
I have what could be the same model metal Boehm Noblet - it is a one piece instrument (17 keys, 5 rings) - what is yours?
Mine in addition, has the lyre and oval shaped border around the words Noblet & Paris and on the ''back'' (ie 180 degrees around) are the digits 2605.
I purchased it second hand in about 1966 or 1967 - it was old even then - so I'll hazard a guess and say mine is about 70 y.o.
Here are some links which I found. I also looked at the ''How old is my..."" listing on this site but unless you know the model number it won't help a great deal.
http://www.angelfire.com/in2/easyliving/gallery/Noblet.html
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Clarinet-2214/Noblet-metal-clarinet.htm
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Author: slickam
Date: 2013-06-14 04:28
Attachment: clarinet.png (376k)
Attachment: bell.png (203k)
Attachment: case.png (154k)
Mine is 3 pieces (mouthpiece, barrel and body), 17 keys and 6 rings.
I'm attaching a picture of the clarinet, a closeup of the emblem on the bell, and a picture of the emblem on the case. I'm assuming it's the original case, so it might help determine the age.
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Author: ned
Date: 2013-06-14 05:21
Err...yeah...same as mine. I have separate MP and barrel too...I just didn't think it needed to be mentioned.
Actually, it looks very similar to mine, although the picture is a tad small. I think I can just spot that 3rd ring on the upper part, where I have just 2, in the usual Boehm fashion.
It also came in a sturdy black case, but this was lost by a person in Sydney. I lent the instrument to a bloke in 1967 and he choofed off up there with it! I got the horn back about a year or two ago, via a 3rd person - minus the case. A good lesson for me too...never lend stuff! The bloke denied he even had it at one stage, despite his appearance on the cover of a record holding it and playing in this particular band!!
I'm a bit of a dunce where it comes to posting pictures, otherwise I'd have done so, but anyway I don't think a picture would have added anything to solving the mystery.
I guess the only thing for you to do will be to contact LeBlanc/Noblet and see if you get an answer.
cheers,
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Author: slickam
Date: 2013-06-14 05:34
I've seen some where the mouthpiece connects directly to the body without a barrel, so that's why I mentioned it.
For the number of rings, I've always seen the count include the ring for the thumb on the left hand, so we have the same number.
Sorry for the size of the pictures, I don't have a very good camera.
I'll try contacting them and post if I get any response.
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Author: slickam
Date: 2013-06-29 22:25
I wasn't able to find a contact email for Leblanc, but I did get in touch with the owner of http://silver-clarinet.com/ He said that it looks like it's from about 1960.
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2013-07-04 04:39
Leblanc probably started making metal clarinets in the 1930s. I wrote to the company a decade ago and was told that they continued making metal clarinets through the mid 1960s and listed them in the catalog through 1972. To my knowledge, everyone else was out of the market by the early 1950s. They estimated that they had reached serial number 1000 by the late 1940s and that they reached serial numbers in the 8000s by the end. I believe the first Noblet metal clarinets had a raised diamond on the bells. And I have seen at least one ablert system noblet. Chances are that yours was made in the late 1940s or early 1950s. By the 1960s the Noblet metal was the cheapest clarinet in the LeBlanc catalog.
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2013-07-04 20:29
I had a raised diamond model -- it was the clarinet my son played in school band. Until he lost it. It was pretty good, but not pro quality. I don't know if the later Noblets were much different. LeBlanc claims that there was only the one model.
Ken is right about the value. Good quality student metal clarinets can be had on eBay for under $60 if you are patient. Generally, the student models made in the US were better than the ones made in Europe but the Noblet I had was comparable in quality to an American Standard or American Gloritone, etc.
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Author: slickam
Date: 2013-07-06 08:02
Thanks for the info. I'm not really worried about the value. I view this clarinet as a conversation starter and something I can play outdoors without having to worry about it.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-07-06 14:35
slickam -
You can certainly play your metal Noblet outdoors without having to worry about it. It was created for that purpose.
For parades in the late 1960s with the West Point Band, everyone was issued a (plastic) Bundy, which played fine and was built like a tank. Today, I'd use any of the entry-level plastic clarinets, which, in my opinion, will play rings around an older metal horn.
Ken Shaw
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