 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: 42cheese
Date: 2013-12-15 04:45
I came across an unusual alto clarinet and I wonder if anyone can tell me more about it, historically and technically.
It was made by "Vincent Freres" of Paris, France which didn't yield anything clarinet-related in a google search. Has anyone heard of this maker? Are they/were they any good? The serial number is 51213 (according to the seller—there are no actual pictures of the number).
The clarinet appears to have been made with an alt. Ab/Eb lever, which would save me the trouble of installing one myself. But I notice that the low Eb hole is on the lower join rather than the bell. This reminds me of full boehm clarinets and their awful flatness on low F and E. Would this placement of the low Eb hole create the same flatness problem?
Thanks,
Sean
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2013-12-15 23:50
I have not noticed that full Boehms in general that I have played had greater problems with their low E and F compared to standard models, if anything they were better in this respect.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-12-16 01:12
Theory must yield to practice. The only way to find out is to play it.
Ken Shaw
Post Edited (2013-12-16 01:13)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-12-16 14:21
If the "Vincent Freres" alto you're looking at is the one currently on The Infernal Internet Auction Site Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned (TIIASWNSNBM), it is nothing more than a stencilled Robert Malerne alto. exactly the same as all the other Malerne alto and bass clarinets which were marketed under (at last count) 7.3 zillion brand names. Nothing unusual about it. Student/intermediate instrument, will play OK in lower register, not so great in clarion and altissimo, and the keywork is very soft and easy to bend.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-12-16 14:52
The low Eb key is on the bell - this alto has a doubled F/C key to give better venting to low G. You can see the linkage to the bell key on the lower joint immediately above the tenon.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: 42cheese
Date: 2013-12-18 02:03
Thanks David. I'd heard about the rebranding of Malernes but wasn't sure how to identify such an instrument. It's a shame that GOOD altos and basses don't tend to come with an alt. Ab/Eb lever. . .
Thanks for the clarification Chris.
---Sean
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-12-18 02:22
Sean -
I've never seen a top of the line alto or bass that *didn't* have the alternate Ab/Eb lever for the left little finger.
If you want an alto that's a real musical instrument, look for a Selmer Series 9. They come up on eBay from time to time.
Several years ago I tried a new Buffet alto that simply blew me away. The price blew me away too.
Ken Shaw
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-12-18 03:05
Maybe not in current-production altos and basses, Ken, but back when the Malerne was made (1940s-early 70s) most altos and basses, even the professional models, did NOT have alternate Ab-Eb levers. It is one of the slightly nice features of the Malerne instruments, though as Sean put it, the instruments themselves weren't the greatest.
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