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Re: Metal clarinet

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-07-14 23:18

H. Pedler made solid silver clarinets based on the (pre-R13) Buffet design. There's a photo of Gaston Hamelin, the Boston principal, holding one and a (probably apocryphal) story that he was fired for playing it. Alexander Williams told me that he had played an Eb in the New York Philharmonic. I tried a full Boehm Bb/A pair that Charlie Ponte owned and liked them but couldn't make a fair evaluation because the pads were leaky. They were also quite heavy.

Haynes made double-walled silver clarinets with their trademark amazing fit and finish. There were a very small number of Bb/A pairs made. Hayneses go for at least $2,000, and every one that comes on the market is immediately snapped up by collectors. They used the Selmer design, which for me tended to blare. Also, the left-hand E/B and F#/C# keys were shorter than usual. With my short little fingers, I had trouble finding them.

Selmer made excellent solid silver clarinets that go for high prices (over $1,000). For me, they play like wood Selmers from that period.

Those are the 3 contenders.

Ken Shaw

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