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Corton sapphire

Author: toffeeman3
Date: 2017-06-23 18:49

I just bought a Corton Sapphire clarinet on e bay for £21 It came with a Vandoren mouthpiece,cap and ligature so it was a bargain! Not expecting much from the instrument I was pleaseantly surprised.
I had read it was a Czech made model of wood with an ebonite bell. I want to confirm this as there appers to be grain on the body apart from the bell which has grain on the exterior but is plastic on the inside.Is this possible? It does not look like ebonite as this has a green/black appearance.
The instrument reminds me very much of a similar age Evette I bought but if anything it is better.

Does anybody have any more knowledge about it?
The other thing is that the Vandoren ligature seems to be left handed i.e. the screws enter from the left. I was wondering if it is moent to have the screws at the back because there are two ridges wich lok like they may be meant to sit on the reed

Thanks

07469847273

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Re: Corton sapphire

Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-06-23 22:39

It's an entry level wooden clarinet, the same as the Lafleur and B&H 400. They were distributed through Rosetti who also distributed Vandoren, so the better quality mouthpiece and accessories were supplied with some for a slightly higher price compared to the bog standard Corton which came with a standard Amati mouthpiece.

Sapphire as a brand name in its own right in the '80s (can't remember the distributor who used this name - maybe it was Rosetti as well) was also stencilled on Taiwanese flutes and clarinets which were also near identical instruments (apart from some minor cosmetic changes) to the Trevor James TJ10 flute, contrary to what Trevor James directors said when they claimed they were made by their technicians (in Maidstone, Kent) and the James&Young/Artemis clarinet - the 'Young' in James&Young being an Anglicised form of Yang, with Yang the Taiwanese side of Trevor James/James&Young.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Post Edited (2017-06-24 01:08)

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Re: Corton sapphire

Author: toffeeman3
Date: 2017-06-24 00:01

Thanks Chris,

any idea about the bell? I read that the bells were ebonite mine is strange because it has a grain on the outside but plastic on the inside?

Thanks for confirming it is wood I assume grenadilla wood? Is there a way of checking it is wood? I dont suppose when this was made they were able to create a grain effect so I guess it must be wood. Dont really know why I was the only bidder and not sure why they dont seem popular?

Is it Czech made?

Thanks
John

07469847273

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Re: Corton sapphire

Author: toffeeman3
Date: 2017-06-24 00:05

Taiwan has a reputation for quality in many products, bikes for one but they have mostly moved production out to mainland China.
It will be more difficult to pin down production to individual factories when that happens as china is so huge. They will be very good eventualy though at clarinet production

07469847273

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Re: Corton sapphire

Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-06-24 00:19

You said the bell has a green/black appearance which means it is likely ebonite. Chinese ebonite instruments are often finished with sandpaper from the factory to give them a wood like appearance, I imagine your bell was finished in a similar way.

-Jdbassplayer

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Re: Corton sapphire

Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-06-24 01:04

Amati/Corton ebonite bells were usually polished, but they turned dull as well as went green. Maybe it was given a wood grain finish either originally or someone took a pot scourer to it.

I think the all plastic Corton clarinets may have had a wood-like finish, but I haven't seen them for decades now.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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Re: Corton sapphire

Author: toffeeman3
Date: 2017-06-24 18:13

Thanks,

So still not sure if it is wood or not. It is not a train crash though and find it on a par with the Evette i have. It is much better than the Booseys,Bundy's or chinese CSOs I have tried.

07469847273

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