 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-08-26 07:15
Does anyone still make "Alberts" or is everything Oehler now?
Thanks,
Fuzzy
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-08-26 08:19
Albert clarinets are still manufactured in India. These are mostly copies of the old B & H instruments that equipped military band in the days when the Brits ran India. The Indian-made instruments are of varying quality and you'll find a lot of them on EBay. I recently played an Indian-made G Albert clarinet that was surprisingly good.
Tony F.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-08-26 08:52
Google search for Hammerschmidt-Klingson Albert system clarinets. They come in several keys including C, Bb, and G and some choice of woods. I've never played any of them and cannot vouch for their quality.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-08-26 18:16
Thanks for the responses! That gives me something to research. It seems that a few years ago, I was seeing metal Alberts from Turkey...but I hadn't remembered seeing any plastic/wood/rubber clarinets.
Fuzzy
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-26 19:21
There are student level German system clarinets that have much less keywork (17 to 22 keys and 4 to 6 rings), compared to pro level Oehler systems (24 to 27 keys and 5 rings with the fingerplate for RH2), but they'll still have a German bore instead of a French bore.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: gatto
Date: 2017-08-26 20:20
In the 1997 documentary film "Wild Man Blues" about Woody Allen he is shown buying a Albert system clarinet in the Buffet factory near Paris. I guess it was custom-made just for him.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-08-28 00:29
Personally I've never found any clarinet made in India to be good. They simply don't have the manufacturing capabilities yet. On many instruments the rods are not even threaded and the keys are cast of soft brass. Even Chinese instruments have more to offer in terms of acoustics and overall quality.
An instrument is something you may own for a lifetime, you should not strive to spend as little money as possible. Remember, you get what you paid for.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-28 00:45
If you're after a reliable Albert/simple system, then look for an old ebonite-bodied Hawkes&Sons/Boosey&Co/Boosey&Hawkes one provided it's LP (Low Pitch - 439-440Hz) as opposed to HP (High Pitch - 452-453Hz).
If you can find a wooden-bodied one in good condition, then that will be good. But an ebonite one is more likely to be easier to maintain and wouldn't have suffered the problems as a wooden one if it had been neglected.
They can often be found in antiques shops or auction sites for a reasonable low sum. But the important thing is to know for definite if it's LP as opposed to HP.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-08-28 03:52
Unfortunately my total exposure to Indian-made clarinets is a sample of 1.
The G clarinet I played is owned by a player in Melbourne, and it was in my local music shop to get the thumb rest moved. I did the job on their premises and didn't really have a chance to examine it closely. I checked it mechanically and found the keywork to be well made nickel-silver, well fitted. When I played it I checked it against the shops Korg tuner and the tuning was pretty good, with the lowest notes being a bit flat and the highest a bit sharp. It was more resistant than I like, but not excessively so. The only name on it was that of a shop in London, where the owner originally bought it.
If I needed an Albert clarinet now, I'd follow the advice given by Chris P above. They sometimes turn up on eBay.
Tony F.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-08-28 04:09
Tony,
Is it possible that instrument was made in Pakistan? The company Hakam is located there and makes G clarinets. The only clarinets I know of that come out of India are in Bb and Eb.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-08-28 06:11
There wasn't a makers name on it, but it did say "Made in India" above the serial number. It didn't say Hakam anywhere on it that I saw, and unfortunately I no longer have access to the instrument.
Tony F.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2017-08-28 07:39
From (slightly vague) memory there are a few companies still making Albert system clarinets, but all of them that I've seen have been G clarinets. I saw an Amati, a cheap Indian clarinet (or maybe not Indian, not sure) and a new supposedly higher quality German made one (forgot the maker's name). I think there are a few made in Turkey too but not sure.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-08-28 18:48
If you check the UK iteration of a well-known website and enter "clarinet albert" in the search box you will find several Indian-made Bb Alberts from various suppliers in India. Of course, they may have originally all come from the same factory.
I recall seeing one for sale some time back that was of recent maknufacture from a maker in Italy. Can't remember the maker, but it wasn't one of the major houses.
If I wanted a good Albert now I'd follow the advice of Chris P above. Oldies from good makers come up on EBay sometimes.
Tony F.
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2017-09-01 07:42
I'll watch for that...I posted elsewhere here about my quest for the perfect outdoor (i.e. synthetic, not wood) clarinet. Just got my first Boosey & Hawkes 1-10 up and playing today...cork upper, leather lower. It's really a surprisingly good player. The fine engraving even took the gilt pretty well (except a couple of spots where some bozo got too enthusiastic with a buffing wheel) so it even looks pretty snazzy. I like the Bbtrill and LH low C touches a lot (this latter probably doesn't apply to the Albert version. I managed to get two of these 1-10s in the same week of "auction site", that are 100 SNs apart from each other, sometime in 1964/1965. The cases are bashed in, but both horns are in pristine condition. I might do Valentinos on the other one, just for contrast, but don't stock them generally. This horn had 7 different pad sizes!!!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-09-01 08:04
I find that my hard rubber Imperial is just about the perfect outdoor instrument for me. Plays well, in tune and I never have to worry about cracking. I also have a hard rubber Emperor, which is pretty well the same instrument. The military used a lot of these hard rubber top end B & H instruments, and when they stopped instrument production Buffet became the weapon of choice for the military and large quantities of these excellent hard rubber instruments appeared on the second-hand market. They're worth looking out for. The Edgware also appeared in this guise.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-09-01 17:08
Only the 1010 is the acoustically different of the B&H lineup as all the models below that have the same bore and tonehole layout.
I saw an Indian-made Albert/simple system which was a direct copy of an old Boosey&co clarinet. It could probably be improved, but would've needed a lot of work to make it better.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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