The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bennysuts
Date: 2018-05-11 14:20
Does anyone know how to tell if a Leblanc Clarinet is one of the instruments that was rebored, wrongly, at the Vito factory? Apart from playing it, are there any visual signs?
Thanks!
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-05-12 14:38
I think you have to measure the diameter of the bore. Just take a caliper and measure the bore diameter at the lower end of the upper joint. If the caliper shows 15 mm or above and the model is not the Dynamic H or Pete Fountain, then the instrument has been re-bored. Evidence is welcome so any photos posted here would be greatly appreciated!
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Author: richard smith
Date: 2018-05-13 17:22
ask Tom Ridenour about which Leblancs were bored ; my LL3 was and could not be played in tune.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-05-13 18:34
Do you still have it, Richard? Would be great if you could measure the upper joint bore diameter at both ends with a caliper. The LL should have a 14.8 mm, very slightly conical bore.
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Author: bennysuts
Date: 2018-05-17 10:34
Well I got the L300 clarinet out today, it measures 14.5mm, maybe a tiny bit more (approx) on my non-digital calipers at the bottom of the top joint.
It will need overhaul, but it's a great clarinet. In a cold room, playing a cold instrument I went up a chromatic scale with a tuner and it was dead on 10 cents flat the whole way, 3 1/2 octaves. The needle basically didn't move.
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Author: klarisa
Date: 2018-05-17 16:14
I have a Leblanc LL clarinet. I don't think they used to rebore clarinets here in Europe so ik think (hope) it is the Original bore. I'll take measures and maybe some photo's tomorrow and repost then...
Regards, Johan
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2018-05-18 00:41
The Leblanc LL should have an absolutely parallel bore of 14.8mm throughout the top joint.
The lower joint also has the same dimension down to the start of the flare towards the bell tenon.
Be aware that quite a few old instruments have some distortion under the top tenon owing to swelling caused by excessive exposure to moisture over the years, so that to measure accurately requires a bore guage capable of measuring further down into the bore.
The barrels that came with my 1960s instruments had a very slight reverse taper (approx 0.008") ending with 14.8 mm at the lower socket end.
Many other models of Leblanc that passed through my workshop had similar bores. The main change came somewhere into the "L" series (L7 ?)
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Author: klarisa
Date: 2018-05-19 16:06
As promised some photo's. I Also tried to post a photo of the bore but it's difficult to get a clear picture... The bore diameter of the upper part measures 14.8mm on the top and about 14.85mm on the bottom.
Post Edited (2018-05-19 16:17)
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2018-05-20 22:43
Thanks, Klarisa. You have a clarinet with the original bore.
For polycylindrical bores there can be a visible shadow in the bore just above the thumb tube where most of the dimensional change takes place.
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