 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2018-10-23 18:28
While I've seen them with original, cracked, repaired or replacement top joints, I've never encountered a dud Selmer from this era (M to R/S series) and yet to encounter one that just doesn't play or respond well even with the cracks all repaired and everything sealing well.
Has anyone had a Selmer 55, BT or CT that played like an absolute pig no matter how well it was set up?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2018-10-24 00:03
My experience has been great I; I have two P-series CTs and a T-series S9 and they play fine. I have fitted a 10G bell to one of the CTs as the bell was missing when I acquired it. The 2 CTs were bought in very rough condition and played surprisingly well even with pads that were falling out and torn. The CT with the replacement bell is my main clarinet and fitted with Valentino Masters pads (sacrilegious but effective). I acquired the S9 from Vytas with a fresh overhaul so have no reference point, but I have played and worked on others and would extend your "virtue extollation" to the Series 9 as well.
It is my personal belief (i.e. I have not exhaustively tested this) that the large bore cylindrical clarinets with plain toneholes (not tapered or undercut) are more tolerant of leaks than the more carefully designed later models with smaller bores, tapers and polycylinders, and designed-in tonehole undercutting.
Those of you who poke around this site have probably noticed that I have developed an irrational reverence for the Vito clarinets, particularly the later 7214 and V40 models. These also seem to have the rugged keywork and tolerance of setup that the Selmers from the 40s-60s seem to possess. I have a couple of these (one 7214 and one V40) that I have experimented with extensively and will likely not be moved with the others into the rental business for middle schoolers, as I enjoy playing them outdoors so much.
Chris, sorry to extend your question but I think there is a common thread...
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2018-10-24 20:28
A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of M/N series Selmers. They weren't labelled BT or 55, but based on the strange register vent, I'm sure that's what they were. I got them because I'd heard so much enthusiasm about CTs or similar - but I have to say I was rather disappointed. First of all, the tuning was not good at all: way sharp in the LH lower register. You can see why polycylindrical bores were considered such a big advance. I might have tried to make the necessary big lip adjustments if the sound had been great, but it wasn't: not just the overall nature of the tone, but its uniformity, with some notes jumping out with respect to the others. So maybe these were indeed duds, or perhaps that design just doesn't work for me and other players would have loved them. The only way for me to tell would be to buy other examples of similar instruments - but this experience didn't leave me enthusiastic about doing that.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-10-29 06:05
Well i'm only aware of the CT. I had a very decent Eb clarinet which was stolen. At the time it was compared to the Buffets often thought to be better and sometimes worse, during that era. Both horns had intonation issues so it was hard to say which one was better.
For jazz, no question, on a Bb I'd take a CT - Center Tone, and I really like jazz. Great horns as well as the 9 and 9*. Also the 10 series is excellent and often underrated, passed up for the Buffet R13's a lot so you sometimes can get decent deals. These are very much pro horns, just getting older as time clicks away, bores change the wood changes, things like that.
The G was said to stand for Gigliotti on the bell. I never measured the bells of any Selmers, however knowing Tony who did his own work on his horns he probably did make some sort of adjustments, such as making it shorter, longer, or removing wood out of the bell. He also made some decent mouthpieces, but not great. So they didn't go up in value. When he died there was and still is all sorts of lawsuits that may never be settled as to who owns his estate, including his mouthpieces which Babbitt made. I think one of his 2 wives is actually in jail. I'm not sure which one. So that is what I know about the G.
Some of his Philadelphia Orchestra recordings are amazing. He's one of those players like Harold Wright that died too young and not enough solo recordings were ever made.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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