The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Vintage Leblanc Symphonie Full Boehm Clarinet

Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2019-02-23 18:57

I'm a huge fan of vintage Leblancs and own several. The keywork is exceptionally well made, the wood is high quality, and the ergonomics fit my smallish hands very well. Intonation in the ones I have tried is generally excellent. But I have never played one from the 1950s so cannot speak to any that old. One thought that did come to mind after my last post is that the Leblanc Symphonie 3 FB I own feels so much lighter and more agile than does the Selmer Series 9 FB. So the weight may be less of a factor with the FB Leblanc Symphonies. I haven't tried any other makes.

Regarding the throat Bb: the FB does give you another option for a middle Bb that may be useful when playing some passages. The full Boehm gives you several additional fingering options (while removing a few). But for a quality-sounding Bb, don't forget the throat A key plus second right hand trill key. As for the quality of the low E, I have found that replacing the stock bell on my standard Boehm Symphonie 3 (and some of my other Leblancs) with a Backun bell (the standard model) improves the quality of that sound without having to resort to switching to a full Boehm, and it's cheaper. It's all a matter of how involved you want to get. The more instruments you acquire the more issues you have to deal with - and the more money you can spend sorting them out. Curiosity is expensive.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics