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Leblanc Paradox

Author: Leon P
Date: 2019-04-06 09:53
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Hi Everyone. I was given a Leblanc LL Bb clarinet as a birthday present, to bring back to life. There are a few questions that I have for the experts here regarding this instrument.

Firstly, the serial number. From every single piece of information that I have been able to find, it seems that the first serial number for this model was 15XXX and was produced in 1964. This is the number and year which every document I've found on the web agrees upon. The problem is that the serial number of mine is 12525, which predates this. Does anyone have any information about this? I don't know when the fire with the mysterious circumstances behind it took place, so I have no idea regarding what, if any, documents went missing.

My second question comes from inspection of the wood. This is simply the finest example of African Mpingo in a clarinet that I've ever seen. The bores of each piece are almost glassy smooth without any residue and the exterior wood has that almost-mythical blackness with red undertones which I think is incredibly beautiful. The logos are so very crisp and look to have been incised only recently. Should I use a linseed oil based bore oil, such as Music Nomad's Organic oil in the bore, and Renaissance Wax on the exterior? I don't want to make any mistakes and I'm hoping that the collective expertise can guide me.

Third, the pads. Oh, the pads... Every single pad, including the register key, are white/off white. The four largest pads have the name VITO printed on their backs. This obviously references Vito Pascucci, but I don't know anything about the history of where the instrument's pads were originally installed, or if this might have been a second set of pads. Again, I throw myself upon the mercy of the knowledgeable.

My last question is about the mouthpiece. It has the G. Leblanc banner stamped, with the letters reflecting the shape of the banner. There are no numbers engraved and I am interested in learning about this variety of mouthpiece.

Well, that's about it. My first post here, and it's probably far too long and asking too much, but I'm hoping that there will be information out there.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers

Léon P

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