 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: rotorobot
Date: 2020-05-23 22:58
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Hello,
I signed up here to see if someone could help with information pertaining to this bass clarinet.
This belonged to my grandfather who played with the NBC orchestra under Toscanini (this was one of his main clarinets that was used for broadway plays).
I've had this for a number of years sitting in my closet and was hoping someone here might be able to give me an idea as to its value, history, significance, desirability amongst musicians, etc.
Thanks very much in advance for your input and advice.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2020-05-23 23:32
It's an older German system bass - presumably built to low D as the lower joint doesn't look long enough for low C (all keywork is on the lower joint and the bell is keyless), but can't tell for certain as the lower joint is obscured by the case flap.
The 'doughnut key' on the top joint for LH2 is fitted to make it possible to safely cover such a large diameter tonehole - possibly linked to be lowered by LH3 to make forked Bb (Sp.Th. xox|ooo) better tuned.
G. Mollenhauer are still in business - they're best known for their contrabassoons and they still make clarinets and bass clarinets: https://www.gustav-mollenhauer.de/mpklarinette.pdf
https://www.gustav-mollenhauer.de/produkte
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2020-05-24 02:51)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2020-05-24 05:01
Probably a narrow-bore design (.780") like my contemporary F. Arthur Uebel bass, which is similar in design to yours as far as I can tell from the photos.
If you're in the U.S. as I'm guessing, you'll find very little market here for such an instrument. I really like mine and play it semi-regularly, but I'm definitely way out of the mainstream by doing that. I was able to fairly easily extend the range of mine to written low-C, making it more useful for playing orchestral repertoire. The same could be done to yours, I'm sure.
If it's narrow-bore as I suspect, then special mouthpieces and reeds would be needed, both are fairly hard to find in the US, and the instrument is very finicky about mouthpieces (I've basically had to make my own). But they have a different sound than the standard Boehm-system instruments, work very well in certain contexts, and are just very cool. Some eccentric like me would probably be interested in your instrument.
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Author: rotorobot
Date: 2020-05-24 06:13
Thank you both for your comments and insights. Although I play piano and a little guitar, I’m far from a professional.
So, it sounds like this clarinet is a bit of an oddity and would be more desirable as a collectible instrument rather than something to be played professionally (these days, at least).
Again, appreciate your help. If you, or anyone you know might have further interest, please feel free to contact me via PM.
I’m certainly in no hurry to sell as I’ve had this for several years but would certainly like it to go to someone who could enjoy and appreciate it.
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2020-05-24 18:22
"Mollenhauer Cassel ": The instrument is from 1936 or older: since then the city's name was written "Kassel", and younger Mollenhauer clarinets are marked accordingly. These old instruments must have been of very high quality, but probably are low pitch about A = 436...439.
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