The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jenna
Date: 2001-07-08 19:36
Hello all..
This weekend I bought (and probably wasted some money - but what the hey) an old metal clarinet at a little estate tag sale store. The guy who owned the store said he got it from another woman who had an antique store who said she had it in storage for 20 years. It's an American Beauty (I have the sn if it's of interst to anyone) and I'm trying to find out somehting about it. Any information anyone here could give me would be truly appreciated. I've tried looking online, but to no avail.. I figure, even if it's the worst metal clarinet ever made, it's still pretty neat to have. =)
Thanks,
jenna
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-07-08 19:54
Probably one of the tons of metal clarinets made for the student/marching band trade in the 1930s & 1940s. I see them now and then on eBay but that's it.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-07-09 15:52
I bought a metal Pedler clarinet off eBay a couple of years ago and had it completely overhauled with new pads, springs, etc. by an expert clarinet tech.
I was amazed at how nice it actually sounded. However, I found I didn't really enjoy playing it and sold it a few months later. No, I didn't get the $125.00 back that I had spent for the overhaul--but it was kind of fun to own for a while. It was in really nice shape and did play pretty well for one of those oldies.
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Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2001-07-09 16:32
Brenda, are we back to the "If it ain't wood, it ain't good" syndrome? Don't tell us you are a clarinet "snob"? :-
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Author: Ken
Date: 2001-07-15 00:09
A few years ago, I found an old metal clarinet in an antique store. I was attracted to it because it was similar to the one on which I learned and played in the 1940's.
The trade name is "Champion" I payed $35 for the horn--no dings, not even tarnished. Then I payed $135 to have it repadded--because of the need to search for individual pads rather than use a standard repadding kit. From my sources, I find that it was made about 1920-1925. I have a page from an old champion catalog that lists Model N-5212 in nickel at $19.75 and the model N-2524 in silver as $20.75. Talk about inflation. It plays pretty well and has a decent tone. It's quite a conversation piece when I show up at our community band with it---a lot of the younger players have never seen a metal clarinet. I much preferred to put it into playing condition - I have enough lamps!
KennyG
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