The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jason Moore
Date: 2001-07-11 22:13
Good Afternoon!,
I am writing you for help. I am an amateur musician and love all
kinds of music. I play, collect, and restore guitars. Recently I acquired a
clarinet and so I am asking you all for your help. I have E-mailed the Boosey &
Hawkes Co. several times for info on a certain instrument and have not
received any replies. I was hoping someone could help me or at least point me in the right direction.
This is a copy of the mail I sent to Boosey & Hawkes:
Good Day to whom it may concern,
I have recently acquired one of your instruments and I was hoping you
could give me some info about it. E.g. type?, value?, rarity?, exporter?,
replacement parts?, local repair center?, etc..... I would greatly
appreciate any info you could give me.
Thank you so much for your help and I am looking forward to your reply.
The serial number is 121451.
Jason Moore
Southern California USA
Could someone please help with any info they may have. Aside from the above info I also was wondering about the cost to bring it back to playing
condition, collectibility, resale value, are cracks repairable and do they
affect the sound or playability, best resale market, etc....
I have done about 3.5 hours of research and could only determine its
age on the B&H website (made in 1960). I cannot find any model # on the
instrument, only the serial # (121451), and the B&H symbols (made in London).
I am pretty sure it's not the original case or the original mouthpiece. Am I
sitting on a diamond in the rough or just a lump of unrecyclable coal (haha)?
Thank you everyone again for any help you can give me!!
Jason Moore
Southern Ca.
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Author: David
Date: 2001-07-11 22:50
It's like looking through a blindfold at a painting and trying to decide if it's real or fake. The blindfold lets off details. Most people would have to see the clarinet themselves to tell you anything about repair. I unfortunately, know next to nothing about clarinet brands (Which is obvious from my question on a Bundy Resonite model some time back). Perhaps someone can tell you someting I can't, however.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-07-11 23:22
Jason Moore wrote:
>
> I have done about 3.5 hours of research and could only
> determine its
> age on the B&H website (made in 1960). I cannot find any model
> # on the
> instrument, only the serial # (121451), and the B&H symbols
> (made in London).
The serial numbers at the B&H website almost certainly do not apply to your clarinet. The serial numbers at the B&H site are for Buffet instruments since B&H bought out Buffet in 1986 and discontinued producing clarinets under the B&H name.
> I am pretty sure it's not the original case or the original
> mouthpiece. Am I
> sitting on a diamond in the rough or just a lump of
> unrecyclable coal (haha)?
It's most likely somewhere in-between. B&H was a reputable maker of clarinets producing decent instruments from student through pro models. If the repairs aren't too extensive, it's probably worth bringing back to playing condition but don't expect any signficant return on your investment.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-07-12 14:38
From Lars Kimser's serial number list website, s/n 121451 was made in 1971, and and since the vast majority of Boosey & Hawkes clarinets on eBay are the student/intermediate "The Edgware" model (or its plastic successor the "Series 1-10" beginner model), odds are that's what it is. Not a goldmine. Worth maybe $50 in average "eBay condition", up to a couple of hundred if completely overhauled. You didn't say if it was made of wood, hard rubber, or plastic. If plastic, then it's almost definitely a Series 1-10, an instrument in the Bundy/Vito class.
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Author: David Kinder
Date: 2001-07-13 02:03
Jason,
I also live in Southern California. Where are you at? Maybe I can refer a competent repair person for you in the area. I live in Orange County.
David Kinder
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Author: charling
Date: 2001-07-13 04:25
I used to own the same model. It is not a keeper. get rid of it
charling
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Author: John Zarli
Date: 2001-07-13 22:28
I have "restored" 2 non wood ebay clarinets to at least playable condition using a pad kit available from WWBW. There is also Ferrees, but it is such an extensive parts catalog that the small Lavoz kit from WWBW ($16) should do, assuming the mechanism is complete. I'm strictly an amateur, especially with regards to repair, but I got through it. From what I can make of it, the limiting factor for repair of student clarinets is the condition of the tone hole chimneys. One of my ebay clarinets has very worn down chimneys with hairline cracks....I'm not sure what I can do about it.
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