 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MarkW61
Date: 2021-05-15 21:02
Hi,
I am new to The Clarinet Board but I have read the forum posts relevant to Peter Eaton clarinets. I would like to have a chat with any International owners, preferably off-list. I am very much an amateur player so my questions of any owner will be embarrassingly naive!
Mark
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2021-05-16 15:53
Played the Elites before moving to Backun. Happy to help if I can
Peter Cigleris
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2021-05-16 18:29
Hi Mark. I play an Eaton International. Feel free to email me at the email address in my profile.
John
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Author: ruben
Date: 2021-05-16 19:37
Dear John: Is the International Eaton a small-bore clarinet, like Buffet and Selmer? Is that what makes it "international"? My second question: is Peter Eaton still producing clarinets or is he retired?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-05-16 19:58
The International has the narrower bore of the two models (the Elite being the large bore model) and while it's a smaller bore model, it's not a small bore clarinet a current Buffet or Selmer. They can be played with any mouthpiece (Vandoren, Selmer, etc.) instead of one with the correct bore for the instrument like the 1010/Elite.
I've worked on several Internationals and only the other week I fully overhauled one. The keywork on both International and Elite is like the B&H 1010 design except they use point screws (B&H 1010 have rod screws throughout) and don't have the Acton vent for a fully vented B/F# and an in tune altissimo D#/Eb using the oxo fingering in the right hand.
From what I understand he has retired from selling clarinets but still makes mouthpieces.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2021-05-16 22:36
Hello Ruben,
Chris P., above, perfectly summarized the difference between the Elite and International. The Elite was Peter Eaton's improvement of the B&H 1010. The International model, somewhat inspired by Martel instruments, followed to allow the use of "French type" smaller bore mouthpieces.
And Chris is correct in that Peter is no longer producing clarinets. He is doing more mouthpiece work again, making Eb and bass mouthpieces along with Bb mouthpieces. Mouthpiece making has been a passion for him since the 70's.
It has been a couple years already since I have been in touch with Peter, but at that time he was hoping the right person would come along to pick up production of the clarinets.
John
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2021-05-16 23:15
Mark: I have a pair of Internationals. Feel free to email me with any questions: jap@roe.ac.uk.
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2021-05-16 23:24
Smokindoc: I'm curious about the source of your comment regarding Martels as an influence on the design of the Internationals - did you get that from Peter himself? I found him somewhat coy when I asked him about the origin of the instruments. I did once speculate to him that he had perhaps made an Elite with an undersized bored as an experiment to see if the tone quality changed much, and then tweaked tone hole placement to deal with changes to to tuning. His reply implied to me that this was on the right lines.
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2021-05-16 23:50
Hello John,
Regarding the Martel influence, I believe it was in an article Peter sent me that he had written for the Clarinet and Saxophone Society magazine. I should have the article saved on my computer somewhere. Let me find it and I can post the excerpt and email the article to you... unless I am remembering it wrong, then I will just withdraw my comment and quietly slip away.
John
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-05-16 23:58
Louis Chas Draper Model clarinets were also based on Martels - maybe the International bore/tonehole layout was based on them (or Louis clarinets) too.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2021-05-17 00:14
Excerpt from Peter Eaton's article in the spring 2019 issue of the Clarinet & Saxophone:
Some readers will know that Reginald Kell played instruments
made in France by the Martel brothers but they were unlike
any other French instruments and were without doubt
quintessentially English in nature. They were adored by many
great English players in the first half of the 20th century,
including Charles Draper and also Thurston in his earlier years.
This unique instrument, produced by the wonderful collaboration
of the two Martel brothers, ended with their demise. Many
Martels were imported by Hawkes & Son, marked as if made by
the English company but they were without doubt Martels. I have
written detailed assessments of three famous examples which
will eventually become another article for this magazine. No
similar instruments were produced until the early 1990s when
I developed our International model, which is in many respects
closely aligned to the Martels.
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2021-05-17 00:31
Re-reading the excerpt I posted, I may have read too much into it by suggesting the Martel clarinet influenced the design of the International. It may very well have been that the the design of the International just happened to end up being "closely aligned" to the Martels, without any actual influence in that direction. On the other hand, with Mr. Eaton being so knowledgeable about clarinet design, it is hard to believe that Martel similarities would not have been apparent early on in the development of the International.
Regardless of whether the chicken or the egg came first, Peter Eaton created a couple of wonderful instruments in the Elite and International!
Post Edited (2021-05-17 00:32)
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Author: Robert N.
Date: 2021-05-17 00:37
Attachment: cassarticle.pdf (828k)
This article(attached) may provide some insight.
The original link is: https://www.eatonclarinets.com/cassarticle.pdf
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Author: smokindok
Date: 2021-05-17 00:54
Robert,
That is the article that I referenced and excerpted above and somewhat poorly remembered when writing my original post.
John
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2021-05-17 07:29
If you have more questions, I've been playing an Eaton International clarinet for almost a couple of decades.
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Author: MarkW61
Date: 2021-05-17 23:33
Gosh, thank you to all the replies, I was keeping an eye and hadn't heard anything and this evening lots of them!
I will get in contact with all of you who offered.
Thanks,
Mark
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