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Re: Anyone ever heard of this brand? Looks like B & H

Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-01-14 17:17

There was a care and maintenance booklet supplied with B&H instruments in the '50s through to the '70s (I've only seen one in a completely original '50s Edgware clarinet outfit belonging to a schoolfriend's dad) which listed the key numbers for their clarinets so replacements could be ordered. This was probably more important for clarinets with Mazak keys as unlike drop forged nickel silver keywork, they couldn't be repaired if they were broken.

Here's a photo of a B&H Imperial 926 outfit from December 1976 (463394) complete with that booklet: https://www.clarinetsdirect.net/uploads/1/2/5/8/125864077/s366908124574107393_p507_i1_w5184.jpeg?width=2560
From this page: https://www.clarinetsdirect.net/store/p507/Boosey-and-Hawkes-Imperial-Clarinet.html#/

Here's a list of key numbers for B&H Bb clarinets from the '50s with drop forged keywork (Edgware, Emperor and Imperial 926) - there's a total of 21 keys:

Top joint:
13 - speaker key
16 - C trill key
17 - Bb trill key
18 - side F# key
19 - side Eb/Bb key
20 - C#/G# key
21 - LH1 ring key
22 - LH2 ring key
23 - throat A key
24 - LH thumb ring
25 - LH3 Eb/Bb 'sliver' key
26 - throat G# key

Bottom joint:
32 - LH F/C key
33 - RH ring keys
34 - RH3 B/F# 'sliver' key
35 - LH E/B lever
36 - LH F#/C# lever
37 - Ab/Eb key
38 - RH F/C key
39 - RH F#/C# key
40 - RH E/B key

It would be good to compile a list of key numbers for Mazak keys, only I haven't worked on one for well over a couple of decades. Judging how small the numbers are, you'd definitely need high magnification lenses to read them if like me, your close-up eyesight is toast.

I had a set of '70s Emperors in for a full overhaul last year, only I didn't make a note if the A clarinets have a different series of numbers which I suspect they may have, or maybe an A prefix or suffix.

Dawkes/Windcraft have numbered B&H clarinet keys, only those numbers don't correlate to this list - maybe later ones used a different numbering system: https://www.dawkes.co.uk/spare-parts/clarinet/boosey-and-hawkes

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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