 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: axe414
Date: 2022-11-26 06:11
Attachment: Image- 3.png (88k)
Attachment: Image 1.png (727k)
Hello,
I stumbled across a Counesnon Conservatoire Clarinet on Marketplace but there is a chip on the wood near a tone hole. I attached a picture of it. Do you think it will affect playing and if so, is it repearable and will it affect a lot it's value? I can get it for 50$ it will need also a full repad job. Is it a good clarinet?
Thanks everyone!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2022-11-26 10:17
As the chip does not appear to affect the ring seal of the pad it probably won't affect the playability of the instrument. Even if it does it is quite easily fixable by a good tech. The damage looks to be cosmetic rather than functional. Properly set up the Conservatoire is an excellent instrument. At $50 it is a bargain.
Tony F.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2022-11-26 10:23
I have one: alright, but far better clarinets have been made since.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: m1964
Date: 2022-11-26 11:33
Tony F wrote:
"As the chip does not appear to affect the ring seal of the pad it probably won't affect the playability of the instrument. Even if it does it is quite easily fixable by a good tech. The damage looks to be cosmetic rather than functional. Properly set up the Conservatoire is an excellent instrument. At $50 it is a bargain."
You need to consider the total cost of the instrument after all the repairs have been completed.
Just re-padding it may not be all that needs to be done; most likely tone holes need refinishing, wobbly trill keys fixed, etc. need to be addressed too for the instrument to be 100% reliable.
If done by an expert technician, the repair easily can be over $300-$400.
I am not advising against buying the clarinet. I am advising to consider how much the end product may cost.
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Author: donald
Date: 2022-11-26 14:59
In response to Ruben's comment above... I have one in bits awaiting time to repad (I bought it mainly for the mouthpiece but want to get it playable eventually). It does seem to me that they are pretty well built instruments, but lack the acoustical expertise that was to revolutionise post war instruments. Tone holds are straight, little evidence of fine tuning in production, bore is very simple design.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-11-27 22:27
el gitano wrote:
"for me, it looks like missing a piece of the tonehole"
The tonehole (the hole that's drilled through to the bore for note/notes to issue directly from) itself is fine. That's just the slot for the flat spring which is cut into the countersink surrounding the tonehole and has no effect on anything.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2022-11-27 22:28)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-11-28 15:16
Some didn't even have the C#/G# tonehole countersunk to leave a nice flat crown for a pad to seat against - it was left as a plain tonehole (like the LH3 tonehole) and the pad was curved to match the radius of the joint.
Maybe they wanted maximum depth of the C#/G# tonehole for tuning stability or for better tone quality, just as you'd see the C#/G# tonehole bushed on German/Oehler systems and more recently on some Buffet A clarinets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2022-11-29 04:06
Chris P wrote:
> Some didn't even have the C#/G# tonehole countersunk to leave a
> nice flat crown for a pad to seat against - it was left as a
> plain tonehole (like the LH3 tonehole) and the pad was curved
> to match the radius of the joint.
>
> Maybe they wanted maximum depth of the C#/G# tonehole for
> tuning stability or for better tone quality, just as you'd see
> the C#/G# tonehole bushed on German/Oehler systems and more
> recently on some Buffet A clarinets.
>
Two very good points:
1. I used to have a French stencil that had a plain C/G# tone hole- it was very difficult to get the pad to seal well, so eventually I had it countersunk like other tone holes. Cannot remember the tone quality of C# on that clarinet.
2. The new Buffet RC Prestige A clarinet does have a chimney that almost eliminates the dullness of the low C# I experienced with any other Buffets I had or tried.
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Author: donald
Date: 2022-11-29 12:30
My Couesnon Monopole also has the "plain" (non countersunk) C#/G# hole. I was intending to mention this in my post above but ran short of time. I wondered, looking at the photos from the OP, if that had been a "later customisation job" that had ended not exactly tidy...
If not, can this attribute be used to date the instrument?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-11-29 18:20
I've countersunk the plain C#/G# tonehole on Couesnon clarinets whenever I've overhauled them so a cork pad can be installed and seated with no problem. Only cut the countersink down to the point when you get an even flat crown so you're not shortening the overall length of the tonehole by too much.
Some vintage Selmers also have this same non-countersunk C#/G# tonehole. A soft leather pad can be used and made to conform to the radius of the joint surface if you don't have the means to countersink the tonehole.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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