 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: larkim
Date: 2024-10-10 16:18
My parents' best friend from music college back in the late 1950s/early 1960s was a clarinettist, and in the early 1980s I inherited her B&H Emperor Bb clarinet.
I was never particularly good (ABRSM G7 before abandoning it) but each of my sons has played with it, abusing it as only teenage boys can.
My youngest is showing more aptitude and enthusiasm for the clarinet, and I wondered whether that instrument (if properly over-hauled) would be limiting him particularly? It still sounds (to my ear) nice, and honestly I like the heritage factor. As well as not needing to shell out £££ on a new / newer clarinet.
Part of me hoped it would be an instrument with some inherent value, but I suspect that's not the case. It has been "pinned" in the past (as a teenager I left it assembled in bright sun and it cracked the upper section), but is original in all other parts as far as I know, excepting the mouthpiece.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-10-10 17:05
An Emperor is a perfectly decent clarinet and equivalent to a Buffet E13 or Yamaha YCL-650 in terms of insurance/replacement value.
If fully overhauled to a high standard and done by a woodwind specialist who is thorough and takes pride in what they do (as opposed to someone who just bungs a load of low quality pads in all slap-dash, uses crappy cork and charges a fortune for doing relatively little), it'll go on forever and won't be a hindrance. If the crack was repaired well and hasn't reopened, then that won't cause any further problems. If it has reopened, then it can still be fixed.
Just be careful if you're picking out woodwind repairs from NAMIR's directory as there's several in my area who shouldn't even be calling themselves repairers, let alone work on any instruments given the poor quality work and damage they do. Hence the reason I'll never join NAMIR.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: larkim
Date: 2024-10-10 19:19
Thanks, that's helpful. Feel like we're in a dead spot locally without any NAMIR repairers showing (though from what you say that might be a good thing anyway!)
Crack repair has held for 20+ years, so I'm not too concerned, and by all accounts a good crack repair done properly isn't impactful to the instrument.
If the centre of the repair world was Warrington, NW England, do you have any go-to options for good quality repairs, just in case? Can travel 20-30 miles radius for a decent technician if needed; always good to have a recommendation if possible!
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Author: m1964
Date: 2024-10-10 19:47
Right now it is not too cold so shipping to the tech can be an option.
Post Edited (2024-10-13 07:21)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-10-10 22:30
If you or anyone you know knows of any pro level clarinettists, find out who they trust to work on their instruments and that repairer has a good reputation among other clarinettists.
One thing with wooden B&H clarinets is the middle tenon on some from the '50s and '60s wasn't a good fit as they used the same width cutter to cut the tenon cork slots, so the shorter middle tenon has no upper tenon ring which causes the joints to wobble no matter how much cork is used, so the middle tenon will often need to have a new tenon ring made and fitted to the socket to ensure stability and the long Bb won't keep going out of regulation. This wasn't the case with plastic or ebonite B&H clarinets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: larkim
Date: 2024-10-11 18:17
Attachment: PXL_20241010_200424205.jpg (1891k)
Thanks both.
SN of the clarinet I have is 167014 which doesn't feel right with the history I know about the instrument. That would put it in the 1970s as a build, but I'm certain of its provenance.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-10-11 18:21
167014 is definitely from the mid to late '50s - most B&H serial numbers compiled by several American companies are often way out (even if they say they're not) as by the early '60s they're in the 200000s and by 1983, the serial numbers are up in the 500000s
You may also find some repairers get a bit snooty with regard to older B&H clarinets and think they're not worth doing, only because they can sometimes be bought for next to nothing, so they don't do a good job on them. The purchase price is irrelevant compared to the equivalent value and quality of the instrument.
I will overhaul any clarinet of any level if that's the owners' request and they have no issue with the cost as even overhauling an old plastic Regent is still going to cost less than buying a brand new Buffet Prodige, not to mention the overhaul will address all the issues that were overlooked when the clarinet was originally finished as they spent as little bench time and only just pass quality control before being shipped out from the factory.
In other words, I overhaul all clarinets to what I consider a professional standard regardless if they're a high end wooden pro model or an entry level plastic clarinet, so they all get the same quality pads, silencing materials and set-up. The only significant difference being plastic clarinets don't need oiling like wooden ones do.
And as I previously mentioned about wooden B&H clarinets from the '50s and '60s, fitting the middle tenon ring is often a necessity on them and would be charged accordingly. Even Buffet Prestiges suffered with wobbly middle tenons and they were Buffet's top models back in the '80s and '90s.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2024-10-11 18:27)
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Author: larkim
Date: 2024-10-11 18:27
I've never noticed any wobble, but it was the only clarinet I ever knew!!
Here's the lower joint. Does that evidence any of the issue you might be concerned about?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vDr4ztZGSjdEVaKYA
When my dad passed the instrument to me from his friend, the word he always used to describe the material was "ebonite", but on those images it looks wooden to me. Is that right?
As it's school term time, for now I'm leaving any thoughts of sending the instrument away for work, but will take a look maybe after Christmas once the usual round of concerts has finished!!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-10-11 18:37
You'll only notice the joint wobble when both the main joints are assembled and you gently flex them. The lower tenon on the top joint is the one which is the main cause of the wobble if it doesn't have the tenon ring at the shoulder and is corked right up to the shoulder.
Ebonite is hard rubber and usually turns green with age and exposure to UV light (mouthpieces are often made of ebonite and suffer the same fate), plus it will have a sulphury or rotten egg smell because of the sulphur content which meant they couldn't use silver plated keywork as that would turn black.
Your clarinet is definitely made of grenadilla (Dalbergia melanoxylon) which the majority of wooden clarinets (oboes and piccolos) are made from due to its density. It's often called 'ebene' by French makers and translated to 'ebony', even though ebony itself (which isn't part of the rosewood family like grenadilla) is rarely ever used for making woodwind instruments besides some recorders and some wooden mouthpieces. Grenadilla is also called Mpingo or more commonly African blackwood or just blackwood.
B&H offered some of their wooden clarinets in ebonite (usually Edgwares, Imperials and 1010s) and their wooden ones usually have ebonite tonehole chimneys for the ring keys (except the later 1010s which had integral wooden tonehole chimneys) and even made PVC bodied Edgwares which were machined and also had ebonite tonehole chimneys. Their moulded plastic clarinets were made of bakelite and changed to ABS in the late '70s/early '80s - the Regents from the '60s onwards had moulded plastic bodies and they even made plastic Emperors which were Regents but with silver plated keywork.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2024-10-11 18:41)
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Author: larkim
Date: 2024-10-11 18:40
Fascinating, thanks!! I'm guessing the wood then makes it logical that it is earlier than the 1970s, despite the SN?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-10-11 18:46
The only list that was accurate was this one:
https://www.woodwindforum.com/clarinetperfection/snboosey-hawkes/
Only it's become an empty page or hasn't been updated which is unfortunate.
I do have a list which places your clarinet at around 1958-59 which is when they still stamped the wonky N prefix.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: larkim
Date: 2024-10-11 18:59
Thanks. A bit more googling turns up the chart here, which as you say puts it as 1958-59.
https://vancouverconcertband.ca/images/pdfdocuments/bandh_handlists_web.pdf
All resolved!
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Author: graham
Date: 2024-10-16 21:22
Did your dad definitely say “ebonite” or might he have said “ebony”?
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