 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2002-05-23 16:24
I saw this on ebay.
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=873226505">Leblanc Wood Eb Clarinet / NR </a>
Have any of you guys ever played one of these or can you offer any insight about it?
Thanks
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Author: William
Date: 2002-05-24 01:45
I would be playing that same LeBlanc model Eb now if the instrument that I decided to purchase from our local music store had not turned out to be stolen from a state college. It was the finest effer that I have every played.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-05-24 02:26
I own a Leblanc E flat (nicknamed Satan) but I'd have given that nickname to it if it were a Buffet. I love it, mostly, and most of the time it's relatively calm - it has its moments, though.
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Author: RS
Date: 2002-05-24 06:07
It appears to be a LL model. Could be a pretty nice little horn. Wouldn't mind having it myself but Eefers are too small for my hands. I can barely play a Bb. Bass is a better fit for me.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-05-24 06:21
RS - you're so right there - my fingers get wayward if I've not played "satan" for a while.
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Author: Brent
Date: 2002-05-24 12:37
I have an old LeBlanc Eb also, purchased off ebay.The serial number is very close to the one pictured, but mine also is marked as a Symphonie model (not a later Symphonie II or III) which, if i'm not mistaken, puts it in the first half of the last century (!). The case is a tweed rather than the faux alligator, but otherwise the instrument in the picture could be mine.
I think i paid about $150 for the instrument. I had to repad the whole thing, of course, but once that was done, i have a really very nice little instrument. I had the opportunity to compare it to an R13...this instrument actually seemed easier to play (one data point and YMMV, of course). Intonation was really about the same between the two (that is to say, i had the same problems. Probably due to me and not the instrument...)
I've altered the keywork some for my fat fingers, filing down a couple of trill keys and such. I might consider another eefer, but don't really feel the need to...
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2002-05-24 14:23
Thanks for the info, Brent. I noticed the SML logo on it, and did some research on the Web. There’s actually a lot of information about SML, mostly concerning saxophones. If you do a search on the BB or a general web search for “Strasser Marigaux Lemaire”, you’ll see what I mean.
The company is still in business and their web site ( ”http://www.sml-marigaux.com” )says that they make Oboes and Clarinets. There are no pictures of their clarinets though, only brief descriptions.
Anyway, I could find no mention of a collaboration between SML and LeBlanc. Apparently, SML did make stencil instruments for other companies and had an alliance with The King Company.
It seems a little strange to me that SML would have anything to do with LeBlanc, since they were competitors. Both companies had the ability to make decent clarinets. I suppose that there may have been a period of time where LeBlanc could not keep produce the volume of instruments it needed to maintain it’s position. In that case it seems reasonable that they would turn to a company like SML (a small player with good quality). But all this is speculation.
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Author: Douglas
Date: 2002-05-24 16:59
Mike_M: The SML in the photo of the Eb appears to be on the mouthpiece, so is not really related to the Leblanc company...no collaboration apparently between the companies.
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2002-05-24 18:01
Douglas: Yep, you're right.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-05-24 18:28
I played a Leblanc LL Eb in the University of Tennessee Band and the Knoxville Symphony many years ago. At least with the stock mouthpiece, the instrument was nearly 1/4 tone sharp. I went to the hardware store and got some washers that go in the ends of garden hoses and filed them into shape. The instrument was then more or less at 440, but I still had to adjust a lot.
Therefore, I wouldn't buy a Leblanc Eb without a return-for-any-reason-or-for-no-reason agreement. The eBay seller says in big red letters that the instrument is offered "as is." Caveat emptor.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-05-24 20:39
The Leblanc Symphonie (or Symphony) model was the late 1940s to early 1950s. The Symphonie II was the early to mid 1950s.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-05-24 20:41
Stock mouthpieces on Ebs are terrible. I tamed the pitch problems of a Selmer (which was roughly 1/4 tone sharp) by simply changing to a Vandoren 5RV mouthpiece.
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2002-05-24 21:24
Thanks for the advice everyone. This bid on this item has suddenly jumped to over $400. Doesn't sound like much of a deal now.
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Author: nzdonald
Date: 2002-05-26 05:27
my experience with Leblanc effers is that they play well in tune in the lower two registers, but worse than Buffet or Yamaha in the altissimo.... for what that's worth. There are plenty of e flat parts that require fast and loud altissimo playing, but there's also lots of alternative fingerings you can use if you have the time to practise......
there are lots of postings on E flat mouthpieces, i have a Zinner refaced by Brad Behn.
donald
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