 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Susan Taylor
Date: 2002-07-19 09:01
I recently came across a wooden clarinet with the name "York" on the bell. There are no other markings except the serial number 69105. It is the standard Boehm system. Does anyone know anything about this manufacturer? I thought the York Band Instrument Co. only made brass instruments.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2002-07-19 13:33
There was a York bass clarinet on eBay just recently which was clearly from the photos a stencil made by Robert Malerne (Paris). It's possible the York clarinet you saw was also a Malerne stencil, or a stencil by another manufacturer.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2002-07-19 16:02
What characteristics make a Malerne bass clarinet so distinguishable from other makes? (There must be something quite obvious if you can make a positive identification from eBay photos -- or did it say Malerne somewhere on the instrument?)
Really curious,
jnk
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2002-07-19 17:26
A few things make the Malerne bass clarinet obvious (to me at least, as I've renovated about a half dozen of them in the last year):
1) The distinctive register key/vent layout (which is different on just about every brand of bass clarinet anyway)
2) The presence of an alternate Eb/Ab lever for the left pinky, and the oval 'button' shape of the key
3) The shape of the r.h. side trill keys --- the two lowest are elongated on Malernes
4) The shape of the tab on the r.h. index finger key cup
5) The U-shaped wire 'cage' on the low-Eb hole on the bell (although this is sometimes broken off, and also appears on some other brands)
6) The thin arm coming off the lower stack topmost pad which holds down the "articulated" G# key (has a set-screw in it)
Just like the famous quote from a Supreme Court justice when asked to define pornography: "I know it when I see it".
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Author: Susan Taylor
Date: 2002-07-20 03:34
I appreciate the scholarly replies. I think you are right that the York Clarinet (this is a Bb soprano) is a stencil of some other manufacturer. Today I looked more closely at it and found that I had overlooked some very teeny, tiny, faded words on the lower joint which, I think, says "made in Germany". The instrument feels very good in my hands-the way a fine quality instrument does. The left hand E/B and F#/C# lever arrangement reminds me of the Buffet B12 (student line), but this is definitely a wooden clarinet. Does anyone have any ideas based on these clues?
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2002-07-22 02:56
If it's made in Germany, it could be a Schreiber (the folks who also made the student Evettes/Buffets for many years).
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