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RE: One piece grenadilla clarinets

Author: Jon Hill
Date: 2002-09-27 21:18

Katrina:

The full name is actually Professor Romeo Orsi, a 150 year-old
family company in Milan, Italy. Unfortunately, they don't distribute
in North America, which is why you don't find them in the IMS
or Woodwind & Brasswind catalogues. You can order direct from
them using their website (http://www.orsi-wind-instruments.it/)
and they will ship the instrument to the USA, but you would
then have to pay a customs tax, which is derived by pure black
magic since inspectors have no way of assessing the value of a
woodwind. But earlier this year I purchased a beautiful cocobola
Bb ORSI with gold plate keys for under $1200.

Here is how I beat the system. I had ORSI make a Bb in cocobola
wood with gold plate keys to order and shipped to my hotel in
Chamonix, France last February while I was on a ski vacation.
I brought it back in my suitcase & avoided the customs tax
altogether. Even though looks shouldn't matter, it's a stunningly
beautiful instrument & plays like a dream. The gold keys work
much better against rosewoods than silverplate. And don't
pay attention to what the techo-wonks say - rosewood and cocobola
clarinets do have a lighter, more lyrical sound than grenadilla
horns. ORSI also advertises a one-piece on their website, although
I don't know if it's available in cocobola. (Rossi is the only other
manufacturer currently offering the one-piece, but you'll pay about
2 1/2 times as much as for the ORSI).

I find ORSI to be one of the great finds little known this side of
the Atlantic. ORSI charged me about $75 extra for the cocobola
upgrade and another $50 for the gold-plate keys. Compare that
to LeBlanc's $450 surcharge for gold keys (their Pete Fountain
model), or the $3000 you would pay for an English Howarth gold
plate in cocobola (I own one of those too). ORSI even called my
hotel twice to make sure I had received their instrument in good
condition. Can you imagine getting a personal phone call from
Buffet or LeBlanc? Even though their English is not great,
they try harder and I found them to be very reliable and responsive.

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