 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Jeff Dobereiner
Date: 2004-08-14 03:05
Hey, I just got an ol' silver "Cadet" clarinet - looks real old. It's got quite the amount of tarnishing on it, and I'm not sure how to get it all shiny and perrrrty.
Any polish to use? Or solvent? Or would doing this damage the keys? I'm really quite clueless!
Also, would this lower value because it wouldn't be as "authentic"? I don't plan to sell, since I do enjoy playing a 'net (switched to sax a few years ago) but it's probably something to consider.
Thanks guys!
-Jeff
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Author: Dee
Date: 2004-08-14 18:00
The "Cadet" is no doubt a student grade instrument. As such, it would not be made of silver and would not be silver plated. It is probably nickel plating over a base metal.
As a student instrument, it has no collectable value. Student metal instruments were made by the ton. Cleaning it up will not hurt the value and might even improve it.
You would need polish specific to nickel not silver. Unless you get violent in your polishing, there should be no problem with the keys.
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Author: Jeff Dobereiner
Date: 2004-08-15 13:47
Thanks a bunch for the info Dee.
I've been playing it a bit, and I've gotta say, my old Bundy is amazingly superior. I think this guy is either getting polished and put on the wall as an ornament, or is headed for a ride to the mystical world of Ebay!
-Jeff
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2004-08-22 01:34
i'd love to get my hands on a metal clarinet. they are the "schwaa" instruments. they were made specifically for marching, hence the brand name Cadet. your bundy is probably better since they stopped making metal clarinets in the 50's i beleive. they lost their appeal to people, so they stopped manufactoring. it could be worthwhile to get pads replaced and a complete maintenance. to sell on ebay, it would make sense to get things fixed. the surface being polished would be an asthetic thing to do and would be tedious to get all the spots shined up, that could require you to take keys off, and that would be a hassle. hope this helps.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2004-08-25 13:48
Noblet made a metal clarinet as late as sometime in the 1970's. This was an intermediate clarinet and sounded quite good (I have one of them).
The thing with many of the metal clarinets was that they were made as cheap beginner/marching band instruments so lacked good design and were of low quality. This lead to a poor sound. You find that same thing in low grade, cheap beginner woods and plastics. Just as with wood and plastic, quality of design and construction is the key in how they sound.
There were some pro horns made (the Cadet was NOT one) that are reputed to sound as fine as anything ever produced. However, what really killed off metal horns was two things. One was the bad impression that the cheapest student horns made and the second was that the metal horns looked so very different that too many people just couldn't accept them and it proved uneconomical to produce intermediate and pro horns.
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Author: jana
Date: 2004-09-16 20:51
actually the silver clarinet was made during the 30s and are extremely rare and valuable. I have 2 my self and i have had them rehaulded and everything(cost me quite a bundle too!) but i polished mine with liquid polish at any retail store, usually WRIGHTS polish is the best...DO NOT SEND IT TO EBAY what you have is valuable...that person was just blowing smoke up your ass.. if i were you i would do some major researching on it before i would sale it or anything like that..........
HOPE THIS HELPS
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Author: Linda Moulton
Date: 2004-09-26 13:25
I have a beautiful clarinet, such as the one you mentioned. It was one of only 334 produced by the William S. Haynes Co. of Boston, MA. between 1926 and 1942. They now make only flutes. I have had no luck in obtaining any info from them regarding this instrument, its value or history. Any suggestions on who to contact?
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Author: watermelon eater
Date: 2004-10-03 22:30
go to a local insturment repair shop and ask them!
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