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vintage leblanc paris low clarinet mpcs

Author: super20dan
Date: 2025-06-15 03:57

i dont understand why these dont get attention here. i have 1 each for alto and bass clarinet and both are fantastic players.the alto is marked quality superioure and the bass is just 2l

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Re: vintage leblanc paris low clarinet mpcs

Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2025-06-15 19:07

I have a vintage G. Leblanc (all on the same line, no other markings) alto clarinet mpc. I haven't experimented with it much because it has thus far proven to be much more reserved on my Leblanc alto than the newer mpcs I have in my collection. One of these days I'll get around to seeing what reeds work pest on it.

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Re: vintage leblanc paris low clarinet mpcs

Author: helen628young
Date: 2025-06-16 14:19

Could you tell me a bit more about them? Like their brand, age, or any special features? Sometimes, certain makers or markings might be overlooked or less known in the community, even if the instruments themselves are fantastic.

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Re: vintage leblanc paris low clarinet mpcs

Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2025-06-16 20:45

Helen,

I'm not certain I understand your question or which of us it is directed to, but I'll tell you what I have.

My own contemporary alto clarinet mouthpieces are:

Vandoren BD5 (my current favorite)
Vandoren B44
Vandoren B40
J.D. Hite
(Walter) Grabner (marked A 124 on one side and BA on the other)
Clark W. Fobes San Francisco (marked 11939 serial number?)
Yamaha 4C
BigMouthPiece (a recent creation from a tenor sax mouthpiece)

My vintage or older alto clarinet mouthpieces are:

Geo. M. Bundy 3 (probably fairly new, "jazz" reface per the person I bought it from)
Selmer C* (incised markings; probably post-1960s)
"Olympian" (marked "1" on side)
Coast (marked N3 on the side)
The Woodwind Co. Kenosha/Wis. Steel Ebonite G7*
G.LEBLANC” (logo follows the contour of the upper area w/ "G" on same line as "Leblanc". This logo dates to roughly the 1950s. No other markings.)
Wurlitzer (marked "MO" on side)

I tend to stay with the Vandorens, as they have worked most consistently (sound and articulation) with the synthetic reeds I've tried. Since I don't play alto that much I tend to stick with the setup that just works without much fiddling.

The Leblanc mouthpiece is interesting to me only because with the reeds I've tried on it it gives me the most "clarinet-like" sound, despite the sound being thin and soft and with poor projection compared to most of the others. I intend to explore it more as I have time.

Hope that at least partially answers your question.

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