 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: billsheasf
Date: 2005-12-04 20:24
About 30 years ago my wife bought me a used B flat clarinet to replace a clarinet that I sold when I graduated from college (poor and needed money to buy a class ring). I played it a bit in the 1970s then put it away. I'm now getting it refurbished (pads, cork, springs tightened, etc.). It is wood, says Made in France and on the bell says in script, La Mer. I'm a pretty good Googler but have been unable to learn anything about it. The person refurbishing it says it appears to have been made in in the 1950s and characterized it as a good quality instrument. I'd appreciate whatever you might know about it. If you've never heard of the brand La Mer, if you could point me in the direction of an information resource, I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-12-04 20:55
Could it be another rebranded Malerne? These go under tons of different names.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-12-04 21:22
It could be a rebranded Malerne along with tens or hundreds of other manufacturers of the time. The "stencil" clarinets of one "stencil" were sometimes manufactured by multiple companies simultaneously. A music store (such as Grinnell) would put in an order to a jobber for a thousand Grinnell clarinets, and the jobber migh farm it out to 5 different manufacturers in France, each to produce 200. When the 100 clarinets are sold, a new order goes out, and perhaps the same or maybe different manufacturers are involved. So if even you're lucky enough to identify the maker of your clarinet by means of the keywork (look for a maker's mark on the underside of the keys), there's a good chance it's not the maker of my clarinet even if they're the same stencil brand.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-12-04 23:04
Just a thought -- are you SURE of the spelling? Could it possibly be "LeMaire" rather than La Mer?
If so, then yes, it would be a good intermediate clarinet, made by SML (Strasser, Marigaux, Lemaire).
Susan
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-12-05 00:44
La Mer? as by Debussy? Fr for "The Sea" via my fractured French !? I'd suggest its a student model made by Martin Freres, believe I had one once. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-12-05 01:42
Or possibly LeMur, which I've heard is a real monkey of a clarinet, a truly off-the-wall design.
![[yeah]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley17.gif)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: billsheasf
Date: 2005-12-05 18:08
Thanks to all for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. From your responses I learned quite a bit about brands and manufacturers. BTW, I'm sure that the spelling is La Mer (as in, the sea). Thanks again to all.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Alseg
Date: 2005-12-06 13:57
Dave,
Actually it is LeMans, an attempt by GM to expand the Pontiac line into musical instruments..
Or....if it is not good, it is a LeMon. ![[hot]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/hot.gif)
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-12-06 14:07
I do admire OUR language interpretations, guys, I was serious about Martin Freres [brothers] who made/sold under many/good FR names. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-12-06 14:17
Sorry, Don, we couldn't help it....in the absence of hard information, we feel the need to resort to bad puns and even worse plays on words. Helps us maintain our insanity.
The point is, there were literally hundreds of brands of French-made clarinets in the middle part of the 20th Century, with various parts made by who knows how many permutations of the many small shops and larger factories scattered around Paris and neighboring areas. Unless you have some hard evidence, it's no more probably that this La Mer was made by Martin Freres than by Thibouville, or Malerne, or SML, or anybody, or nobody in particular!
Cheers!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Grant
Date: 2005-12-06 19:43
Just so it's not a La Merde.
HAPPY NUTCRACKER SEASON
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
