 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: davidmam
Date: 2006-11-01 08:03
OK, I am not a great clarinettist. I failed my grade 5 20 years ago because I tried to sightread the studies in the exam instead of practice. Since then I have just been playing for fun so am technically not very good, but good enough to enjoy it.
I acquired a clarinet in the early 80's when I started secondary school which is the one I have always played. It is a wooden Boosey and Hawkes Regent (serial no. 67715) which appears to date from either 1951 or 1961 according to the online lists of serial no's I have been able to find. It has always been described as having a nice tone. I changed the mouthpiece that was on there for a Vandoren 5RV and suddenly playing became a lot easier and more fun - wish I'd done it when I was still having lessons.
I still play that clarinet, though it is in need of recorking and a few new pads. The barrel has a crack which has been fixed a few times, most recently by using black wax which seems to be flexible enough to keep it sealed. I should have it playable again by the end of the week.
I was wondering what such a clarinet is worth, whether it would be better to abandon it and look elsewhere (I also have a chinese 'Lark', a plastic thing which is the one I currently play - the tone does seem a bit dead compared to the Regent.) or whether the old wooden regents are worth keeping in a good condition.
I suppose I really ought to find a sax/clarinet tutor for the occasional lesson as well (I also play sax - alto at the moment and am about to get a tenor)
..d
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-11-01 11:27
The wooden Regents do make a good sound, but the most unfortunate thing is they have die cast keys made in mazak which is soft and brittle, so be sure you don't bend any keys as they can snap and are difficult if not impossible to solder back together.
But I think there is a special aluminium and mazac repair kit on the market but I've never tried it.
And as it has mazak keys it won't be worth as much as a clarinet with nickel silver keys.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: davidmam
Date: 2006-11-01 15:46
I know about the easy to break keys.. At least two have been replaced, though I am not sure what with.
As regards value, I am not really intending to sell it as I like the instrument. Repairs could however be a pain if keys are hard to come by. I'll just be careful with it ;-)
..d
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-11-01 17:41
If you do a search for Lark on this BBoard, you'll find some pretty negative comments.
My suspicion is that if the Regent really has seen better days, you shouldn't spend much money on having it repaired. There are many, many posts on this BBoard about selecting an inexpensive instrument.
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: davidmam
Date: 2006-11-02 14:26
I know the Lark isn't a particularly fantastic instrument, but it is playable which is more than can be said for the Regent right now (just got to recork some tenons and attach the new octave key pad. If I can find a quiet evening it shouldn't take long.) I'd like to get them both working. My youngsters have a desire to try to get some noise out of a clarinet/sax so the Lark would be the obvious one to let them loose on.
..d
David Peacham wrote:
> If you do a search for Lark on this BBoard, you'll find some
> pretty negative comments.
>
> My suspicion is that if the Regent really has seen better days,
> you shouldn't spend much money on having it repaired. There are
> many, many posts on this BBoard about selecting an inexpensive
> instrument.
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