 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: superson
Date: 2012-08-27 15:15
I thinking of buying a bass clarinet after I was loaned one for a year and fell in love with it, but I'm on a tight budget. I've found a secondhand wooden Noblet bass clarinet at a reasonable price but can't understand why its so cheap, its description says it is 30 years old, but is in a respectable condition. I was wondering how old 30 years is when it comes to clarinets, am I better off looking at newer ones?
I'm also concerned about it being wood. How much extra care is needed with wood clarinets compared to plastic?
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2012-08-27 15:39
Wood clarinets don't require much more attention than plastic. They are typically a little heavier so if the bass doesn't have a floor peg and relies on a neck strap you may have difficulty with that. With a wood instrument you don't want to leave them in a car in extreme temperatures (either cold or heat) and you need to keep an eye on the hydration of the wood. Nothing outrageous, IMO but if there's a big sudden change in the wood's appearance you'll want to hydrate the case with either a "Dampit" style humidifier or some orange peels or a slightly damp sponge in a pill bottle with a hole put in the top.
Make sure "respectable condition" means no cracks and/or chips.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-08-27 16:33
superson wrote:
> I was wondering how old 30 years is when it comes to
> clarinets, am I better off looking at newer ones?
>
> I'm also concerned about it being wood. How much extra care is
> needed with wood clarinets compared to plastic?
The primary concern should be the condition of the instrument rather than the age. Many people avoid older instruments as it is increasingly unlikely that an instrument will be in good condition the older it is. That being said 30 years old is not very old at all for a clarinet. I routinely play Selmer clarinets that are twice that age.
Not much extra case is needed for wood clarinets compared to plastic ones. Basically you just need to be more diligent swabbing them out and cleaning all of the sockets to remove excess moisture before putting them away. Aside from that you just need to try to avoid exposing them to extremes in temperature and humidity in order to avoid cracks.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-08-27 16:47
It would be best if you could get an experienced clarinet repair tech to look at the instrument to make sure it's in good condition. I agree with the other replies that the age isn't an issue. Even cracks, if they've been repaired well, aren't necessarily a problem. But that, as well as the condition of pads, springs and the tone holes themselves are all things a tech who knows what he's looking for can evaluate for you. But if you can't have the instrument looked at by someone of your choosing before you commit to buying it (or get a refund after having it checked), you're taking a chance.
Karl
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-27 17:09
Well, my #1 bass clarinet (a wood Kohlert) is about 75 years old, and I perform on it regularly. Just about every other clarinet (almost all of them wood) and sax I play on is at least 45 years old. I hope this helps alleviate your concerns about older wood instruments.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2012-08-27 19:01
I agree with David.
My main clarinets are 50 years old and my Bass about 35.
I have quite a selection of instruments in my collection and nothing under 30 years old.
Condition, not age, is what matters.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-08-27 21:15
I think the best answer is, "It depends."
I'm an amateur, but fwiw, my experience has been that a chronologically old instrument can be much "younger" than a more recently-manufactured instrument. It all depends on who owned it, how much the owner played it and how well he or she took care of it. My best soprano clarinets are Buffets made in 1931 and 1937.
Those two clarinets had been gently used, but I've bought other "used" clarinets that looked as if they hadn't even been played. They needed nothing more than fresh pads, and sometimes not even that much. For instance, my 1979 pro-quality Selmer E-flat alto (grenadilla) came from a family that bought it new for a music major who'd been using a school instrument. She promptly quit. The instrument had been kept in the house (not in a damp, vermin-infested shed) and was in like-new condition when I bought it. But, I've seen plenty of other instruments of all ages that were just the opposite: so wrecked they didn't even look restorable.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Steve Hartman
Date: 2012-08-27 22:23
Does it go down to Low E-flat or Low C? If it's a low E-flat instrument it's likely to be a good deal less expensive than a Low C bass clarinet. Still, you should have an experienced repairman look at it to make sure that it will be usable for a long time.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2012-08-28 07:54
One of my favourite horns is a Jerome Thibouville Lamy Bb soprano which dates to the 1890's. It plays beautifully. As long as the horn has been looked after, age need not be a factor, although the improvements in technology may mean that newer horns play with better tuning.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-28 09:39
Noblet/Normandy wooden basses were only built to low Eb as they're intermediate model basses - the pro level Leblanc basses were available in both low Eb and low C form. The plastic ("Reso-tone") Vito and Normandy basses were also only available to low Eb as they're entry level basses.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: superson
Date: 2012-08-29 16:13
Thanks for the replies, you've put my concerns about the age aside. Unfortunately I'm still unsure as whether to buy it, it's too far to go and try it out myself, I'm sending out a few emails at the moment asking about keywork, pads, chips, cracks and whatnot.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-29 17:30
Ask the seller to send you some photos.
If the pads are shot, then a full overhaul (which is a complete rebuild) will most likely be in order, but the price for that can vary depending who does the work and I'd recommend having leather pads fitted as they're more durable. If most of the pads are fine, then it could do with a full service which means replacing anything that needs doing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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