Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2013-01-04 04:39
Speculation continues about who made the "Sponsored by..." Evette clarinets. I wonder if anyone is left who knows for sure. According to Carl Fischer promotional literature (perhaps supplied by Buffet), these clarinets were made under the supervision of Buffet technicians in a separate Paris factory from the one where Buffet made its professional clarinets and its Evette & Schaeffer clarinets. But I've never seen any evidence that Buffet owned a second factory in Paris. And what, exactly, does "sponsored by" mean? Doesn't sound the same as "made by" to me (and why is it in English)? So where were the Evettes made? As someone who owns a Malerne (and played it for about 10 years), I must say that the keywork on your clarinet looks very like Malerne keywork. On the other hand, I seriously wonder whether the Malerne factory had sufficient capacity to make all the clarinets that have been attributed to it overt the years. We may never really know.
All the plastic Evettes that I have seen had a very shiny surface. Even with wear, some shine would remain. I see no evidence at all of that on your instrument. Hard rubber is a possibility but I've never come across a hard rubber Evette nor do I recall hearing about one. Also, if there were any, I would expect them to be showing some green or brown by now unless they were very well cared for. There is, however, an easy test. Rub one of the sections vigorously on a shirt sleeve or your slacks/jeans. If the section is hard rubber, it will give off a noticeable sulfur odor. Absent the sulfur odor, I would say you have wood.
Best regards,
jnk
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