 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2013-07-03 11:47
I know some of you will appreciate this story, and I'm certain many of you will have hopefully found something like this yourself.
A student of mine walked in for a lesson -- good kid, developing player, going to study with Chuck West at VCU next year. Under his arm, wrapped up in a shirt, he has a clarinet -- no case. I ask him what it is, and he says "I was hoping you'd tell me!".
After research here on the BB (much thanks!) it turns out it's a Buffet Academy (92XXX, around '65, 66?). The wood is immaculate (minus tiny gouge at top of top joint and top joint lower tenon) and it has lost most of it's stain -- just gorgeous. The key work has no polish on it, but nothing significantly wrong. Most of the pads are ok. Damn thing plays!
Creamy-round-centered second register sound is plainly apparent.
Too many issues to determine it's pitch qualities. Chedeville C Buffet blank (one up, three down) is along for the ride.
Grandma (who has funded the boy's private instruction) found it at a yard sale = $5.
That's a lot better story than the R13 C clarinet that fell into my lap! Couldn't happen to nicer folks.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-07-03 12:44
Have to admit that's a much better find than the B&H 2-20 I got for $7.75 while out in Canton, Texas in 1986 (plus the old silver plated Buescher TT alto which I got for $50).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-07-03 14:02
I've had some good buys at yard sales (garage sales here), but nothing spectacular. Some years back a friend saw some what looked like clarinet cases on a plank at a sale and, seeing the Selmer badge on one made an offer of $A50 for the three. The son of the house, a ruthless 9 year old trader, knocked the offer back and countered with $100. He bought the 3 and found he'd got a Selmer Albert system LP Bb from probably around the early 20th Century, a wood Bundy and a Howarth Oboe. The oboe is in the hands of a local professional, the Selmer plays jazz at a local pub every weekend and the Bundy has seen several kids through school band.
Tony F.
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Author: ramsa
Date: 2013-07-03 14:59
My sights are always set on locating a great horn at yard sales... None yet. Always on the hunt, though...
Found some sweet guitars, though.
This is a genuine signature.
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Author: donald
Date: 2013-07-05 05:12
My best buy was a Reedual (with the engine already changed to 240v) for 50 pounds (at that time, about 75US$). This was at the Howarth shop in london!
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Author: clarimad
Date: 2013-07-05 06:52
Mine was a Conn F Mezzo soprano in amazing condition and complete with original mouthpiece for £50.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-07-05 15:06
Not from a yard sale, but I got my amazing Buffet C clarinet (from 1929, and the best horn I own) from Charlie Ponte, who got it at an estate sale. It was put away unplayed in a drawer where it sat for 50 years and then dropped into my lap for around $300.
If you know what to look for, you can occasionally do the same on eBay. I got a 1908 Buffet Bb/A pair for around $400, also a bought-new-and-stuck-in-the-closet treasure. I saw a photo of the pair in a falling-apart case that had been a mouse-nest, encrusted with 80 years of crud. I recognized what they were in a blink. Of course they needed restoration, but they came up fresh as a daisy.
And see this query from yesterday http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=390529&t=390529.
Lelia is our resident world class expert. She works the flea markets with occasional forays to yard and estate sales. Search for her postings, which are full of amazing (and funny) war stories. We're also fortunate to have Jim Lande, who knows more than any sane person needs or wants to know about metal clarinets.
You need experience to recognize the jewels buried in the mud, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.
Ken Shaw
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Author: GaryH
Date: 2013-07-06 02:33
I worked in the repair shop of a music store in Ft Worth. There was a pawn shop across the street. I went over at lunch to see what they had. I came back with a R13 for which I paid $50 out the door. The following week, on a Wednesday, I took my lunch break and walked across the street. I again came back with a R13 for which I paid $50 out the door. The guys I worked with went across the street for months and never found anything worthwhile. I guess I was the lucky one.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2013-07-06 02:55
Estate sales in the Hamptons are common as the contents of entire houses are sold by liquidating companies who often have no clue as to the value of some items (ex: musical instruments) and just want to move merchandise out the door.
Case in point - my colleague got to an estate sale the day before I did and he picked up a Selmer Mark VI tenor sax for $100 (which he bargained down from the $150 asking price)
For me - just a day late. Although my wife got a $400 wool sweater for $1 and I got a 6' step ladder for free.
...GBK
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2013-07-06 03:23
I recently overhauled an early 1930s Buffet for a friend. Her father found it for $4 at a yard sale when she decided to try clarinet in the fourth grade. She then played it for 26 years without it ever seeing the inside of a shop. As something changed, she would adapt until it got to the point that only she was able to play it. The center tenon was a composite of Scotch Tape, paper, masking tape, chewing gum, and some unidentified material. Other than routine maintenance jobs, there was nothing that needed physical repair. But, there was not a single piece that did not need some sort of attention. I gave her a set of tuning rings so that she could slow down the tarnish that the rubber band was causing. When she got it back, she was amazed to discover that she has a rather fine instrument with shiny keys. On the other hand, she did have to relearn some of her adaptive fingerings.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-07-06 12:48
Not strictly a yard sale, but I've just scored a full boehm Selmer model 9 in good order on that auction site for $A212. I'll collect it tomorrow. Not as good as a $50 R13, but it will do me for this week.
Tony F.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-07-07 15:22
With regard to the model 9 I bought, I picked it up today and was pleasantly surprised by it. It's a T series full boehm Bb, dating from 1963. It was I believe part of a deceased estate and appears to have been stored unplayed for years. It has been used, but not much. The pads are brittle and need replacing, but the joint corks and key corks look as good as the day it was made. It came with the original screwdriver, spring hook and case keys. The mouthpiece is a Selmer HS** and is as new. All in all, a good buy.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-07-07 17:51
Nice one Tony! I'd like to see a photo of that.
While my CT full Boehm came with its original single case, it was without the screwdriver and grease pot, so it would be nice to see what Selmer supplied on that side of things - I've put an anodised aluminium oboe grease pot and a wooden handled screwdriver in with mine to complete it. I use an oboe d'amore case cover which fits this case perfectly so the latches aren't strained.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2013-07-07 21:05)
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Author: davyd
Date: 2013-07-07 21:53
Not a yard sale either, but: my usual repair guy has a drawer of used mouthpieces. I've gotten good items for my bass clarinet and baritone sax for quite a bit less than they would have cost new.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-07-07 22:14
This reminds me of the fantastic yard sale finds I used to get 10 to 15 years ago while looking for old high end racing bicycles. I regularly used to buy them for $100 and then sell them as whole restored bikes for hundreds of dollars profit or sell the parts and frame separately for profits as high as a grand. Nowadays, these "steals" are almost impossible to catch because people check everything on the internet and ebay. The only nice thing about some clarinets is that the insignia is often so worn away, that it is unreadable.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-07-08 14:05
"Author: Chris P (---.proxy.aol.com - (America Online) , United Kingdom)
Date: 2013-07-07 17:51
Nice one Tony! I'd like to see a photo of that."
I'll take some tomorrow and post them here.
Tony F.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2013-07-08 15:47
I'm still not collecting clarinets, really I'm not -- honest. Shadow Cat may have been right that they breed in the attic at night. A high percentage of the clarinets I see at yard sales are student-grade, sold by parents whose kids quit. The used instrument dealers around here won't take the cheapest clarinets on consignment (Act One and that sort of thing) because too many of them come on the market, and I don't want them for myself, so I don't buy those.
While I don't demand that a clarinet arrive here smelling like an outhouse, a high degree of rancidity does tend to have a salutary effect on the dealer's willingness to barter. In purely money-grubbing terms, my best yard sale finds are the instruments the family forgot about -- in a damp basement. However, I was happy to pay more for the two modern clarinets I seriously wanted and bought in good, playable condition from people I know: my bass and my contra-alto. Most of my best finds of antique clarinets haven't come from yard sales or major auctions, but from flea market dealers who haunt the estate auctions.
[I got off on a loquatiously off-topic toot about auction tactics here, so I came back to delete that part.]
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2013-07-08 18:21)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-07-08 16:07
Attachment: selmerctfullboehm.jpg (330k)
Looks good Tony! What's the letter prefix on this?
I bought an S series Series 9 A off eBay by accident (it was listed as a Bb, but I thought it best to hang onto it due to the rarity of a full Boehm A) and decided to keep a lookout for a Bb to complete the set later on. As this A was silver plated, I found a late (A series) Series 9 Bb and had the keywork silver plated to match. I thought Series 9 clarinets were only available in nickel plate as all the ones (apart from my A) were nickel plated, as is yours.
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/galleryclar/Keywork/FB/07.jpg
It's such a shame that so many players shy away from full Boehms.
Attached is a photo of my CT Bb (after I rebuilt it) which was a complete mess when I got it, but it soon scrubbed up well and is now my primary clarinet.
Here's a photo of it 2nd on the right as it was before:
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/galleryclar/Keywork/FB/01.jpg
and a closeup of what it was like when I got it:
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/galleryclar/Keywork/FB/05.jpg
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-07-08 17:31
"Author: Chris P (---.proxy.aol.com - (America Online) , United Kingdom)
Date: 2013-07-08 16:07
Attachment: selmerctfullboehm.jpg (330k)
Looks good Tony! What's the letter prefix on this?"
You've done a lovely job on that CT, Chris. Mine is a T series.
Tony F.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2013-07-09 12:55
By the way, if I know anything at all about which instruments are worth buying and what they're worth, it's thanks to the Internet and especially to woodwind.org.
Back in 1998, when this website was known as sneezy.org, I bought a smelly old metal clarinet for $20 at a yard sale. I thought that clarinet would be an expendable victim for my attempt to learn how to re-pad and otherwise restore a clarinet. When I wrote to this bulletin board about it, I incorrectly read the model name as "Silver Bet," but fortunately, Don Berger understood what I'd really lucked into and wrote,
>Congratulations, you own what is probably the best model of the metal cl's .... >
I also saved information from Jim Lande, Chester and Dan Leeson about that clarinet. To this day, that Silva-Bet (which I kept) remains my best yard sale find, while I've used this b-board, the e-mail list and the manufacturer information elsewhere on this site over and over again. Thanks once more to Mark Charette for founding the original site, putting so much time and effort into it over the years and making it possible for a yard sale scrounger to learn something!
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: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-07-09 18:01
There's a 1920s Buffet (I think - the serial number requires some guesswork) on the ShopGoodwill site, expiring tomorrow. Unfortunately for people like Lelia and me, it's been discovered by two bidders who know what it is, so the $25 initial bid is now ten times that and seems likely to reach the actual value.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2013-07-09 21:06
Those are some beautiful pics Tony F!
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Pastor Rob
Date: 2013-07-12 08:43
Attachment: image.jpg (1562k)
I got an eefer (a French stenci) on eBay for $18.50. It plays great with Fobes extension.
Pastor Rob Oetman
Leblanc LL (today)
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