 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dave Erato
Date: 2001-01-21 04:53
I recently purchased an old wood bundy(selmer usa) model clarinet sn 94456. this website says anywhere from 1920-1925 which i'm in shock it could be that old. any comments?? thank you
daveE
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-01-21 12:20
The list on this site is for the *professional* model Selmer clarinet and does not apply to the Bundy model. The Bundy is a student model. I suspect that this name was not used until George Bundy bought Selmer USA in 1927. Prior to the Bundy, I believe that the Selmer student model was the F. Barbier. And again the serial numbers on this site do not apply to it either.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-01-21 12:45
Older wooden Bundy's are very good instruments IMHO. The ones with low serial numbers (even the resonite ones) have a bore modeled after the Selmer Balanced Tone clarinet according to former Selmer employees. I like them and look for them on eBay quite often to fix up for my band students. I also look for the older Buescher wood clarinets. Selmer bought Buescher in the early 60's and the old wood Buescher is identical to the Bundy. I can get them fairly cheap and they sound great.
John
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-01-21 14:01
A good friend, Texas A&M band some time ago, brought me a very old "G M Bundy , #Paris# , Fabrique par H Selmer & Co [the latter on the UJ only] , ser # G598" , uncracked!! for evaluation! and TLC, it plays only poorly now. His knowledge of its ancestry is "purchased 1939 in S Texas, played in college bands". I also tried to date its mfgr. unsuccessfully, so please add it to the list if info is available. I'll prob. repad etc it and will be happy to discuss its "playability" with one and all. Will mention on earlyclarinet also. Luck, Don
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-01-21 14:55
Don,
George Bundy did import clarinets from the Selmer Co in the first years after taking over the company in New York. I'm not certain, but he probably imported them BEFORE moving the company to Elkhart. Alexandre Selmer returned to Paris in 1918 according to Selmer history and George Bundy moved production to Elkhart in the early 20's. These early Bundy "Paris" clarinets have the same key work as the Paris clarinets of the 20's (you know, the ones that are marked with the "S.D.G.D." on the trademark). I've overhauled a couple of them that play very well, although they seem to have a smaller bore than the Selmers that followed, i.e. BT, Centered Tone. Selmer history is very interesting and the company published a nice booklet about it. Did you know that Geo. Bundy had flute maker Geo Haynes make Selmer flutes in the 20's? They are marked "Master Flute" and "Original Haynes". Flute production was moved to Boston for a couple of years before the opening of the Elkhart plant. He later brought a young man named Kurt Gemeinhardt to the US from Germany to oversee production of flutes. All of this information is readily availabe from Selmer. BTW it does state in this booklet that the Bundy 1400 bore was "patterned after the Selmer (Paris) BTclarinet, used by such great artists as Benny Goodman".
Later,
John
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-01-21 15:17
TKS , John, maybe we can discuss further on the Chat session. Its a Boehm 17/6, dark brown, needing oiling??, is there something better than sweet almond oil. Doctor?? [to be continued!] Don
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-01-23 16:33
We date this G M Bundy in the range of 1925-30, apparently a bit before Bundy joined Selmer as its a "sort-of" stencilled clarinet. So far it's playing quite well, particularly with its Johnston-Selmer mouthpiece "S 32109" [does anyone know of this mouthpiece and designation??]. My friend would like to find a "collectors" home for this semi-antique, so if anyone is interested, please E-Mail me at dberger19@aol.com. Is this OK, Mark? TKS, Don
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Author: Silverlox
Date: 2011-02-14 19:59
G.M. Bundy~Paris Made in France Bb Clarinet.
I know nothing about clarinets. My sister played this in band during the mid 40's. It is wood and marked Made in France. No mention of Selmer and I can not locate serial #. She had it reconditioned a few years ago and gave it to me to sell. I am having problems locating any info in order to put a price on it. Has original case, but replaced Belmont mouth piece. It breaks in five sections and, also has mouth piece cover. It is approx. 60 years old. Does it have any value other than sentimental? Any help and direction would be most appreciated. Thank you.
drm825@att.net
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2011-02-14 20:29
Wow, another old dinosaur of a thread resurrected.....Silverlox, you have plenty of information already from the discussion ten(!) years ago. As far as value, check "completed auctions" on the infamous site and find out what other ones have sold for.
When properly restored they are decent-playing clarinets, since for all practical purposes they are French Selmers from the 1920, so from that standpoint your clarinet has more than just sentimental value.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-02-14 21:17
Before spending money on restoration, check to make sure that the throat A key has a flat spring, not a needle spring. The needle spring is very short and breaks frequently.
Ken Shaw
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2011-02-16 18:01
Attachment: Bundy Eb 3,xxx bell logo.jpg (645k)
My Bundy Eb is an oldie but goodie. Serial # 3,xxx but among every clarinet I have, the 12ths are the best (almost perfect actually). I don't know how old it is, but here's a pic of the bell logo.
The picture quality is crappy, but some of the words under Bundy are "Resonite", "Selmer", and " Elkhart Indiana". Ideas on age?
Rachel
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Rachel
Clarinet Stash:
Bb/A: Buffet R13
Eb: Bundy
Bass: Royal Global Max
Post Edited (2011-02-16 18:04)
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Author: jasperbay
Date: 2011-02-18 04:54
I've restored three of the early French Selmer Bundy's ( some mention Selmer, some don't) and they are very sweet playing clarinets! One has an unusual bell in that most of it is turned very thin, and I'd swear it 'resonates' like a guitar soundboard! Makes the horn feel much lighter too.
The several I've seen go on 'The Auction Site' over the past several years have gone for $100-$150 if memory serves, depending on condition. Pretty good buy for a pro-level horn in its day.
Clark G. Sherwood
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Author: saxistpig
Date: 2014-05-09 22:56
Any chance this thread is still active? Looking for info on older Bundy's. I've got an old wood (serial #: 41399) clarinet, in pretty good shape. This thread mentions some sites that offer historical info about selmer, but I don't see any links. Anyone have these?
Thanks
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-05-10 00:35
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/clsnselmerusa.htm#Bundy
but really old wooden Bundy could be anything. I have a Penzel Mueller New Artist which was erased and re-labeled as Bundy, to be delivered to Marine Core under mil contract. Tale sign? 4-post separate throat keys, and almost invisible PM vertical serial # on both joints.
There are might be some Artley based Bundies as well.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2014-05-11 16:14
I had in high school an old wooden Bundy A Clarinet and it felt like blowing through an Elephants Trunk.
Intonation was all over the place
Now Bundy's are made in China, and to me the quality is terrible.
Selmer did well with them. Music and Arts (now Bundy is "their store brand"- by ownership) took a CSO and called it a Bundy from what I see.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: NetG
Date: 2016-03-12 16:33
I have an old wood Bundy that I got in a pawn shop around 1974. I played it a lot and liked it - around 1986 I started playing another horn. It appears to be in ok shape - you can definitely tell it was played a lot. Serial number is 497##, and the case says "Bundy H.& A. Selmer, Inc." on it. Anyone know anything about these clarinets? Any info would be greatly appreciated!
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-03-12 18:30
My information is that Music and Arts either bought or is leasing the "Bundy" name.
Bundys from China do not come through Selmer USA (no Selmer name on them either).
Steve Ocone
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2016-03-12 21:09
A while back, I worked on a G.M. Bundy for a good friend. It had been found in his father's attic when they were clearing out the house and had belonged to his uncle who was a professional jazz musician in the Chicago area in the late 20s and early 30s. As might be expected, it was unplayable when I got it. However, by the time the overhaul was finished, it turned out to be quite a nice instrument with a sweet tone and good intonation. They were interested in what might be done with it since they have a young son getting old enough to start learning an instrument. I suggested that they start him on a lesser instrument and save the "family" clarinet for once he has gained some skills and knowledge of how to treat it appropriately. I gave them some pointers on how to keep the instrument stable in storage so that it will be ready for him when he is ready for it.
To match the instrument with the depression era, one key cup did not quite line up with its tone hole correctly. It turned out that it had been soft soldered to its barrel and had to be redone with silver solder. There were also a number of other do-it-yourself repairs and adjustments that would indicate that the owner had not been able to afford to have it worked on professionally (or, perhaps, did not have access to a professional repair shop).
Post Edited (2016-03-12 21:22)
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Author: JoeIvers
Date: 2017-01-29 23:50
I also have an oldish Bundy wooden clarinet, and am curious about its history. It's in great shape, and I play it regularly. I've recently upgraded to a new Buffet R13, which is becoming my main horn. But still, I'm curious...
My Bundy has serial # 111556. Serial # lists I've seen claim this to be from the 1920s, and I don't believe it. It doesn't appear to be nearly that old.
Further, the Bundy logo stamped into the wood of the upper body joint and the bell appear, stylistically, to be something from around the 1970s, '60s at the oldest. This logo also has a circle-R trademark just below the logo stamp, which is cut into the wood. I think I've seen earlier Bundy logos, sometimes including G.M. Bundy (with initials), and sometimes reference to Selmer. This has none of these markings. The horns with the G.M. Bundy markings that I've seen appear from the style of the markings to be much older clarinets.
Another clue: the case (which may or may not be original) is made of molded plastic, something that you'd encounter in the '70s or later. The Bundy logo on the outside of the case is different; sort of a grayish field with BUNDY in blue, and red and blue stripes in a wavy design that suggests a waving flag. Those two red and blue stripes terminate in a star, right above the letters USA.
Based on this case logo design, I'm guessing it to be a design that was common in 1976, during the US bicentennial. Anyone old enough would remember how every business was adopting some kind of USA stars-and-stripes theme to their product logos at that time.
Anyway, based on the case, but especially based on the logo stamp on the clarinet itself, I'm guessing that this horn dates to the late 1970s.
Does anyone here know whether Bundy still made wooden horns as late as 1976?
Someone in a post (above, from years ago) claimed that Selmer has a source of information about these old Bundy clarinets. Certainly their USA English-language site does not have these data. And it seems that the clarinet-owning community doesn't care about old Bundies, since they are a dime a dozen, and not esteemed. But surely someone owns the history to this line of horns, and must know.
I'd gladly post some photos to illustrate what I've been describing. I don's see that this BB system allows photos.
Let me know if you have a clue to date this horn, or if you know how I might post pics.
Joe Ivers
Joe Ivers, joeivers@att.net
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2017-01-30 07:46
When you compose a post, click on the "add attachments" box, select the photo you want and click on it.
Tony F.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2017-01-30 10:57
Joe, based on your description it's safe to say your instrument is a Elkhart-built wooden Bundy.
I vividly recall seeing trade advertisements for the wooden Bundy well into the 1980s.
Seeing a photo of the upper joint would help date the instrument. The throat keys and upper joint logo were redesigned over the years.
The Bundy may not get a whole lot of love nowadays, but a well-kept example of a well-made Bundy is still a proper clarinet. I would welcome any lessons student who wants to get started on one.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2017-01-30 19:20
In High School I had an old Wooden Bundy A Clarinet, but it was horrendously bad. Terrible scale and stuffy like blowing into an Elephant's trunk.
Maybe/probably it needed a lot of work, but that wouldn't excuse the awful scale.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: lynniemarie
Date: 2019-10-07 02:12
Hello! I found this old conversation in a search, very interesting, and it touches on some of the info I am looking for. I am hoping to date a G M Bundy Clarinet that I have in my possession. The Serial Number is 1325. The earliest number I have found so far is 1500. I am hoping someone here can point me in the right direction to learn when this clarinet was made? Hoping this old thread still has some life! Thank you for your time and any help you can offer. I have attached an image as well.
Post Edited (2019-10-07 02:16)
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Author: janeors
Date: 2020-07-11 00:56
I also have an old GM Bundy bass with the same typeface in the logo. Mine does not say "Paris" not mentions Selmer anywhere, but the serial is #6605. Also, the right hand banana key has the same metalwork/design so I'd hazard a guess that your clarinet is not too much earlier than mine. Not sure if this is helpful information, because I'm also trying to figure out how old the horn is. I'll let ya know if I find out!
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