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Re: (Somewhat) pro non-wooden clarinet?

Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-11-23 18:52

Howarth made a few S1 and S2 clarinets with machined PVC bodies. Very handsome looking clarinets having a high gloss polished finish to the plastic with silver plated keywork. Most beginner level plastic clarinets have nickel plated keywork which doesn't look the same, or have a brushed or matt finish to the plastic to make it look more like wood which is funny as most wooden clarinets have a highly polished finish.

Only the general clarinet-buying public were a tad prejudiced and disparaging, deeming these plastic clarinets as not being professional instruments simply because they were made of plastic, even though they were produced in the same way as wooden clarinets and if anything, cost more to produce compared to their grenadilla, kingwood and cocobolo counterparts because of the extra difficulties in working with plastic.

Someone somewhere has them and I've not seen them come up for sale anywhere yet.

To safeguard against cracks rendering your clarinet unplayable, as well as dealing with the crack repairs themselves, also have the toneholes at the top end (down to the sunken open G tonehole underneath the throat A touchpiece or maybe even the side F# tonehole) bushed with plastic or ebonite so the cracks can't run across the crowns and cause them to leak.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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