Author: Mikael
Date: 2022-11-30 21:46
There's very little information available online about this clarinet, so I'll add what little I know from owning one. Perhaps someone interested will actually read this thread ten years from now! ;-)
My Eric Pettersson clarinet is marked #600 which makes it a relatively early one. It was made sometime in the 1950's according to my woodwind tech, who has fixed up a fair number of these things (I live in Sweden). It has the roller keys, but not the engraved silver ring on the top tenon, so I think that detail was added to later builds to make it look fancier. Mine also has the original "con brio" mouthpiece, which I find to be most excellent!
The clarinet had slightly worn keywork but had not cracked, and I had it restored with new pads/cork/springs to make it playable.
When it arrived from the tech it quickly became my favorite clarinet. It's hard to say why one clarinet feels better than another, but this one is just a joy to play. It's very easy to play, even way up into altissimo (where I usually struggle a bit...), and I just feel more relaxed and free to express myself on this one than on any other clarinet I've tried.
When it comes to the tuning issue, I can report that it intonates just fine throughout the entire range with the original mouthpiece and barrel, BUT it's worth noting I play it with a 1.5 fibracell reed! Such a super soft reed would make a more "normal" clarinet unplayably flat in the upper clarino unless you find an extra short barrel for it, but on this one it's pretty much spot on. Maybe Eric Pettersson played soft reeds?
After having my tech fix it up with top quality pads I paid the equivalent of 800 dollars/euro in total for it. You can get a very good new clarinet for that price, but it won't have this much MOJO!
All I can say is, the Eric Pettersson #600 will not be on the market again until after my funeral. (Then it will probably sell for 10 bucks on a flea market to someone who wants to use it as a wall decoration or turn it into a table lamp, because almost no-one knows what a "clarinet" is these days.)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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