Been playing for 40 years and it just occurred to me today to find out the age of my clarinet. I knew it was old, I had no idea how old! It's a Boosey & Hawkes '77' serial number 124584. That's from about 1955, yes? It's been in Kenya since before Independence, I was told when I got it, and it has just had its first serious servicing in 30 years. This may explain why I always squeak. I am really quite impressed with the results I get, now I know how ancient it is! But I notice nobody on any demo video squeaks, and I have resolved to get a new clarinet soon. My kids just left home and I have time to focus. I teach film & animation at a university on the outskirts of Nairobi, and I play in the Kenya Conservatoire Wind Orchestra, we have a concert next weekend at which I will be playing this self same ancient instrument. It has a beautiful warm, full tone, when it isn't squeaking. Would a YCL650 be a good move from this? There seem to be dozens on Ebay from Japan. I would like something that sounds beautiful, but mostly I never want to squeak again, or fail to get middle B or C out. It's very bad for my self confidence and has been going on most of my life. What about a brand new something ebonite straight from the factory?
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Mwara from Kenya, age 51 & just getting interested in my clarinet
- Thread starter Mwara74
- Start date
Hello, @Mwara74 , welcome to the forum.
I have 3 B&H Edgware intermediate clarinets of various years, but am unfamiliar with the B&H '77' model. This is the first time I have heard of this model, although others here may be more familiar. Here in US, B&H is a somewhat obscure brand, hence why I was able to purchase these 3 inexpensively. The Edgware is considered a good doubling instrument for a struggling financially gigging saxist, because they can be purchased in good condition for under $500 US. Mine are in varying states of needing repair, so I paid less than $120 for each. Yet because of their wider bore and decent tone make for a good jazz instrument within budget.
A seller in England has listed a '77' on US Ebay:
Boosey and Hawkes Wooden clarinet 77 Vintage
asking $367 US.
My gut level feeling is that possibly he could not find a buyer locally that he could profit from, so resorted to US. However that is a speculation, not fact.
I did find a document with B&H serial numbers at:
23 pages long, it is titled, A Guide to Dating Boosey & Co./Boosey & Hawkes Instruments Based on Serial Number
Another website with some information is:
www.adams-music.com
I find it interesting that there is mention of serial number as woodwind, but not by specific model. I am unfamiliar with the serial number scheme by B&H.
Also I am unfamiliar with Yamaha professional clarinets, having never owned one.
Appreciate it if someone here has better info and can fill in.
I have 3 B&H Edgware intermediate clarinets of various years, but am unfamiliar with the B&H '77' model. This is the first time I have heard of this model, although others here may be more familiar. Here in US, B&H is a somewhat obscure brand, hence why I was able to purchase these 3 inexpensively. The Edgware is considered a good doubling instrument for a struggling financially gigging saxist, because they can be purchased in good condition for under $500 US. Mine are in varying states of needing repair, so I paid less than $120 for each. Yet because of their wider bore and decent tone make for a good jazz instrument within budget.
A seller in England has listed a '77' on US Ebay:
Boosey and Hawkes Wooden clarinet 77 Vintage
asking $367 US.
My gut level feeling is that possibly he could not find a buyer locally that he could profit from, so resorted to US. However that is a speculation, not fact.
I did find a document with B&H serial numbers at:
23 pages long, it is titled, A Guide to Dating Boosey & Co./Boosey & Hawkes Instruments Based on Serial Number
Another website with some information is:
Boosey & Hawkes | Serial numbers
Boosey & Co. was established by Thomas Boosey in 1816. They began selling woodwind instruments in 1851. The first flutes were made in 1856 after agreeing
www.adams-music.com
I find it interesting that there is mention of serial number as woodwind, but not by specific model. I am unfamiliar with the serial number scheme by B&H.
Also I am unfamiliar with Yamaha professional clarinets, having never owned one.
Appreciate it if someone here has better info and can fill in.
Last edited:
Thank you! I found my clarinet serial number on the first link you sent! It is a very precise document. My instrument is from 1956. 69 years old now. I got it from an old military band musician from Kahawa Barracks, I went to the university next door. I guess it came to Kenya in the late 50's to be played in the military band. The man who does my repairs says the sound has improved as the wood has matured. Does wooden clarinet sound usually improve with time?. The Edgware brand is from later in Boosey & Hawkes' history. It was a very venerable brand in the UK, but the company closed down in the 1990's.
I am glad you were able to discover the year of manufacture. I cannot answer whether aged wood makes it sound better. I am in the process of getting my B&H Edgwares repaired. Am rehydrating the wood on one with the proper oil. It has been dry for so long that the rings on the tenon ends are a touch loose. I sense that tonal properties are more related to the geometric properties of the internal chambering of the clarinet than the body construction.
Today, some manufacturers are using synthetic materials for a few professional and intermediate grade instruments. Players are finding that the clarinet is more readily playable by not having to "warm up" the wood. Back in the 1970's, I played Buffet Crampon professional wood clarinets for the US Army Band system before my contract expired and went to college for a technical degree.
In the mid 1980's with an Army Reserve band I was issued a brand new Selmer USA Bundy ebonite clarinet. It was the first clarinet that played very well in tune throughout its range, even better than the Buffets I played before. To make up for it now being fully retired, I recently bought from EBay a Selmer 1400 ebonite student clarinet for $73 US from a 2nd hand store seller. It was in a like new Yamaha case. Amazingly it is in playable condition. Although discontinued, the 1400 is being sold in music stores for about $1,300 - $1,400 new. I have yet to play it, so don't have any feedback to give.
I found this article, a treatise on different clarinet construction materials by a US manufacturer of clarinets give an interesting perspective.
www.rclarinetproducts.com
Good luck on your clarinet journey!
Today, some manufacturers are using synthetic materials for a few professional and intermediate grade instruments. Players are finding that the clarinet is more readily playable by not having to "warm up" the wood. Back in the 1970's, I played Buffet Crampon professional wood clarinets for the US Army Band system before my contract expired and went to college for a technical degree.
In the mid 1980's with an Army Reserve band I was issued a brand new Selmer USA Bundy ebonite clarinet. It was the first clarinet that played very well in tune throughout its range, even better than the Buffets I played before. To make up for it now being fully retired, I recently bought from EBay a Selmer 1400 ebonite student clarinet for $73 US from a 2nd hand store seller. It was in a like new Yamaha case. Amazingly it is in playable condition. Although discontinued, the 1400 is being sold in music stores for about $1,300 - $1,400 new. I have yet to play it, so don't have any feedback to give.
I found this article, a treatise on different clarinet construction materials by a US manufacturer of clarinets give an interesting perspective.
the grenadilla myth | mysite
www.rclarinetproducts.com
Good luck on your clarinet journey!
Thank you. What makes a clarinet be fully retired? I understand pianos can be over 100 years old. Which bit of the clarinet eventually breaks down terminally? My first clarinet was an ebonite Boosey & Hawkes, I don't know which model, and it was very even to play, up and down. I read about the hard rubber clarinets with fascination, thank you. My first clarinet snapped at the midjoint, when I was 15 years old. I left it standing in the band pit & it got knocked over. It was impossible to get another, in 1990's Kenya; in the end a local craftsman managed to stick it together again with araldite, by scraping out a dip in the barrel and filling it with resin. It sounded fine, I passed all my exams on it, but I wonder if a hard rubber one would be less likely to break? I checked, though, 'not expensive' is a relative term, it still costs nearly $2,000 new. He does seem to be saying that the hard rubber clarinet of exactly the same conformation sounds better than a Buffet R13. I am perfectly willing to believe him, even if he is motivated. If it works better, and it is more durable, and it is cheaper, I want one. It never occurred to me before, that one can have several clarinets.
I should have been clearer. The clarinets are still playable. It is me who is now fully retired. I think that with this new information then opens up greater doors to find a clarinet that plays satisfactorily without expending a lot of money and still have fun playing.
I followed that line of thought with my saxophones. My prized tenor sax happens to be a Le Blanc 7133T, a stencil student model made by Jupiter, Taiwan in the late 1980's. But it puts out an extremely nice subtone in its lower notes, metallurgy is the stoutest I have seen, plays like an intermediate but sounds as good as a professional. I look at it as the performance is in the artist, the sax (or clarinet) is the tool to paint the canvas with.
Here is another article that I obtained from an old thread in the UK Café sax forum shared by Pete Thomas, the proprietor and professional saxist:
Does material affect tone quality in woodwind instruments?: Why scientists and musicians just can’t seem to agree | Bret Pimentel, woodwinds
Most woodwind players would be surprised if you asked them whether the material from which their instrument is made affects its sound. Certainly!—most would reply. An inexpensive nickel-plated flute has a tone lacking in character and brilliance, but a fine silver flute sounds, well, silvery! It...
bretpimentel.com