I bought all 3 vintage clarinets for $40. I am having a hard time finding information about 2 of the 3. My daughter plays clarinet and I was going to have the 2 working ones restored. The 3rd one is in rough condition and has a key broken. Has anyone heard of Baron? It is made in Paris and it has some serial numbers, but extremely hard to see them. This one is in the best shape, needs repadded, but my daughter is able to play it and it sounds good. The other one is A. Fontaine 7130. I can find information about this company. It plays open G, but lots of the pads are gone. I would like this one restored too. The 3rd one is a Pitt American 1124. It kinda played, but the corks are all shot and pads need replaced. Not finding much on this company either. Does anyone have any info on these and would it be worth repadding? The company our school uses gives a huge discount and charges like $5 a pad. Her first clarinet I had all new pads and some bent keys fixed and the company changed me $35.
Vintage Clarinets
- Thread starter erika301
- Start date
Tony Fairbridge
Tony F
A. Fontaine instruments were imported into the US by the US government, probably in the years following WW2. I have no information on Baron clarinets, it's probably a stencil brought in by a dealer. Pitt American were brought into the US by the Volkwein brothers, date unknown. They still trade in Pittsburg as Volkwein Music.
I've at least heard of A. Fontaine.
I did a little searching on Pitt American and it looks like they sold only stencils (storefront X buys an instrument from company Y, then storefront X puts their name on it, generally using a stencil). The examples I saw were from HN White, the company that made King saxophones. However, I wouldn't limit all Pitt American instruments to only HN White. It's probable that they used a bunch of companies.
All that being said, you should probably talk to your repair tech more about the horns. It'd be bad to spend the money on just a repad and find out that the horn has cracks and is unplayable or is high pitch and is unplayable.
I did a little searching on Pitt American and it looks like they sold only stencils (storefront X buys an instrument from company Y, then storefront X puts their name on it, generally using a stencil). The examples I saw were from HN White, the company that made King saxophones. However, I wouldn't limit all Pitt American instruments to only HN White. It's probable that they used a bunch of companies.
All that being said, you should probably talk to your repair tech more about the horns. It'd be bad to spend the money on just a repad and find out that the horn has cracks and is unplayable or is high pitch and is unplayable.
Regarding your question about the Baron clarinet, it's possible that it was made by Baron & Co., which was a French musical instrument manufacturer that was active from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century. Without more information about the serial numbers, it's difficult to say for sure. However, if the clarinet is in good condition and your daughter can play it, it may be worth restoring.
As for the A. Fontaine clarinet, I'm not able to find much information on the company either. It's possible that it was a smaller, lesser-known manufacturer. Again, if the clarinet is in decent condition and can be restored for a reasonable price, it may be worth doing so.
The Pitt American clarinet is also a bit of a mystery. I can't find any information about the company, so it's possible that it was a smaller, regional manufacturer. If the clarinet is playable and can be restored for a reasonable price, it may be worth doing so as well.