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VINTAGE LEBLANC PARIS BASS CLARINET - GRENADILLA WOOD - PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
Estimated price for orientation: 999 $
Category: Clarinets
Class:
Description Brand: Leblanc Type: Bass Clarinet Key: Bb Body Material: Wood Skill Level: Professional Country/Region of Manufacture: France
THANKS FOR CHECKING OUT MY AUCTION. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION AND MY POLICIES BEFORE PLACING YOUR BID. Check out my !Be sure to add me to your This auction is for a vintage Leblanc (Paris, France) Bb bass clarinet. The serial number is 3,3xx (matching on both joints). I'm not exactly sure when it was manufactured, but I'm guessing early 1960's. From what I gather, Leblanc did not have model names for their bass clarinets, but there were several different model numbers over the years, however, these were not stamped on the instrument, or at least not on this one that I can find. I am sure that someone more versed in these instruments will know what model number this is (I'd be happy to hear from you if you have definite knowledge in this area). I do know that this is a pro level Leblanc horn (as opposed to the intermediate level Normandy/Noblet and student level Vito). This model features key-work down to low Eb and is made of grenadilla wood, not plastic. I have checked over the instrument very carefully, including checking the inside of the bore with a bright light and can find no cracks, nor any evidence of past crack repairs. The tenons are free of chips. The neck is in great shape with no pull down or other damage. The bell has a couple small dings, but no major dents. The pads are older, but still look to be in decent condition. They are the brown leather variety (like sax pads, but without resonators). I put a leak light down it and they appear to be sealing well. The corks and felts also seem to be in fine shape. As far as current playing condition goes, I'm going to err on the side of caution and say that it is in 'playing condition', but it might not be in 'optimum playing'. I did test it and I made a short demonstration video which you can view below, HOWEVER, I am not much of a clarinetist, so don't read to much into what you are hearing on the video! I play sax professionally, and I would consider myself mediocre at best on soprano clarinet, but I have only played bass clarinet for a sum total of probably 1 hour in my life and I was using a tenor sax reed because I didn't have any correct reeds available. Anyway, what I can say is that nothing stands out to me as being majorly out of whack, so I'm guessing that this needs fairly minor adjustment and maybe a couple pads replaced at the most for proper playing condition. Of course the discerning performer will likely want to get a full overhaul to their specifications by their preferred tech. Whatever you decide to do, you will have a great vintage bass clarinet for a fraction of the cost of a new one. The only other thing to note is that the key-work is quite tarnished/dirty looking. This could be polished the next time it is overhauled. I'm not certain that it would come out looking perfect, but it certainly could be made to look much better, but it wouldn't make sense to do that with the pads in. This
Description
| Brand: | Leblanc | Type: | Bass Clarinet |
| Key: | Bb | Body Material: | Wood |
| Skill Level: | Professional | Country/Region of Manufacture: | France |
THANKS FOR CHECKING OUT MY AUCTION. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION AND MY POLICIES BEFORE PLACING YOUR BID. Check out my !Be sure to add me to your This auction is for a vintage Leblanc (Paris, France) Bb bass clarinet. The serial number is 3,3xx (matching on both joints). I'm not exactly sure when it was manufactured, but I'm guessing early 1960's. From what I gather, Leblanc did not have model names for their bass clarinets, but there were several different model numbers over the years, however, these were not stamped on the instrument, or at least not on this one that I can find. I am sure that someone more versed in these instruments will know what model number this is (I'd be happy to hear from you if you have definite knowledge in this area). I do know that this is a pro level Leblanc horn (as opposed to the intermediate level Normandy/Noblet and student level Vito). This model features key-work down to low Eb and is made of grenadilla wood, not plastic. I have checked over the instrument very carefully, including checking the inside of the bore with a bright light and can find no cracks, nor any evidence of past crack repairs. The tenons are free of chips. The neck is in great shape with no pull down or other damage. The bell has a couple small dings, but no major dents. The pads are older, but still look to be in decent condition. They are the brown leather variety (like sax pads, but without resonators). I put a leak light down it and they appear to be sealing well. The corks and felts also seem to be in fine shape. As far as current playing condition goes, I'm going to err on the side of caution and say that it is in 'playing condition', but it might not be in 'optimum playing'. I did test it and I made a short demonstration video which you can view below, HOWEVER, I am not much of a clarinetist, so don't read to much into what you are hearing on the video! I play sax professionally, and I would consider myself mediocre at best on soprano clarinet, but I have only played bass clarinet for a sum total of probably 1 hour in my life and I was using a tenor sax reed because I didn't have any correct reeds available. Anyway, what I can say is that nothing stands out to me as being majorly out of whack, so I'm guessing that this needs fairly minor adjustment and maybe a couple pads replaced at the most for proper playing condition. Of course the discerning performer will likely want to get a full overhaul to their specifications by their preferred tech. Whatever you decide to do, you will have a great vintage bass clarinet for a fraction of the cost of a new one. The only other thing to note is that the key-work is quite tarnished/dirty looking. This could be polished the next time it is overhauled. I'm not certain that it would come out looking perfect, but it certainly could be made to look much better, but it wouldn't make sense to do that with the pads in. This