[Vince]

I've owned a Boosey & Hawkes Edgware wooden clarinet for about 25 years now. It was secondhand when I bought it.

I know absolutely nothing about it and was wondering how old it is likely to be, what level of instrument it is (I presume it's not a beginners model) and how much I would expect to pay to replace it.

Can anybody shed some light on this for me?

 

[SaxPunter]

Hi Vince

I think I have the same Alto as you, do you have issues with low C and B burbling?

Off topic I know just curious

 

[Vince]

I can't say I've noticed any problems with low c and b on my alto, or any other notes. It's always played well for me.

Might be best to send me a private message if you want to discuss this further (which I'm very happy to do).

I really do want to find out about this clarinet I have, so I'm keen to keep this thread on topic as much as possible.

 

[stevesklar]

see if this is of any help
http://www.saxmaniax.com/snclarinet.htm#B&H

 

[Canadiain]

I too have an Edgware (no second "e") I've had from school days. These were low intermediate clarinets I think, a step up from the student "regents", and quite nicely made. The wood was generally excellent quality, but the key work is nickle plate, not as high quality as the silver-plate of the Imperials, Emperors or 1010s.

Age could be almost anything. Mine was made in 1970 I think, there is a serial number chart here.

http://saxworx.com/boozy2.htm

Along the way mine has had a replacement bell.. the original cracked and was replaced with a factory B&H bell in the 80s, along with a new B&H case, and I replaced the rather narrow tip stock mouthpiece with a Vandoren B46, and it sounds pretty good to me, considering what a lousy clarinetist I am Mine plays much nicer for a bit of attention and the judicous use of some ultrasued to quiet down the rather clacky mechanism on the lower joint spatular keys. I should really get it out and play it more often

Considering they are nice enough wooden clarinets, they are really pretty low value. They go on ebay all the time for a song, less than $100 because people are looking for buffets not booseys, but of course you will need to have some work done on an ebay one I suspect. Fully restored Ive seen them for $350.

So now I have a couple of B&S saxes to go with my original B&H clarinet, and they were made barely a stones throw from where my first sax, and Amati Classic, was made. I've come full circle I guess

 

[bandmommy]

I know a little about these clarinets, but not enough to answer all of your questions.
From what I can gather they are sometimes concidered the equivelant to a wood Selmer Signet 100. Beginner/Step up level. Others say they're more of an intermediate clarinet. I've seen prices on ebay range anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on condition.
As far as age, They've been around longer than me and I'm in my mid 40's.
Sorry I can't be of much more help.

 

[retread]

SOTW member and occasional poster Dave Spiegelthal has made quite a reputation overhauling B&H clarinets. I have an Edgware from the early 60s (I think) that he worked his magic on--some tone hole undercutting, trimming some of the keys. It's a good playing, good sounding,large-bore clarinet. Not surprisingly, it has that English sound. As Canadian pointed out, the wood is excellent. The keywork is OK, but not as comfortable as my Leblanc. It makes a good, low priced big band instrument. Some of the ones made in the late 40s or early 50s have pot metal keys and should be avoided. Dave and Chris P seem to know the most about them. Maybe they'll see this and correct any of my mis-statements.

 

[RootyTootoot]

I have two. One is all wood. The other has a wooden barrel and bell. Both play very nicely but they are not worth enormous amounts of money. I think the "Edgware" name was used by B&H for a long time. They can be bought quite cheaply and the wooden ones are usually described as "intermediate" when sold by dealers. Jonathan Myall Music is selling one at the moment for £395 which i suppose is an "intermediate" price . (=nearly $800)

I was trying earlier to locate serial number charts on the web without success. One aspect to note is that the internal dimensions of the instrument are slightly different from Buffets, for example, so you're best off with an original m/p or one specifically made with B&H clarinets in mind.

 

[Vince]

Well I think you have answered all my questions

The serial number dates it to 1971-1972
It seems to be a level or two up from a beginners instrument, but not a professional level instrument.
A nice condition replacement would cost a tad under £400 but I could probably shop around and replace it more cheaply.

Plus some additional valuable info about matching the mouthpiece to the instrument.

Thanks everybody.

 

[RootyTootoot]

Well I think you have answered all my questions

The serial number dates it to 1971-1972

Link for serial number chart, if poss?

EDIT: Someone provided it, below. DURRRR...(sorry )

 

[Vince]

How old are your two clarinets Rooty?

 

[jthole]

I started playing clarinet on a B&H Emperor, which was a very fine instrument to start on. I didn't care much for the cheap B&H models (back then), but it's so long ago that I don't remember the details.

Edit: not really true ... I started playing on a "no name" plastic clarinet. I think that I played two or three years on that, before switching to the B&H.

 

[RootyTootoot]

How old are your two clarinets Rooty?

According to charts the all wood one is 1971 and the other is 1973. I'm really surprised as i thought the all wood instrument would have been 1950s-60s.

 

[retread]

There have been posts on the clarinet bulletin board that the on-line B&H lists are inaccurate. The dates they show are too recent, so your Booseys may well be older than that.

 

[opfpfset]

boosey and hawkes emperor tenor sax

i know this is not a sax link but i found out that the emperor tenor sax i bought on line is a boosey and hawkes. it has a serial number of 18101. am i reading the serial number link above correctly when it appears that this is around a 1910 horn? and it seems to me that the emperor is of the better quality B&H horns? just trying to decide if i should be spending the money to really fix this one up or just make it playable. any input would be great.

i know you wanted this this to stay on track with the clarinet but i cannot find any info online about this sax.

 

[BobbyC]

If it's Boosey and Hawkes it has to be newer than 1934 because they were 2 separate companies before that.

 

[opfpfset]

emperor tenor

Boobyc
i am not sure it is a B&H. that is what i was told by a repair guy in South Carolina. all that is stamped on the horn is the serrial number 18101 and "Emperor" is engraved on the bell. if you do a search on here of "Emperor tenor Sax" i posted pictures. someone on here tried to tell me it was a chinese horn. it is to old for that. and it is heavy. any other thoughts would be appreciated. also maybe moving this over to my post "Emperor tenor sax" would be nice, for the guy getting info about his clarinet. thanks all.