[prezden]

I am thinking of trying my hand at refurbishing old clarinets. From my side this is a retirement hobby- I have no delusions about making a living doing this. I've always enjoyed working small wood projects and more recently stereo electronics and I love playing the clarinet since I started 9 months ago.
My question is - What is a good clarinet to start on. One that will not present any weird complications. That is reasonably straight forward with parts readily available. I was thinking B&H or Noblet or Selmer Signet. I am playing a Signet, but I don't know if that's much of a consideration. Cost to buy an instrument is certainly an issue my pension doesn't stretch very far. That's why I'm considering these horns.
I would certainly appreciate any advice you folks might have [rolleyes]

cheers- preston

 

[Reedscraper]

When you say "refurbishing" do you mean "overhauling"? Pads, springs, corks, etc.? Any student line, intermediate or professional clarinets are constructed pretty much the same. The issue is being able to "seat" the clarinet pads, which are floated in, not glued. It's a bit difficult for novice. If you can clarify, maybe I can have some suggestions.

 

[prezden]

I'm not sure I have the correct terminology. What I am hoping to be able to do in time (not without some trial and error) would be to replace pads and corks, clean the wood, polish the keys and set up the instrument so it sounds as good as I can make it. I realize it takes years, and ideally training with a master to get it right, and I may never get there. It's the process that intrigues me.

cheers- preston

 

[bandmommy]

Any clarinet that is in good shape is acceptable as a 'first overhaul'.

 

[prezden]

Thanks bandmommy- So it doesn't really matter what make one works on. I'v been looking on e-bay and there a quite a few of the French stencil horns selling for under $100. Would these instruments make good overhaul pieces providing that the wood and keys etc. are in good condition?

 

[bandmommy]

Sure! A clarinet is a clarinet. My first overhaul was a plastic Bundy.
I learned a lot about seating pads and fitting/finishing cork on that horn.
The cheaper you can get your first 'victim' the better.

 

[Dog Pants]

I'd say it depends upon what your final goal is. Do you want to tinker for its own sake? Do you want to refurbish student horns and then flip them for profit? Do you want to get a good personal horn out of it all?

Whichever path you choose will alter your choice of "victim," but your best bet would be to get a cheap Vito, Yamaha, Buffet, Selmer student model and slowly work your way through from strip down to full replacement of all corks, springs pads, etc. The first time will take forever and the results will likely be very average. Do it again and again and again and after a few dozen attempts it will be good enough to sell to a local student or school band program and you're off and running. That said, I think it's very hard to make a decent return on refurbishing low end student horns to sell on. You either go the high end route or you do student stuff and work on high volumes.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

Any clarinet that is in good shape is acceptable as a 'first overhaul'.

I'd say "in good shape" is the operative phrase. You would be struggling if you start on a clarinet which has a zillion other problems apart from pads and corks. And that would be common for high quality instruments that have been neglected or abused for decades, and also for some brand new el-cheapo clarinets.

 

[griff136]

I would get a clarinet that you know plays - that way once you strip it down and replace all the corks, pads etc you'll know that if it doesnt play wel its because of how you have repaired it and not due to other factors - eg a leaking tone hole chimney or register key pip for example.

For other work such as removing and fitting springs you could just practice on a real junker that has a sheared tenon etc

If you can afford it I would also recommend you get Reg Thorpe's complete woodwind repair book.

 

[prezden]

Thank you every one for you advice. I really appreciate it. I have started work on an old Martin Freres Bb that I picked up through the local Craig's list. I didn't realize that it had a missing rod screw and a couple rods that are a bit bent. It's going to be a bit more of a project then I wanted for my first one but that's ok. I learned a lot taking all the keys off. Several of them I took off and put back on a few times to get a better sense of how it all goes together. It's really quite amazing how they are made, but I imagine that you already know that.

Thanks again!

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

For a clarinet that old, also check for posts that wobble. There could be many more problems that you have not noticed yet. A learning curve.