Re: seeking silver/tin clarinet

[mmirkin <mmirkin...>]

Here's some information regarding the metal clarinet. I 
hope it helps.

Metal clarinets got their western popularity from 
outdoor military bands in the 19th century and eastern 
popularity because they were cheaper than their wood 
counterparts and also because they were made in a 
variety of keys. Not just Bb, but in A, G and F.  They 
are a combination of nickel and tin, generally more 
nickel than tin though the later ones (those made in the 
mid 20th century more tin than nickel) The clarinets 
made with more nickel are generally darker sounding, 
some people say sweeter, depends upon your adjective. 
Some of the best metal clarinets were made by CONN, a 
midwestern USA instrument manufacturer.  I have played 
some by Boosey & Hawkes and others I was not able to 
identify that were also decent.  As you mentioned, the 
clarinet you heard was out of tune.  The metal clarinets 
came with a variety of barrels, since they were 
primarily for outdoor use they came with barrels that 
could flatten or sharpen the pitch if need be by a 
quarter step.  Unfortunately, to find a metal clarinet 
with a barrel that will play comparible to todays A=440 
or 444. is difficult.  If you need help in locating one, 
please let me know, I have a variety of sources we can 
check.

Marcy Mirkin
> Can anyone help this person?
> 
> >From: Nick Klemz, nick (at) klemz(dot)com
> >
> >
> >Name: Nick Klemz ( London, U.K., England)
> >E-mail: <a href="mailto:nick (at) klemz(dot)com">nick (at) klemz(dot)com</a>
> >About_You: A British lapsed clarinettist recently having fallen head 
> >over heels with Klez. I'm looking for a tin or silver(?) 
> >clarinet similar to one I saw a busker playing in Greenwich 
> >(South East London) some years ago. It had the most amazing 
> >timbre and was hopelessly out of tune.Gorgeous. What's this 
> >instrument called and how do I get one??
> 
> 

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