Untitled Document
     
Advertisement Click to advertise with us!
     

Vintage Conn C Clarinet Serial number

Hi all,

I have a very old Conn Ebonite -albert system clarinet with a serial number of C7859H, I am guessing that C may stand for C Clarinet and the H for high pitch, this is a high pitched instrument. However, the only serial numbers I can find dates this to C1903?

I would sincerely appreciate any input or confirmation of this.
Thank you.
 
Post re-written a bit. I saw your ad on eBay for this horn. It's an interesting horn.

1. Yes, I believe 1903 is about right. From what I can tell, Conn used one chart for all their woodwinds and s/n lines up with 1903. Also, note that your horn is made by "CG CONN." "CG Conn, LTD." is the stamp you'd get after 1914. That'd be a "Wonder" model.
2. I can easily believe it's a C horn and it's high pitch. CG Conn horns that are that old don't always have a key or pitch stamp, so you're just lucky. Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it.
3. I see the discoloration, so I can believe hard rubber. That's a bit interesting because I thought Conn didn't make hard rubber clarinets until the 1920s.
4. High pitch is A=457hz, not A=452hz. The problem with high pitch is that it's almost a half-step out of tune with modern (low) pitch instruments. Keyed woodwinds cannot be converted from high pitch to low pitch or vice-versa. Well, without completely disassembling the horn, sawing off sections, changing tonehole dimensions, etc.

I'm not that big of a clarinet guy -- more into saxophones -- however, the couple lists of clarinets I saw out there for Conn don't have clarinets this old listed. You might want to drop Dr. Margaret Downie-Banks a line and tell her about your horn.

Oh. If you make good $ from your sale, you might want to donate a few bucks to the forum. Hey, we've got hosting costs ....
 
Back
Top Bottom