Linton Contra [Archive] - The Woodwind Forum

pete

12-03-2008, 04:49 AM

Any idea why the bell is so large?

Also, it would appear that the Linton instruments are not well regarded in instrument repair circles. Anyone know anything about this?

Anyone??? Hello, is this mic on? 8-)
I think the bell is conical to make up for some of the size issues.

I'm not positive of the range of the horn. If the low note is a bari sax's Bb, I wouldn't be overly surprised (and the tubing seems to indicate that), but your average contralto player would be: where's my low Eb? If I don't have a low C, I want an Eb, at least!

There are also side altissimo keys, but they're not really sax-like. Looks kinda like a regular clarinet's A/G#/Bb assembly.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFpY9X6SU4E

Allegedly, these things were produced by Orsi for Linton (reference (http://thevillagetinker.com/Misc%20stuff.htm) ... and it's mentioned in other places (http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:N2MHg4pxsAMJ:test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html%3Ff%3D1%26t%3D48445%26a%3D1+linton+orsi&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a)).

This reference also mentions that the size of the mouthpiece is bigger than a bari sax mouthpiece, but not quite a contrabass clarinet mouthpiece. That's a little odd. (Then again, I also think the number of "only 40 made" is low -- primarily because I've seen five of these horns.)

I'm also not positive it's an Eb instrument. Primarily because other folks mention "contrabass" rather than "contralto" -- although I know folks call contraltos Eb contrabasses on occasion.

It does look a lot like a range-reduced version of Eppelsheim's Bb contrabass clarinet (http://www.eppelsheim.com/kontrabass_klarinette.php?lang=en), so maybe it is ....

I have a directory of pics from a 2002 eBay sale of one of these on saxpics.com (http://www.saxpics.com/the_gallery/slideandodd/linton_contrabass_clarinet/).

I suppose we could write Orsi or Linton and ask :).

bpimentel

12-03-2008, 05:48 AM

I'm acquainted with Linton oboes and bassoons and find them to be real duds.

This clarinet(?) raises a number of questions in my mind. Range to low E-flat - meaning the pitch that would be low E-flat if this were a contralto clarinet (concert G-flat)? Or is it low concert E-flat? Or saxophone-fingering E-flat? Either way, if you were going to play a contralto clarinet part, you would have to transpose.

I see a right hand low C key, but I don't see a LH low B-flat key. Looks like just G-sharp, C-sharp, and B in the left hand table. Looks to me like the bell keys confirm a saxophone-fingering low B as the lowest note. How do you reconcile that to "range to low E-flat?"

I can't imagine trying to play the thing, either--playing on a clarinet-type mouthpiece, making clarinet-like sounds, but trying to remember to use saxophone fingerings? A nightmare even without having to transpose.

Shiny, though.

Gandalfe

12-03-2008, 06:57 PM

I can't imagine trying to play the thing, either--playing on a clarinet-type mouthpiece, making clarinet-like sounds, but trying to remember to use saxophone fingerings? A nightmare even without having to transpose.

Shiny, though."Shiny, yes my precious." Golem from Lord of the Rings. I sent them a low ball offer which they immediately turned down. It's a freak of nature all right that might be cool when playing bari sax. But other than that, a bari probably sounds better in most Big Band and Concert Band applications.

pete

12-03-2008, 07:15 PM

Range to low E-flat - meaning the pitch that would be low E-flat if this were a contralto clarinet (concert G-flat)? Or is it low concert E-flat? Or saxophone-fingering E-flat? Either way, if you were going to play a contralto clarinet part, you would have to transpose.

I see a right hand low C key, but I don't see a LH low B-flat key. Looks like just G-sharp, C-sharp, and B in the left hand table. Looks to me like the bell keys confirm a saxophone-fingering low B as the lowest note. How do you reconcile that to "range to low E-flat?"
Sorry if I wasn't clear.

A standard contralto clarinet is pitched in Eb, just like a baritone saxophone. A contralto clarinet can have a keyed range to low Eb (http://www.selmer.fr/fiche.php?code=1109000011) or low C (http://www.jayeaston.com/images/TwoContras-%281%29.jpg) (in the pic, it's the horn on the right; there are a few straight ones, as well, but I can't find a pic at the moment).

For some ungodly reason, some people call an Eb contralto clarinet an "Eb contrabass clarinet". If you think about it, this is wrong: the next highest Eb clarinet is called an "Eb alto clarinet". Heck, it really could be called an "Eb contralto saxophone", not a baritone (it's called "baritone" because it sorta matches the vocal range of a baritone).

This Linton, if it follows saxophone fingerings, has a low Bb as it's lowest note -- or the fingerings are massively scrrewed up.

That's why I wonder if the horn's pitched in Bb. Same range as a Bb bass saxophone and essentially the same fingerings. Hey, it's cheaper than a bass sax. However, you are correct that if this horn only has fingerings to low Bb, it sucketh muchly as either a Eb contralto or Bb contrabass clarinet -- unless it's an Eb contralto with range to a low Bb below the standard low Eb (I NEED to upload those note-heads!). Which I don't think it is.

Based on my experience playing contrabass clarinet, tho, and playing a bass sax, I'd say that it has about 1/2 the power and volume of a saxophone, so the Linton's not a great replacement for a bass sax, even if it is pitched in Bb.

If you're wondering, in the article on sneezy.org I linked to, above, the owner of one of these Lintons was asked if the horn was a Bb instrument or an Eb instrument. The owner didn't answer :(.

According to other research, other Linton clarinets were made by Robert Malerne. There seems to be a little debate on that, but the conclusion was a definite, "Linton never made their own clarinets."

Carl H.

12-03-2008, 08:04 PM

According to other research, other Linton clarinets were made by Robert Malerne. There seems to be a little debate on that, but the conclusion was a definite, "Linton never made their own clarinets."
Well there's a point in its favor.

Gandalfe

12-03-2008, 10:16 PM

I thought we'd decided that it was most likely made by Orsi.

bpimentel

12-04-2008, 01:07 AM

I think "Eb contrabass" is a much better name for the low clarinet than "contralto." Why would the contralto of the family be pitched lower than the bass?

As far as the low B-flat--just calling it like I see it. Anyone see a low B-flat key on this beast?

SOTSDO

12-04-2008, 02:12 AM

For what it's worth, the "bass" clarinet really occupies the tenor slot in the clarinet family, and the Eb "contra-alto" is really the true bass of the clarinet family.

However, try telling that to a bass clarinet player and see how far you get with the line of argument.

pete

12-04-2008, 09:53 PM

I thought we'd decided that it was most likely made by Orsi.
As I said, "other clarinets". This beasty, and other metal Lintons, are supposed to have been made by Orsi.

pete

12-04-2008, 09:57 PM

As far as the low B-flat--just calling it like I see it. Anyone see a low B-flat key on this beast?
"Pitched in Bb" does not mean that it has to have a low Bb key. That's what I'm referring to.

However, looking at that G# cluster, you're right that it might not even have a low Bb key. If the keywork's following a saxophone layout :).

I think I'll have to shoot Orsi an e-mail ....

Yamahaaltoplayer

12-08-2008, 02:26 AM

This is so cool, I want to play other instruments when I'm older and I can.:grin: But I don't get the low Bb thing either. It has low C then a double low C# and then a low B, but then no tonehole for a Bb, yet the bell looks too long for it to end on a low B. And why are they THREE thumb keys?

SOTSDO

12-08-2008, 06:02 AM

On extended range instruments, it is relatively common to duplicate the keys for the low end stuff to to enable more facile L-R-L changes.

My bass clarinet has duplicates for all of the standard "four" little finger keys on the right side, but only a single Eb key for the little finger on the right hand, plus three thumb keys for the D, C# and low C. The way they are arranged makes it a bit easier to finger stuff down low, but there is a simple modification that can be made to allow more rapid changes from each of the thumb keys.

(I've not had it done as I would have to have three keys replated once the modification was completed, and I don't really see that much of need for it.)

Nowadays, it's not uncommon to see six key clusters for the right hand little finger, with four or five for the right hand little finger, plus a couple for the thumb. I prefer the older arrangement, but to each their own.

Push comes to shove, all of the makers have their own system, and each has its pluses and minuses. These horns are so thin on the ground that I doubt anyone, even the most experienced repair technician, has seen the mall.

Heckelphone

01-06-2009, 02:20 AM

This is probably not a "sax-fingered" contra so much as a simple system (pre-Boehm, less than full Oehler system) horn. The RH4 keys (that look like the RH4 keys on a sax) will cover low F and G#, while the three LH4 keys cover low E, F#, and middle C#. As far as I can tell, this horn only descends to low E, not even Eb. Concert pitch, that would be G below the bass staff, just below the bass sax's lowest note.

The three LT keys would be your standard thumb F, a lower register key (for B to D#) and a higher register key (for E up to high C) -- many of these older horns did not have an automatic octave key. Or it could be that one is just for the throat Bb: hard to tell from these pictures.

It looks like its in beautiful condition. The biggest problem with these horns is that (a) the bores are too wide to use other contra mouthpieces, and (b) you can't get reeds to fit the Linton mpc. Makes them hard to set up and play...

Enjoy,

Grant

Gandalfe

01-06-2009, 02:27 AM

Concert pitch, that would be G below the bass staff, just below the bass sax's lowest note.Unless you are playing my Eppelsheim bass sax to low A (http://blufiles.storage.msn.com/y1pOxXTPM9q90DkGGt5BgLxctV33picRtRKZ3FaMhV9Imv27LI4w5bKWKzWzaaF0JpG?PARTNER=WRITER). 8-)

http://blufiles.storage.msn.com/y1pOxXTPM9q90DkGGt5BgLxctV33picRtRKZ3FaMhV9Imv27LI4w5bKWKzWzaaF0JpG?PARTNER=WRITER

You'd think it was a blood relative as much as I show it off.

Heckelphone

01-06-2009, 02:45 AM

***
For some ungodly reason, some people call an Eb contralto clarinet an "Eb contrabass clarinet". If you think about it, this is wrong: the next highest Eb clarinet is called an "Eb alto clarinet". Heck, it really could be called an "Eb contralto saxophone", not a baritone (it's called "baritone" because it sorta matches the vocal range of a baritone).

Eb contrabass was probably the original name, just as the Eb contrabass sax is the next step down from the Bb bass sax. I imagine that after the Bb contrabass was invented, people recognized that as the "true" contrabass, and began referring to the Eb contra as the Eb contra-alto ("alto" being just above the "bass"). This, unfortunately, gets shortened to "contralto", which makes no sense musically ("contralto" is simply "lower than alto" -- not necessarily lower than tenor).

This Linton, if it follows saxophone fingerings, has a low Bb as it's lowest note -- or the fingerings are massively scrrewed up.

Almost certainly, it has pre-Boehm simple system keywork. Similar to sax fingering, but not in the sense that the lowest note is Bb.

Enjoy!

Grant

Heckelphone

01-06-2009, 02:49 AM

Unless you are playing my Eppelsheim bass sax to low A (http://blufiles.storage.msn.com/y1pOxXTPM9q90DkGGt5BgLxctV33picRtRKZ3FaMhV9Imv27LI4w5bKWKzWzaaF0JpG?PARTNER=WRITER). 8-)

http://blufiles.storage.msn.com/y1pOxXTPM9q90DkGGt5BgLxctV33picRtRKZ3FaMhV9Imv27LI4w5bKWKzWzaaF0JpG?PARTNER=WRITER

You'd think it was a blood relative as much as I show it off.

Wonderful horn! I got to try several Eppelsheim horns a couple of years ago, when I was in Munich on business. Bass, contra to low A, tubaxes, soprillo, and his (then prototype) contrabass clarinet. Among the best horns I've ever played (even the prototype!).

Enjoy,

Grant

pete

01-06-2009, 04:16 AM

Eb contrabass was probably the original name, just as the Eb contrabass sax is the next step down from the Bb bass sax. I imagine that after the Bb contrabass was invented, people recognized that as the "true" contrabass, and began referring to the Eb contra as the Eb contra-alto ("alto" being just above the "bass"). This, unfortunately, gets shortened to "contralto", which makes no sense musically ("contralto" is simply "lower than alto" -- not necessarily lower than tenor).

Almost certainly, it has pre-Boehm simple system keywork. Similar to sax fingering, but not in the sense that the lowest note is Bb.

Enjoy!

Grant
I think I'll write to Orsi after my class is over. It's an intriguing instrument.

Remember: the horn was made in the 1980's. It's not exactly "old". I can grant that the horn has non-standard fingering, but too many people have said "saxophone fingering". That's why official documentation or actual hands-on experience would be a good thing.

===========

Occasionally, you might see a saxophone referred to as a "bass in contra Bb" (http://www.saxpics.com/?v=img&img=/cpg143/albums/Conn/misc/catalogs/misc/1907.jpg#imgTop) or something like that and theat does confuse people. The clarinet family is much larger than the saxophone family, so standardization is a necessity.

It's more fun when you're talking about different languages. Yes, your horn's pitched in B ... if you're German.

bobsax

01-06-2009, 06:48 AM

For what it's worth, the "bass" clarinet really occupies the tenor slot in the clarinet family, and the Eb "contra-alto" is really the true bass of the clarinet family.

I agree also
soprano = good
alto = fine also
bass = should be tenor
conta alto = should be bass
contra bass = fine

another interesting note
Soprano clarinet can almost get as low as an alto sax.
Alto clarinet can almost get as low as a tenor sax.
etc and so on.:-D

Heckelphone

01-06-2009, 05:35 PM

...and soprano clarinet descends almost as low as the bass flute, bass oboe, and contrabass recorder (alto clarinet goes lower than all of them).

EliR

06-30-2009, 07:59 AM

I agree also
soprano = good
alto = fine also
bass = should be tenor
conta alto = should be bass
contra bass = fine

How would you classify the small Eb clarinet and the rare (and even smaller) Ab clarinet? And then there's the basset horn...

SOTSDO

06-30-2009, 03:16 PM

We've still got some ultra high soprano term that I don't recall, mezzo soprano, contra alto and contra tenor to play with, not to mention (cough, cough) baritone...

Heckelphone

07-01-2009, 12:34 AM

We've still got some ultra high soprano term that I don't recall, mezzo soprano, contra alto and contra tenor to play with, not to mention (cough, cough) baritone...

Sopranino and soprillo.

Many years ago, I sat in with a jazz band, auditioning for the bari chair before I had a bari. I played alto, but referred to it as a "piccolo bari". ;-) (I bought a bari, and my first bass clarinet, after I passed the audition.)

SOTSDO

07-01-2009, 05:05 AM

Heckelphone

07-02-2009, 02:36 AM

I'm aware of those, but I was referring to a normal music term (like mezzo-soprano), rather than some sax-based one. I don't know enough about sopranos (other than not to hire one who doesn't have "mezzo-" in front of the term) to be acquainted with all of the obscure operatic terms.

Ah, so you mean characterizations like "coloratura soprano", lyric, spinto, etc. Wikipedia has an entry on sopranos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soprano) (without guns).

It was the contra tenor that threw me: I think you mean "countertenor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertenors)".

pete

07-02-2009, 09:02 PM

"Counter Tenor" = "Insanely high tenor voice". A counter tenor is the replacement for castrati. Seriously.

The question becomes, "Are you talking range or tone quality?" A Counter tenor can easily sing as high as a soprano, but has a much different tone quality. Hey, I know quite a few women that sing in the bass range, but they don't sound "right" singing that part. If I needed to fill out a section, fine. If I needed someone to sing the solos in Messiah, I'd get a male bass.

Anyhow, the sopranino range on the clarinet is the Eb. You could consider Ab as sopranissimo, I suppose, but there's no Ab soprano clarinet, so that's a challenge. "Soprillo" is the name of the Bb sopranino/sopranissimo saxophone from Eppelsheim; it's not a musical term. HN White made a Bb sopranissimo prototype.

Yamahaaltoplayer

07-03-2009, 05:00 AM

Anyhow, the sopranino range on the clarinet is the Eb. You could consider Ab as sopranissimo, I suppose, but there's no Ab soprano clarinet, so that's a challenge. "Soprillo" is the name of the Bb sopranino/sopranissimo saxophone from Eppelsheim; it's not a musical term. HN White made a Bb sopranissimo prototype.

Really? Can I see?;-) (Do you have a link?) Btw, isn't it considered a piccolo saxophone? Along with piccolo oboe, trumpet, flute, heckelphone......

pete

07-04-2009, 01:01 AM

Really? Can I see? (Do you have a link?) Btw, isn't it considered a piccolo saxophone? Along with piccolo oboe, trumpet, flute, heckelphone......
"Piccolo", while it can be used as an adjective for "small", is actually short for "piccolo flauto" -- Italian for "small flute" (Merriam-Webster). In other words, I used to play bari sax. I think an alto is a toy and it's smaller, thus alto sax is a piccolo :)

(My point: "piccolo" has no musical meaning beyond denoting the thing that's pitched an octave higher than the flute, in my opinion, at least.)

Let's take the piccolo trumpet. The regular trumpet is a melody instrument. Let's call that a soprano. An instrument one octave above that would be a sopranissimo or sopranino, depending on whether or not there's a higher-pitched trumpet (while these words are interchangeable for and are defined as "voiced higher than soprano", they mean "ultimate soprano" and "little soprano", respectively, thus "sopranissimo" should be for the highest-pitched instrument in the group and "sopranino" is just "higher than the soprano instrument, but not the highest pitch").

(I took several years of Latin in high school and college. Italian is close to Latin.)

"Soprano coloratura" is, literally "high voice with color". Wikipedia says, "The term normally refers to a soprano who has the vocal ability to produce notes above C#6 and whose tessitura (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessitura) is A4-A5 or higher (unlike lower sopranos whose tessitura is G3-G4 or lower)."

In any event, provided you know what someone's talking about, there are no problems. Usually.

=============

I don't have any personal pictures of the HN White instrument. The info I got was from a couple of very old [I]The Saxophone Journal articles -- which did have pictures -- but I'd have to dig up my old copies and sort through 'em to tell you the correct TSJ issue. 1984/5, and then another 6 or so months later. I think. Hey, Ed! You've got the whole stack, right? These aren't "Vintage Saxophone Revisited" articles, IIRC.

Gandalfe

07-04-2009, 07:28 PM

Really? Can I see?;-) (Do you have a link?) Btw, isn't it considered a piccolo saxophone? Along with piccolo oboe, trumpet, flute, heckelphone......Don't know if you were just joking, he said fondling his soprillo, but here are some links:
Woodwind Forum Soprillo folder (http://www.woodwindforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=295)

Eppelsheim Site (http://www.eppelsheim.com/soprillo.php?lang=en)

Soprillo World (http://www.soprillo.com/)

Gandalfe Talks Soprillo (http://gandalfe.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!51AA828BCB20646!1017.entry)

saxophyte

05-08-2010, 01:51 AM

I HAVE ONE FOR SALE ON SAX ON THE WEB

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?137165-ft-Linton-Contra-Clarinet-metal-nickel-plated

pete

05-09-2010, 08:09 AM

Saxophyte, it's normally against the rules to post sale ads outside of the "Mall" area. I'm allowing the exception, because you're the only one I've been able to talk to that HAS one of these, so I ask that you answer some of the questions brought up in this thread:

* Bb or Eb instrument?
* What's the keyed range of the horn?
... etc.

pete

06-26-2010, 02:46 AM

While I dunno if the above poster is selling this, but there's another Linton on sale on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/Linton-Contrabass-Clarinet-BBb-Metal-Body-Contra-Bass-/110550142396?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bd4d4dbc#ht_500wt_1154) and he does answer a few questions:

* Keyed range is low E. Just by hearing that, you know that this horn doesn't have "saxophone" fingerings, it has Boehm-like fingerings.
* It's a Bb contra, not an Eb contra.

According to the ad, only 40 of these were made since 1972.

Now, the Linton that started this thread was sold as an Eb contralto. I wonder what percentage chance there is that this is the same horn.

bobsax

06-29-2010, 04:28 AM

It went for $3,123.57
Seems like a good deal for such a rare instrument .
I hope the buyer enjoys playing it .
The buyer had a good size feedback number (1151), so it may have gone to a reseller like Quinn the Eskimo.

pete

06-29-2010, 06:46 AM

Well, the last one fetched $4K, so it's not bad.

I think that a new owner could definitely get used to the fingering, but the problems of the uniquely-sized reeds is something completely different. I suppose it's possible that someone out there has an old box they want to sell or Orsi might custom-make 'em for you, but both sound like an expensive proposition.

I liken the Linton, in a way, to high pitch instruments. You could have a breathtakingly beautiful Conn New Wonder alto sax with the Virtuoso Deluxe finish of triple gold plate and elaborate engraving, but in high pitch, the horn is virtually worthless to anyone except a very small group of collectors or soloists.

Gandalfe

06-29-2010, 05:03 PM

The buyer had a good size feedback number (1151), so it may have gone to a reseller like Quinn the Eskimo.I think QuinnTheEskimo's feedback is in the tens of thousands.

I liken the Linton, in a way, to high pitch instruments. You could have a breathtakingly beautiful Conn New Wonder alto sax with the Virtuoso Deluxe finish of triple gold plate and elaborate engraving, but in high pitch, the horn is virtually worthless to anyone except a very small group of collectors or soloists.I wanted to like this instrument, but those who've played it said it was a terrible experience.

tictactux

06-29-2010, 05:31 PM

I wanted to like this instrument, but those who've played it said it was a terrible experience.
But I'm certain it builds the character. :roll:

bobsax

06-29-2010, 07:35 PM

This is the best example I can find of the Linton being played;
Fooling around in a bar with a bunch of drunks singing "play that funky music..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLzP9iLHguM
The guy (from the U.K.) says it plays great in the lower register but that the middle D and D# are very hard to play.
He has a contrabass mouthpiece modified to fit the horn. I wonder if the original mouthpiece were used and a reed could be found how it would play?
The designer must have thought it was crucial to have such a big mouthpiece and I'm assuming the bore is larger then other contras.

Here's what the tuba player from Pete's link says;
.....it's a Linton. Not really made by Linton (the oboe and bassoon folks)... but made by ORSI (Italian) for Linton probably sometime in the 70's.... during period when instrument makers were all searching for the 'bigger and better' instruments to sell to school band directors. This one was a dreadful failure. Partly because no one ever bothered to make reeds for them on a production basis. The reed needs to be 15/16" wide to cover the rails... a full 1/8" wider than the widest commercially available reeds made for bari saxes and bass clarinets. According to Mr. Linton, there were only about 40 of these things made. .......Below are a couple of pictures of the mouthpiece. It's compared with a bari sax mouthpiece and a bari sax reed. Note that the tenon that fits into the horn is over 2" diameter. There have been some unsuccessful experiments to adapt a regular bass clarinet or contra bass clarinet mouthpieces to this horn. I've been experimenting with making a plastic reed for the horn. ....
Pete's link again if you want to see the pics;
http://thevillagetinker.com/Misc%20stuff.htm

pete

06-29-2010, 08:17 PM

I've seen some of the mouthpiece adapters for these beasties. They're almost comical.

I'd definitely think that a Linton mouthpiece would work much better than one of the kludge-jobs.

bobsax

06-29-2010, 10:46 PM

I've seen some of the mouthpiece adapters for these beasties. They're almost comical.

I'd definitely think that a Linton mouthpiece would work much better than one of the kludge-jobs.

This is from an email from Benedikt
The bore of our contrabass clarinet is 36 mm as opposed to 30 mm (Leblanc)
or 34 mm (Selmer)- the wider bore makes for the fuller sound.
Benedikt Eppelsheim

The tuba player says the mouthpiece for the linton is 2" in diameter.
Thats 50.8 MM ! Almost twice the Leblanc !! :-o

Gandalfe

03-18-2011, 10:28 PM

Another one popped up on eBay with a $3300 buy it now price: http://cgi.ebay.com/Linton-Contrabass-Clarinet-Saxophone-Wrap-Doublers-Horn-/260753607111?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb62049c7

Pictures galore at http://www.quinntheeskimo.net/HTMLFiles/lintoncontra031611a.htm

SOTSDO

03-19-2011, 01:06 AM

Much better condition than most of these beasts. Still, it's not worth the money

pete

03-19-2011, 05:43 AM

Depends on how you look at it, SOTSDO. In this instance, Quinn has priced it about the average price the other ones sold for. Musically speaking, it might not be worth it, but as a rare-ish instrument, it's not bad. And, as you mention, it's in really good shape. Heck, I'd like to know what kind of finish the horn has.

Yo, Jim! I know you know Quinn. While he mentions that the horn in this ad is a Bb contra, he mentions "it appears to have a saxophone fingering system, although I'd assume it overblows a 12th like other clarinets do," which might mean he's never actually played it. Can you please, please please ask him what the keyed range is? I'd like to know if it's a "pedal" C or if it's an Eb. I'd also like to know (other than finish, as mentioned above) if it does overblow a 12th.

EDIT: sorry. I also saw http://www.quinntheeskimo.net/Pics/lintoncontra031611a/lintoncontra031611a47.jpg, just as I was leaving. Is it missing a key?