C Clarinet Case

[TrueTone]

(Do we really not have a cases subforum anywhere? I could swear we did.)
So, I bought a trio of clarinets from an estate sale on the 8th, and have had them for about a week and a half now.
I received, in no real order:
A Selmer Radio Improved (I think? No model name visible. It's early L series.) Bb.
A T Berteling Bb that has a replacement Buffet E&S Barrel.,
an F Barbier C, (coincidentally one identical to it is on ebay, but with no mention of F Barbier in the listing...let's see what that goes for before I give a link to that...)
and a huge box of parts, repair stuff, and some old random stuff that I'm not sure what it's for. (more on the rest of this stuff later.)
So does anyone here have any affordable (I.e. not really expensive, like the Lomax and for some reason, stock Buffet...) C Clarinet cases?
This C came in a Bb pochette case that doesn't really fit it well.
I'll take some pictures of it next to the Selmer and Berteling tomorrow or Tuesday.
From when I tried playing the solo near the end of Tchaikovsky's Mozartiana on it, it sounded nice, although it's still extremely leaky-I can't play anything below low G and Clarion D. The Selmer Bb is better in that regard, as it's able to play a full chromatic scale, although it's also rather leaky and the corks have fallen off of the keys in some spots so intonation feels a bit wonky, and the E/B key's spring is broken. The Berteling's completely leaky and I can't really get much of anything out on it.
I'm going to send Thierry Doublon an email about this (and my Brevete A Clarinet, too, as I've been putting off doing that) to see if I can get any production info on this...

Also, I find it amusing how close in design it is to this Couesnon C:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERB-C-C...934771?hash=item362949c673:g:vesAAOSwBRFaLCsL
Basically the only differences are in the lower joint F/C key design and the trill key guide. Shows how close in design some clarinets can be...

And now would be a good time for me to go to sleep...
edit: grr, the tags randomly add a space after any word that's tagged. That's annoying...

 

[pete]

edit: grr, the tags randomly add a space after any word that's tagged. That's annoying...

Hopefully fixed in the update. I'm not close to testing that, though.

 

[Gandalfe]

Never thought about that, our C clarinet came in a case of course. That's the thing with weird instruments, if I lost a case for my bass sax that's keyed to low A (longer bell), I'd have go back to the builder (Eppelsheim) for a case.

Note: Looks like Pete fixed the random space after a linkee thang. Thanks Pete!

 

[pete]

No, I did ... Yes. Yes, I did. You're welcome.

Thinking outside the box, why not get one of those C clarinets from Alibaba.com? Those can be around $50. Just make sure it actually comes with a case. Or talk to Helen about making your own.

Regarding F Barbier, I've heard of them, so they must be at least mildly well-known. Quick Google. Yup. Bought out by Selmer, so, yes, fairly well known.

"Brevete" means "patented."

 

[TrueTone]

No, I did ... Yes. Yes, I did. You're welcome.

Thinking outside the box, why not get one of those C clarinets from Alibaba.com? Those can be around $50. Just make sure it actually comes with a case. Or talk to Helen about making your own.

Regarding F Barbier, I've heard of them, so they must be at least mildly well-known. Quick Google. Yup. Bought out by Selmer, so, yes, fairly well known.

"Brevete" means "patented."

That idea about a cheap Chinese C Clarinet might be a good option, thanks... (plus Dr. McIlwain wants a lamp-to-be CSO for Clarinet day, that might be a good horn for it...)
Refitting the inside of the current case might be a good idea too, though.
Do you know anyone who's played a Barbier of any pitch? I've only really seen them in old catalogs. (and obviously ebay, usually with a comment like "found in my grandparent's attic.")

Also, I know about the patented, Pete. Je parle français. =P (Well, un peu, au moins...) I basically use the term Brevete to refer to all Pre-Radio Improved Selmer Clarinets, as they don't have a model name. I suppose K Series works up until about 1700 before mine, and winged globe for the very early ones...

 

[pete]

Well, I suppose it's not that much different from me calling a Buffet sax model an "SA 18-20" because that's the biggest thing engraved on it .

I only parley Google Translate, because I took Latin in high school and college ... about 30 years ago. If I have some background on the subject, I can transliterate relatively well. Gives me a bit of a headache, sometimes, though.

Oh. Answering the question, here's a review: http://www.clarinetpages.net/vintage-odd-brands/barbier-f-barbier. Summary: not good. Mind you, I do think it's for a Bb clarinet, not a C. Phil also says that the post-Selmer buyout horns are pretty good for a beginner.

 

[TrueTone]

Well, I suppose it's not that much different from me calling a Buffet sax model an "SA 18-20" because that's the biggest thing engraved on it .

I only parley Google Translate, because I took Latin in high school and college ... about 30 years ago. If I have some background on the subject, I can transliterate relatively well. Gives me a bit of a headache, sometimes, though.

Oh. Answering the question, here's a review: http://www.clarinetpages.net/vintage-odd-brands/barbier-f-barbier. Summary: not good. Mind you, I do think it's for a Bb clarinet, not a C. Phil also says that the post-Selmer buyout horns are pretty good for a beginner.

(I've been meaning to type a response to this since I saw it, sorry for taking a while...)
To quote the webpage, " Only the bell has the Barbier mark." It looks to me just like it's a ca. 1920s Couesnon with a Barbier Bell. I don't think mine dates from before 1905 (when Selmer bought Barbier) though, judging by when the original owner bought the clarinets, I'd expect it to be from the 1920s. (however I definitely should be more careful with that era of Couesnon that isn't marked with as a Monopole, then, judging by that review...I've nearly bid on one.)
I don't really see much of an association with Couesnon, though, other than the keywork on these looking rather similar in most places. Contrary to what Mr. Pedler says, from what I've read in every other place, Barbier worked for himself before he was bought out by Selmer. Selmer's site describes Barbier as "a flute manufacturer, rue du faubourg Saint Denis, in Paris" in reference to being bought out in the history section on their site.
I'm hopefully going to send it to someone to be overhauled this semester, and send off my Eb too. (although I might have that done at Clarinetfest, as Lohff and Pfieffer aren't going to be at either of the fairly local events I'd expected them to be coming to this year...)
The one like this on ebay sold rather cheap, although that's probably somewhat related to them not using a name anywhere, having crappy photos, and having most of their photos focus on the ligature and case instead of the actual instrument...

 

[TrueTone]

Well I sent that email to M. Doublon about a month later finally, and got a reply back within a few hours:
He doesn't have info on this Barbier, but did for my Bass and a pretty good estimate for my A. (unfortunately they don't have the records database for clarinets sold before WWII, so he can't be more precise.)