Clemens Wurlitzer Clarinet

mmmiloo

Hello from Bulgaria,
I want to ask for advice. I have a friend who is selling me the following clarinet for 60 euro. The brand is Clemens Wurlitzer Wernitzgrün.
Is there anyone who can tell me more about the brand. Is it worth it at all to buy it. Needs to be repaired and I do not know whether any part of it still exist. All i could find is that the manufacturer doesn't work any more. I'll be glad if you give me advice.
1086592.jpg1086592_0.jpg1086592_2.jpg1086592_3.jpg

Thank you for your attention.
 
With a European horn like that, you are not going to get too much help here (although I'm sure that someone will prove me wrong. Being a German horn, the widest audience for this question will be a heavily-Teutonic salted board.

Our guide for going through the motions with New World type clarinets is to be found here:

http://www.woodwindforum.com/forum/showthread.php?4752-How-YOU-Can-Determine-Horn-Value

One way to apply all of this is to visit eBay.de, and see what the good folks in Germany and Austria are saying about similar instruments. There may be enough traffic there to give you an idea. Good luck!
 
But, when I look at the thing, I note that it's a relatively rare "Klose/Boehm" system instrument with full Boehm key work. A "French" clarinet like this one can be evaluated well enough by all of us on here, but you need to consider all of the factors in the above link (particularly the presence of any cracks, repaired or otherwise, in the instrument's body) when making the decision.

Be advised that many in the clarinet community consider these to be undesirable instruments, this based upon the opinion that they are too "complicated" and "hard to keep in regulation." (I'm not one of them, but I'm not in the market for soprano instruments at this point.) So, the market may be more limited that normal indications would lead one to believe.
 
I'm guessing that is at least $450 (350 Euros) of repairs, and possibly quite a bit more depending on crack repair, key fabrication and a replacement barrel. Even after that, it is questionable whether it will be a good playing horn. I'm not up to speed on clarinet prices in eastern Europe, but for that kind of money, I would think you could get a new intermediate model (Yamaha, Buffet, etc.).
 
The thing is that it might have been a good horn at one time. I'm not the vintage clarinet expert, but the roller keys are a nice touch. The full Boehm key-layout that SOTSDO mentioned generally, but not always, points to a higher-end clarinet. The hole in the upper joint makes me think of the Selmer Centered-Tone, which this may be a copy of. However, all the damage -- I looked closer and I can see the big crack on the lower joint that's runs down a good half of the joint (sorry I didn't see it before. I cite failing eyesight) -- means that even if it was once a valuable pro horn, I'd think the repairs would be pretty expensive and the horn still might not play in tune. Additionally, the horn's fairly old and could easily be high pitch (that's where the horn plays a concert A at 457hz) and that means it's out of tune with any modern ensemble.

I'd heartily recommend checking out http://www.woodwindforum.com/forum/index.php?threads/what-kind-of-clarinet-should-i-get.22275/.
 
I did some more digging, because I was interested.

Clemens-Wurlitzer was a German company. Here's the Google Translate from Archive.org:

Welcome to the website of the installation company Clemens-Wurlitzer. (Owner Gerd Wurlitzer.) I offer expertise and can look back on expertise from 6 generations ongoing construction clarinet.

All clarinets are to receive in the keys of A, Bb, C, D and Eb. They are made from decades of grenadilla and deposited using hand-forged with a flap handle technically controlled well by mechanics in individual work, and provided with a hard gloss silver plating. This makes it possible for me to fully respond to your individual needs. Of course, we also offer you affordable and professional repairs own and other brands.
Click to expand...

The far right of this pic is of a GH Huller-branded horn from 1937 that looks a loot like yours (the ad's on this page), mmmilo. It's very possible that Clemens-Wurlitzer supplied horns for GH Huller or worked for them at some point. I did also find some newer Clemens-Wurlitzer horns. They're handmade and pricey. Older ones (both Oehler and Boehm system horns) were in the 800 to 5,000 Euro range, so all over the place in pricing. However, before you think you could get at least 800 Euros for your horn, note that the ones I looked at didn't have cracks and were in virtually perfect shape.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
That clarinet needs a "Do Not Resuscitate" tag attached to it and should be burned as part of the next solstice celebration.
 
We may be looking at two different instruments here. I don't see any rollers, for one thing.

(I didn't notice the cracks or the broken barrel, but that certainly would put the horn out of the realm of being a possible rescue item.)
 
I don't know about Clemens, but Wurlitzer horns are some of the best clarinets ever made, and are played in many European orchestras. My teacher got rid of all his Buffets after his Wurlitzers arrived, he absolutely loved his.
 
Looking at the photos on my home computer (we've been travelling over the past few days), I can now see the missing touch piece (rather than a missing key) and the single roller. I'd invest zero dollars or Euros or rubles in a horn in this condition, no matter who made it.
 
kymarto said:
I don't know about Clemens, but Wurlitzer horns are some of the best clarinets ever made, and are played in many European orchestras. My teacher got rid of all his Buffets after his Wurlitzers arrived, he absolutely loved his.
Click to expand...

A bit of research turns up the fact that there are Wurlitzer clarinets of different quality. Those made my Fritz Wurlitzer and his son Herbert are reputed to be some of the finest German clarinets ever made. Those made by Clemens Wurlitzer do not share that reputation.
 
kymarto said:
I don't know about Clemens, but Wurlitzer horns are some of the best clarinets ever made, and are played in many European orchestras. My teacher got rid of all his Buffets after his Wurlitzers arrived, he absolutely loved his.
Click to expand...

jbtsax said:
A bit of research turns up the fact that there are Wurlitzer clarinets of different quality. Those made my Fritz Wurlitzer and his son Herbert are reputed to be some of the finest German clarinets ever made. Those made by Clemens Wurlitzer do not share that reputation.
Click to expand...
IIRC, based on my searches yesterday, there were three or four folks with [name]-Wurlitzer, going back to about the middle of the 19th century. While the Clemens-Wurlitzer horns aren't valued as much as some of the others, particularly the really old ones, note the price spread I mention above. A minimum of 800 Euros for a good-condition horn that old isn't that bad.

Also please note that there's another Wurlitzer that shouldn't be in this conversation: the Rudolph Wurlitzer who's mainly famous for his organs. Back in the early 20th century, there were tons of stencil saxophones purchased by Wurlitzer through Martin Band Instruments Company (i.e. not CF Martin). In the 1960s, Wurlitzer bought Martin. So, if it just says "Wurlitzer" on the horn, I'd definitely recommend doing more research before buying or selling.

Possibly because the [name]-Wurlitzer horns are Germanic in origin, most of the ones I saw yesterday were Öhler System, not Boehm. In some cases, I know that can mean a more valuable horn.
 
Glad I opened the topic because it was quite instructive. However, it is good to figure out Тhе Wurlitzer names. I also found in my research that Fritz Wurlitzer is a clarinet from another dimension. Unfortunately I will not rescue this one, because there is no such good masters here and also will come too much expensive anyway. Thank you all for your time
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom