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Noblet 1960s-70s

I am trying to figure out if this instrument is worth investing in upgrades or if it is just an intermediate wood clarinet. I think it is a model 40. I don't have the serial number.

I'm new to this forum so I don't know if this is the place for this question.

If it was worth investing in, what would you recommend? Should I do an overhaul or just get pads fixed?

clarinet3.jpg
 
I am trying to figure out if this instrument is worth investing in upgrades or if it is just an intermediate wood clarinet. I think it is a model 40. I don't have the serial number.

I'm new to this forum so I don't know if this is the place for this question.

If it was worth investing in, what would you recommend? Should I do an overhaul or just get pads fixed?

View attachment 2433

The Noblet model 40 is a student-level instrument, but properly set up they can play surprisingly well. If the instrument is in good mechanical shape then a repad may be all that is necessary to make it sing. The standard mouthpiece isn't all that great and a mouthpiece upgrade might be well worth considering.
 
I see some mighty fine musicians playing on much worse instruments than you have. In most cases, it's not the instrument, it's the player. You can get some really fine mouthpieces for surprisingly little money. So I'll double down on what Tony sez. I have opinions about barrels, but I would suggest that most players work with a qualified instructor when making that decision. in 99% of the cases, the barrel makes no difference to the audience other than as a visual thang. YMMV.
 
It's a question of combinations:

Clarinet in decent shape+decent mouthpiece+decent player=sounds good.
Clarinet in poor shape+poor mouthpiece+decent player=sounds bad.

Note that I didn't say "professional clarinet." A good student horn + a good mouthpiece is all you need to start. If you're trying to get inexpensive, you could always check out the "lightly used" section of WWBW or eBay for inexpensive mouthpieces.

Looking at the question from another angle, you're probably more interested in how much you should invest in the horn. I see overhauled Noblet 40s on eBay selling for a maximum of $439. In other words, if you have $450 worth of repairs needed on your horn, you should probably not get an overhaul. There are lots of good deals out there, like this $280 overhauled Leblanc Symphonie pro clarinet.
 
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