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Wood Vito - fake ?

Steve

Clarinet CE/Moderator
Staff member
CE/Moderator
I've been questioned by a online person via email of the validity of a Wood Bundy seen on eBay.

This wood Bundy has a modern looking Leblanc emblem
with VITO in big letters, with FRANCE in small letters underneath it and a small triangle above the Vito and small triangle and horizontal line below the france (picture to follow).

The instrument is a wood Vito.

Similar pictures have been found on dhgate.com, which is a dumping ground for chinese manufacturers.
 
I've been questioned by a online person via email of the validity of a Wood Bundy seen on eBay.

This wood Bundy has a modern looking Leblanc emblem
with VITO in big letters, with FRANCE in small letters underneath it and a small triangle above the Vito and small triangle and horizontal line below the france (picture to follow).

The instrument is a wood Vito.

Similar pictures have been found on dhgate.com, which is a dumping ground for chinese manufacturers.

I have two wooden Vitos aka "VITO VSP" aka model 7810 or 7820 (depending on configuration). They both have a plastic bell with a rounded bell ring, and a plastic barrel. The body is wood, with undercut toneholes. They absolutely rock if you ask me; these two are amongst the finest "cheap" instruments I ever had.
If you need pictures to compare, let me know.
 
Ben, sure pictures would help.

but keep in mind we have a member here that bought one of those fake Buffets.
I'm not saying "all" wood Vitos are fake, just to be on the lookout as these have a potentially high potential of being fake.

and I'm not going to buy it to find out either way ...
 
Ben, sure pictures would help.

but keep in mind we have a member here that bought one of those fake Buffets.
I'm not saying "all" wood Vitos are fake, just to be on the lookout as these have a potentially high potential of being fake.

and I'm not going to buy it to find out either way ...

Too bad, it's gone. And it was the real thing, or at least the pictures showed the real thing. <sigh>
On the plus side, $135 saved for other goofs...
 
weren't the Vito VSPs leblanc made ?
Yes. (isn't Vito a Leblanc brand anyway?). I read somewhere they're basically Noblet Artists in disguise (with nickel vs silver keywork and some other minor differences).
 
Yes but i think the VSPs were made completely in france versus the Vitos in Kenosha/Conn-Selmer

kind of like the VSP soprano/bari saxes, made by Yanagisawa in Japan

Yes, that's why they have a "France" stamp, and that's why I said they're basically Noblet Artists (which, coincidence, were made in France as well).
 
Didn't Yanagisawa make VSP tenors too? I know they made altos

Chris
Yanigisawa tenors stenciled for Leblanc were marketed as Martins. I don't recall any Vito VSP tenors (but, as usual, I could be wrong).

Also, I have a vague recollection of later Vito VSP clarinets being made in the US, with elaborate bell ornamentation.
 
I've been questioned by a online person via email of the validity of a Wood Bundy seen on eBay.

This wood Bundy has a modern looking Leblanc emblem
with VITO in big letters, with FRANCE in small letters underneath it and a small triangle above the Vito and small triangle and horizontal line below the france (picture to follow).

The instrument is a wood Vito.

Similar pictures have been found on dhgate.com, which is a dumping ground for chinese manufacturers.
Okay, I have taken pictures of my two Vito VSP clarinets:

TwoVSPs.jpg


Although both came in different cases (no idea which would be the original one), they are identical enough that I think they're original (or I got two fakes...)

VSPBarrel.jpg


This is the logo

VSPDetails.jpg


And some details to check. Barrel and bell are made of plastic. The bell is very distinctive as it has a round (o-ring-shaped) bell ring, not something triangular in profile.
 
Thanks for the pictures.

Hi Ben, great photos, very clear and helpful. I appreciate the pointing out the bell detail.
Are both clarinets marked the same?
The VITO over the FRANCE, does the "T" have a half a cross bar (like a backward seven). And is the "I" the same way, with a portion missing at the top right part of the "I"? Are all the logos the same?
Is there a small "made in France" stamp/impression somewhere on the clarinets besides the one under the VITO?

I'll post pictures of the models I've seen, they are different from yours. Some similarity but different, in place of the VITO is a VSP and the barrel and bell are wood.

Yours is very similar to the one on dhgate.com but that one is all wood and brand new for $175 wholesale. I think the giveaway is the I and T on your VITO versus theirs.

Here is the page:
http://www.dhgate.com/ex-condi-lebl...rinet/p-ff8080812b5b59b3012b5dec06441cd7.html

The picture here is very difficult to see but I saved a better image at a friends house. I'll post it tomorrow afternoon.
 
Hi Ben, great photos, very clear and helpful. I appreciate the pointing out the bell detail.
Are both clarinets marked the same?
The VITO over the FRANCE, does the "T" have a half a cross bar (like a backward seven). And is the "I" the same way, with a portion missing at the top right part of the "I"? Are all the logos the same?
Is there a small "made in France" stamp/impression somewhere on the clarinets besides the one under the VITO?
Both clarinets are maked exactly the same. Each joint has a serial number near its lower tenon. The serials and the logos are the only markings.
I checked the logos again - the one on the barrel was a victim of the stamping process, others looked better, like below (exact relative dimensions shown)
VitoLogo.png


I looked at the site you were referring to - the instruments look genuine, although I have no idea if these are just two individual instruments or really a wholesale product. I wonder why anyone might counterfeit (counterfeign? nah) a product that has been withdrawn, and one that was not produced in massive numbers...but what do we know about the inner motivation of the Chinese wholesale business. :-?
 
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