Well I'm excited to present the next clarinet to come out of the workshop here, an old 1920s/30s GM Bundy Paris Bb clarinet.
It is fairly well known that these were in fact right from the Selmer factory, stamped with the Bundy name. Bundy was an employee of Selmer's and took over the US division that was just starting up, before manufacturing happened in Elkhart for Selmer USA they supplied French Selmers to be sold with the GM Bundy name..........so this instrument is really identical to a 20's Selmer!
The wood is nice, tight grained. The keywork is comfy, well made, good plating.
I installed new leather pads, added/replaced missing adjustment materials, replaced one tenon cork, cleaned/oiled the keywork, tightened a few posts, straightened/aligned keys, etc.
I was very excited to play it and am not disappointed. It played well with various mouthpieces but I settled on an old Leblanc hard rubber piece that really just sounded wonderful.
The bore is 14.85mm, which I tend to like alot. Ok lets face it I like all the various bore sizes for different reasons but this clarinet really sings.
It is not perfect, as there are some cracks, surprise surprise. The bell has two cracks that run the length, they are tight and don't buzz or vibrate, so I left them be.
The barrel also has one tight crack, It doesn't run to the bore, luckily.
I'm not too put out by cracks, they are common in wood instruments and repairable. And really, pretty hard to avoid it seems. It does however affect the price, as most folks are under the impression that cracks are bad somehow. Sure, a crack to the bore that is leaking air will give you issues, but a hairline crack that doesn't leak or a well repaired crack are not problems whatsoever.
It makes me think of cymbals, I often find that cracked cymbals, once repaired, are often real gems, and at a fraction of the price!
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