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From: DGross1226@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 20:59:45 EDT
Subject: Contrabass Clarinets on eBay
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.comIn a message dated 99-08-10 18:40:30 EDT, Marty Meyer writes:
<< I have been watching this auction of the big paperclip contra on Ebay. If
the photo is telling, that thing didn't look like it was in the best of shape
-- no mouthpiece, tarnish everywhere. The final bid was just a tick under 3
grand, I think. Is that a lot for an instrument in this condition? I know
they aren't being made anymore, but that looked like it was a chunk of work
ahead for someone to bring it up to concert form. Anyone else wish to
comment as to whether this price was in line with the condition of this instrument? >>First of all it's an instrument to low D and not low C as are the current
Leblanc paperclips. They are indeed still being manufactured. Althought
I've not checked the WW&BW prices lately, a new one (to low C ) will probably
set you back about $6,500. Grant (please confirm this) and I were both
fortunate enough to purchase contrabass clarinets from Charles Fail in
Marietta, Georgia. I paid a very, very reasonable $2,000 for a fully
overhauled and regulated Leblanc Model 340 paperclip contrabass to low C
which I use in the Claremont Symphonic Winds and the Caltech/Occidental
College Concert Band. The mpc is crucial and mine is an old VITO that Tom
Ridenour refaced while he was still at Leblanc. Needless to say, prices of
ALL clarinets on eBay have been pushed to ridiculous levels and I've switched
to buying old Pacific Coast League memorabilia and postcards of La Jolla,
California.Don Gross
La Canada, California
---------------------------------------------------------Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 18:08:04 -0700
From: Grant Green <gdgreen@contrabass.com>
Subject: Re: Contrabass Clarinets on eBay
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com>First of all it's an instrument to low D and not low C as are the current
>Leblanc paperclips. They are indeed still being manufactured. Althought
>I've not checked the WW&BW prices lately, a new one (to low C ) will probably
>set you back about $6,500. Grant (please confirm this) and I were both
>fortunate enough to purchase contrabass clarinets from Charles Fail inYep, both true. The one I purchased from Charles Fail was a pre-1950 model
340 to low D, with non-automatic octave keys, and disassembled in the
middle (between RH and LH). I eventually sold it and bought a new low C
340, which is the horn I play now.As for prices on eBay, well, yes, everything goes up. All a matter of what
you want to spend.Grant
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant Green gdgreen@contrabass.com
http://www.contrabass.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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