[Dixielandjazz] Metal Clarinets

[Andy.Ling at Quantel.Com]

> I read some time ago that Lester Young used to play on a metal 
> clarinet. What are the sound qualities and benefits to having a 
> metal versus wood? Were most of these metal ones an Albert 
> system type? I think I remember hearing that metal clarinets are 
> long out of production.
> 
> Mike
> 

I think most metal clarinets were the Boehem system. The main
advantage was that they didn't crack an so could withstand
much more abuse than a wooden one. This has been largely
superseded by the modern plastic clarinet.

They suffered more with temperature variations and of course
the big problem was, you had to be a lot more careful
insulating the wire when turning them into a lamp stand :-)

They still crop up from time to time on ebay and the like.

Andy Ling



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