Bass question

[GrumpyMiddleAgedMan]

Was looking for a quick answer on this. There are 2 bass clarinets im bidding on now. One is a pedler custom circle 1940 give or take a year in good shape and a vito also in nice shape. Now this is for my son who is in hs and started playing one.
Now im guessing the pedler is going to be near 2x  and his playing future  is unknown. I wouldn't mind the pedlee because of its vintage and desirability so I can sell it after if necessary but not sure how appropriate it would be for a student. If I could get a couple cents on the issue it would be appreciated.

[Windsong]

I think either would be okay for a student--though as you mention, the Pedler will command more interest from collectors in the future. 

The downside to the Pedler is that parts replacement will be more challenging than the Vito, should the need arise. 

Pedler made nice alto and bass clarinets.  They are durable and attractive.  The rosewood and grenadilla ones were used by the U.S. military for some time; an endorsement of their durability.

Pedler also made good hard rubber models, too, and if the one you are looking at is hard rubber, that may be a better choice than wood, especially if your son will be playing in a marching band.

Vito clarinets are generally built like tanks, and usually well enough designed that keeping it regulated should be easy enough, as long as the horn has not been abused.

Ultimately, I think it all comes down to price and condition. Both are solid horns. 

[350 Rocket]

Is your son also playing a school-owned instrument, or will this be his only one?

A Vito is pretty much the definitive plastic bass and its suitability for school band is beyond reproach.

The Pedler likely has the higher resale value, but a much smaller market. The Vito would probably be easier to sell, while the Pedler may take time to find the right buyer.

The other risk with a Pedler is the band director reacting with "You bought a WHAT?!" or something to that effect. Unless the director is a clarinetist (and likely even then) they wouldn't know what it is, and for any director who isn't well-versed in vintage instruments their knee-jerk reaction will be to assume bad intonation and other faults.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedMan]

Ok well I will link the listings.  this are good will so its a crap shoot on them.  The bidding is up there already.  The vito has a few miles on it as you can see on the keys but overall seems to be in good shape.  The pedler looks to be ebonite(HR) and seems to be in a decent shape also, especially considering its age.
Now, as far as the playing future for him, there is no guarantee he is playing on.  He does enjoy it but post HS is questionable.  He went from the standard BB clarinet which he was ok with to the school bass.  I think there was nobody playing it so he ended up playing and seemingly enjoys it for now.
Last issue would be the price, not too sure where i should be topping my bid.  Prior i have seen the student Bass pieces go for around 200-300.  Last one i was watching went for round 400 but was in pretty nice condition.  As said, the pedler is a special interest piece but there are usually more than a few people who jump in on these sort of auctions.  Seen a few double wall clarinets push 1k and some of the classic conn tennor sax's move for 2k+ so there are people who keep their eyes open. 
With that, does anyone have any other thoughts?
Side note, his new/current band teacher seems to be proficient with woodwinds.  At least according to him so i figure worst case i can do the bulk work is needed like replacing pads, oil and basic setup.  With that done maybe i can get him it fine tune it for playing, I think he is able to from what im told.

Pedler: https://shopgoodwill.com/item/248837905
Vito: https://shopgoodwill.com/item/249067242

[Windsong]

I like Shopgoodwill, and often the best deals can be had there.  I see the prices on both of these are getting rather high, however, and I don't have enough information or confidence in either horn to know how much further to push either auction safely. 

That said, they are both still good deals if they are well sorted or at least not damaged, and only need routine work.

[mechanic]

I think the Vito is an alto.  It doesn't have the gooseneck a Vito bass should have.

[350 Rocket]

Yup, that Vito is an alto.

The Pedler is getting up there in price, and with ShopGoodwill you're never sure what condition something is in. The pictures are pretty scant with that one.

There's a 1967 Noblet 60 running at $310 on eBay right now, ending Friday afternoon. Probably won't stay that low, but it's worth a look. The upper trill key pads are suspect but the other ones visible in pictures look alright.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedMan]

Thanks for the catch.  I thought it looked a little suspect, but didnt really catch on.  I plugged the pictures into the AI and it kept insisting that it was a base til i got it to double check at which point it gave me its most sincere apologies.  Like Windy said in the other post, GiGo.  But yeah that was going to be my second choice if the pedler got to be too much.  We'll see how things go but hopefully the ped doesn't get bid up much more.  There were some auctions that turned up other ped basses from a couple years ago that went got round 600 but wasn't able to see any pictures, guess they were purged.
Also I am hoping that there is a MP in that red thing in the pocket of the case.  Otherwise going to have to buy one.  Its been recommended to pick up a b45 or selmer c*.  If it gets to that point, i know you are supposed to play test, but anyone have other recommendations?

[Windsong]

This looks to have potential, if you can get the bell repaired or replaced.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/366048771052?_skw=sexy+clarinet&itmmeta=01KC36VGSZY4FHHZZGCM6X5559&hash=item553a34fbec:g:hWwAAeSwgIdpOF3r&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fjmLwuI1eKouZ%2FHr62wy0Fhge%2FO1dr06MQVzmeaHLSoOpr8AHEO1xjgorrOBb9FfSl%2BVfT8BMpZqqJR%2Bxf7QsFAVtjJEJTuvIuS%2Be8TWKlSEou8aqIe0pbuAvKAyNM6uCFJf4F%2B9QFIik%2BR0pOBjoDdkGbc6aloT451aXW4xUEzKpfSdmuubNJCYMGHrEcG88gNl9%2F5Gaq1YoBlJUCFX%2FP8I3pNIc%2B%2B1enxLvXDwUNHDmB1vjy5vZfihReVBPqPEE%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5qN7ubgZg

[GrumpyMiddleAgedMan]

I was tossing around the idea of picking that one up.  The bell is kind of beat up but the rest of the body and key work seem nice.  Could use it for parts but would hate to do that.  I did win the auction for the other one.  It came yesterday and it is interesting to say the least.  Most pressing issue to me is the case itself... I like the style but as with most of the older cases, it has seen better days.  The lining is well worn and relining might be in the cards if im bored, maybe a nice blue.  The internal support structure is slightly broke and the lid shifts a little so little bit of structural rigidity. 
Like i said the keys look well used but what does look good are the pads.  Wouldn't be surprised if it had some work done to it before its last use.  Not much in the way of discoloration but some of the pivots were a little gummy.. at least I have only taken the lower joint apart so far.  There is a loosie in the upper that will be taken care of. 
Didn't have any new reeds so there were some old ones in the case.  After sorting and some peroxide I tried one.  was only a 2 str and it is binding up on lower notes but was able to sound out the lowest it will go.  Also tried touching up the facing on the MP, big nono i know but it seems to sound a little better after flattening the table a tad and buffing the rails.  I try not to make any major changes to the geometry.  Most likely a new reed should help with that.  I was looking at tip openings, this looks to be the origional MP.  It has 'the pedlar' logo on it, tip was about .066 as best i could measure.  As far as recommended MP's it seems to be fairly more open around .076 so might have to look into that.
Anyway, thats that for that for now unless anyone had interest in it.

[Windsong]

Well, that is a pretty good write-up. 
I never discourage anyone from attempting to repair a MP with a bad or damaged facing.  I use glass as my work bench of sorts, and start with 400 grit sandpaper and work up to 1000 or 1500, consistently dragging the rails in one direction, making slow changes.  A bad MP may not get any better but can hardly be made worse if it already does not play well.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedMan]

I have glass and pieces of granite or just the counter top for my MP work.  Usually start at 1k grit and work up to 5k then buff/burnish it out on a clean scrap cloth.  I check the MP for where it is getting taken down in between stroke.  Have done a bunch of practice on soprano MP's i got cheap.  Played with different facing angles and even opened up the chambers and even the window on a few of them to see what difference it would make if any.  Was interesting to do at best because dont quite have the ear for the proper sound.
Went through the top joint (stripped,cleaned,polished and adjusted).  Kind of interesting, a lot of the pads had resonators on them I guess to brighten up the darker tone it is supposed to have.  I replaced 4 pads, Used sax pads but they were all just regular ones.  Most of the larger pads were still in good shape.