M. L. Croix

[tarawilk853]

Greetings all,

I have an OLD bass clarinet from Paris.  The friend that refurbished it for me said it's probably 1920-1930.  It's a M. L. Croix from France and is very quirky and unusual.  It has a weird key mechanism at the neck that is giving me a hard time, and I can't find anyone who can fix it.  I included two pictures of it.  Does anyone know about this brand or any recommendations on how to get it fixed?

Thanks,

Tara

[DaveLeBlanc]

I love M. Lacroix.  You are correct, it is likely from the 1930s.

I've owned 3 MLs: one normal Bb, one Bb with the super-rare "donut key", and one bass.

Yours is extremely unique with that neck key.  That mechanism is found only on saxophone necks, as their octave key.  This is the first time I have never seen it on a bass clarinet.

For service of that key, your best bet would be a saxophone spet.  They would be more likely to know how to deal with that than a run-of-the-mill music shop or even a clarinet spet.

Hard to say value, since that key mechanism is so rare (I've never seen one, ever).  A nice vintage bass clarinet should sell for something like 800 bucks restored, and as low as 350 unrestored (I bought my ML bass for 327).  Your thing should sell for the typical vintage bass price, unless a collector goes nuts over that key.

[rezzie]

Just confirming from another source that Dave is spot on with that answer.  That's a sax octave mechanism adapted to a bass clarinet. 

Good luck getting it going - that's going to be nice when you get it working right.

[tarawilk853]

Dave and Rezzie,

So that's what that mechanism is called!  Awesome!  I have been trying to find information on the internet about it, and have not been successful... 

This bass clarinet belonged to my friend, who inherited it from his father.  His father was a professional bass clarinetist in a band and everything.  I promised my friend that I would never part with her, regardless of the money I could make.  I intend to keep that promise... Because I am so attached to her, I lovingly call her Roxy...  I figure with her being so unique and quirky, she had to have a name.  ;-) 

Roxy does play very well, despite being so old...  Except for when I get to any note(s) that involve that silly octave key, and that's when she starts "choking up".  The low notes sound amazing...  Now that I know how rare she is, I think I appreciate her even more.

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it! 
Tara

[DaveLeBlanc]

Roxy is a pretty lady.

I had a Conn bass named Bruce once :P